MLB

MLB commish laughs at his own A-Rod lovefest

HOUSTON — In 2013, the notion of baseball commissioner Rob Manfred heaping praise upon a (probably) retiring Alex Rodriguez — following a loving tribute to A-Rod at Yankee Stadium, no less — would have seemed utterly ludicrous.

Rodriguez had burned every bridge he could find as he fought Major League Baseball’s charges of illegal performance-enhancing drug usage and obstruction. And Manfred, then baseball’s COO under commissioner Bud Selig, fought A-Rod at every turn, releasing public statements that matched Rodriguez’s in explosiveness.

Yet on Thursday, as Manfred wrapped up MLB’s quarterly owners’ meetings, he effortlessly threw verbal bouquets Rodriguez’s way.

“God has been kind to me: I have a very short memory,” Manfred said, chuckling. “When I think about Alex, I have to tell you, I really don’t think about three years ago. I think about how positive he was about re-entering the game. The extensive effort that he went through to make that re-entry positive. The fact that he performed amazingly well last year.

“ …I’m always glad, Alex or any other player, to see a player go out on a positive note.”

Manfred succeeded Selig in January 2015, just as Rodriguez was returning to the game following a year-long suspension for his violations of baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, and Rodriguez met multiple times with Manfred in efforts to clear the air before reporting to spring training with the Yankees.

Even as he played his way into getting released by the Yankees, Rodriguez remained arguably baseball’s best-known player. The Post asked Manfred about the importance of having such larger-than-life figures and whether baseball had enough such players left.

“Stars are important to our game,” Manfred said. “I think we have a group of young players that have the potential to be every bit as big as the last generation. … And maybe more of them than we had in that generation.”


With baseball’s CBA set to expire Dec. 1, Manfred voiced optimism, saying, “I think we can make a deal.”

Manfred added: “We’ve got a nice complete inventory of issues on the table from both sides. We’ve had a good respectful exchange at the table. And we’re moving into that phase where I think we’re going to start trying to package some things up and hopefully start to make agreements on issues and move towards a final agreement.”


Manfred said baseball’s investigation into allegations the Phillies’ Ryan Howard and the Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman used illegal PEDs, allegations first voiced in an Al Jazeera report, would be completed “quite soon.”