MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Announces Plans to Retire: ‘You Can Only Have So Much Fun in One Lifetime’ 

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has announced that he will retire in January 2029.

In a spring training news conference, Manfred, 65, said he will retire from the league after his current term ends on Jan. 25, 2029, the Associated Press reported.

He explained that by then he would have held the position of commissioner for 14 years and would have been 70 years old. He was given a five-year term in 2015 after succeeding Bud Selig. He is the league’s tenth commissioner. in total6

“You can only have so much fun in one lifetime,” Manfred said.

“I was open with them about the fact that this would be my last term,” he said. “I told them that before the election in July and I’m absolutely committed to that.”

Robert D. Manfred Jr., March 21, 2023, in Miami, Florida.

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In November 2018, MLB team owners voted to extend his tenure through the 2024 season. He was then reinstated in July 2023 for another 5 1/2 years.

During the 2015 vote — the first contested vote for a new commissioner in 46 years — Manfred ran against Boston Red Sox president Tom Werner and MLB executive vice president of operations Tim Brosnan. But Brosnan withdrew from the race before voting began.

“I’m sure the selection process will look like last time,” Manfred said. “There will be a committee of owners that will be put together and they will identify the candidates, the interview process and eventually someone or a group of people will be nominated.”

As for who will fill Manfred’s seat in 2029, no candidate has publicly announced their intentions.

Robert D. Manfred Jr. and Shohei Ohtani on March 21, 2023 in Miami, Florida.

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As Manfred continues his final term, he said he hopes “to leave on opening day as the commissioner of both Tampa Bay and Las Vegas.” Both teams, the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays, are hoping for new ballparks.

The Oakland Athletics have received approval to move to Las Vegas, and the team hopes to have a new stadium built by 2028. Tampa Bay also hopes to have a new stadium open the same year, the Associated Press reports.

Additionally, Manfred shares that he doesn’t think the expansion to 32 teams will happen until 2028 — there are currently 30 teams. “Realistically I don’t think those clubs would play before I finish,” he said. “I’d like to have the process up and running before I leave.”

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