It’s no secret that Major League Baseball fans have been unhappy with commissioner Rob Manfred for a considerable amount of time. From on-field changes such as the three batter minimum and extra-inning rules to the current lockout, players and fans alike have been critical, to say the least. Yet now MLB reporters are coming into the mix as they struggle to report accurately while avoiding voicing their opinion on the occurrences that have happened under Manfred’s supervision.
As a reporter for a sport facing immense amounts of scrutiny, it’s an ongoing battle between reporting what is accurate and reporting what MLB wants the fans to see.
Looking at Ken Rosenthal for example who was terminated as one of the main reporters for the league this past January. Rosenthal was fired after vocalizing disagreement with the way Manfred handled the 2020 MLB season during the COVID-19 pandemic. In reality, many people agreed with his opinion and supported it as many players continuously contracted the virus.
MLB fans: Fire Rob Manfred
— Tati (@TatianaAudley) January 4, 2022
MLB: Fires Ken Rosenthal??
During the early reportings of a possible lockout, Rosenthal felt that Manfred favored the owners and was “out of touch” with the players, which is something that most fans and players again agree with considering that Manfred was voted in by the franchise owners.
Rosenthal was used as an example despite being such a large voice of the MLB Network for 13 years. His termination depicts a larger problem with the league where their employees are not allowed to portray an accurate representation of the news surrounding the sport, as they risk the same fate as Rosenthal if they do.
The reality of the situation is that no one is happy with baseball and it’s rooted in a systemic problem where the owners still make money if their team underperforms, and players are taken advantage of time and time again.
The discussions between MLBPA and MLB will continuously be reported in favor of the commissioner and owners, despite them being the problem in the first place. When looking at the probable net worth of the owners, only two are below $1 billion with some being upwards of almost $4 billion.
MLB reporters have lost the ability to do their job to the best of their ability due to fear and job instability as the lockout continues and the season is threatened.