MLB chief’s legacy at stake

I recently read something hopefully encouraging about Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred.

It came from New York Post baseball columnist Ken Davidoff.

Was it meant to be encouraging? Probably not. But maybe, in one way, it was.

Davidoff was one of the media members involved in a question-and-answer session with the commissioner before the start of this World Series.

Many of the questions Manfred faced understandably revolved around two polarizing topics.

Half of this World Series is being held in Atlanta, the same place the league relocated this year’s AllStar Game from because it wanted to be on the record as disagreeing with Georgia’s new voting laws. To my knowledge, there was no discussion of putting the Braves’ World Series games in Denver. Mixed messages much?

And then there is the polarizing tomahawk chop, a fan ritual at Braves games that is supported by the team but reviled by others who view it as either outdated at best or racist at worst. In the recent past, Manfred had praised what seemed to be Atlanta’s trend away from the display. Now? Manfred won’t touch the topic with a 10foot pole.

From Davidoff: “As he answered reporters’ questions prior to Game 1 at Minute Maid Park, Manfred gave off the vibe that he would rather answer 100 questions about the sport’s upcoming labor uncertainty than tackle these nuclear topics.”

Maybe that’s the good news.

Hopefully it suggests Manfred is laser-focused on solving baseball’s biggest crisis.