MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has faced intense scrutiny — and deservedly so — for his handling of the Astros cheating scandal.
Manfred offered Astros players immunity during the investigation process, let the Astros keep their World Series title and seemingly had more sympathy for the cheating Astros players than the players who were cheated. Manfred’s comments to ESPN about the decision to let the Astros keep their title didn’t help matters either.
In that sit-down interview with Karl Ravech, Manfred called the World Series title just a “piece of metal.” MLB players didn’t take kindly to Manfred minimizing a championship to a literal trophy, and on Monday, the Dodgers’ Justin Turner took a major shot at Manfred.
Speaking to The Athletic, Turner was especially upset that Manfred considered the game’s ultimate prize — something players work their entire careers for — as simply a piece of metal. Turner went at Manfred in his response:
“The only thing devaluing it right now is the fact that it says ‘Commissioner’ on it. It’s just unbelievable. Is he that out of touch with our game, that those are his comments? … Does he not know what we put into these seasons? Does he not know how much work we dedicate to winning that piece of metal? Does he not know what it means to fan bases and cities? Does he not know what it means to little kids in that city, trying to inspire those kids to want to be baseball players?
“Clearly, he doesn’t. He talks about it. He says, ‘Oh, yeah, we want to get the youth involved! We want to inspire the youth!’ But now you’re essentially condoning these guys for cheating. And saying, ‘There’s no precedent’? There’s no precedent because no one’s ever done it before. He just set a soft precedent for how to handle this situation.”
Yeah, don’t make Justin Turner angry. What a burn.
Manfred’s entire handling of the situation has been an abject failure, but unless the owners step in to make a change, baseball will be stuck with his embarrassing leadership for the foreseeable future.
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