MLB is charting a new course, aiming for a more national strategy

Major League Baseball is likely on a different trajectory than it was a few years ago after the league implemented rule changes and renewed its focus on enhancing the talent of its players, according to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.

Manfred spoke at the CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan sports business event Tuesday afternoon alongside former MLB greats CC Sabathia and Albert Pujols, touching on everything from regional sports networks to why young stars like Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds are so important. game.

As part of its changing mindset, MLB has aimed to become a more national sport, according to Manfred. The league has typically been more regional, including its broadcast rights, but Manfred said growing the sport the way he believes is possible will require a greater focus on bringing MLB games to a larger audience.

“We need a more national strategy,” Manfred told CNBC’s Scott Wapner. “We’re blessed with a huge amount of content: 2,430 games. Because of the amount of content, I think there will be some local element, but I think the strategy needs to be more national and our reach needs to be more national.”

Meanwhile, MLB was one of several leagues affected by the bankruptcy restructuring of Diamond Sports, the nation’s largest regional sports network owner. Some teams have already parted ways with regional networks and turned to MLB itself to produce and broadcast its games instead of Diamond Sports.

When it comes to MLB’s star power, all three panelists expressed excitement about the talent the game has to offer. But Sabathia said the league needs to do a better job of creating and marketing special starting pitchers.

“I don’t know if it’s more stars because I think we have stars,” Sabathia said. “I think we have [Aaron] Judge, we have [Shohei] Ohtani, we have [Juan] Soto. They’re star pitchers, they’re starting pitchers.”

As baseball has progressed, pitchers have been pitching fewer and fewer innings – meaning the number of complete games and the intensity of the two elite starters have decreased. MLB has already tweaked the rules to try to keep pitchers in the game longer, and the league is allegedly flirting with a minimum entry requirement for beginners, according to ESPN.

Major League Baseball has already seen its share of changes recently. The league instituted rule changes in 2023 that included limiting the number of pickoffs as well as installing larger bases, and the result has been an explosion in stolen bases over the past two seasons. Shifting, or the realignment of players on the field, has also been reduced, so there is more opportunity for balls to become hits or for players to make more athletic plays on contested balls.

All three panelists also said it’s important to diversify MLB’s audience. They noted that the league officially recognized statistics from the Negro Leagues for the first time earlier this year and has plans to do more work in underserved communities to appeal to a wider demographic of both players and fans.