MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred discussed a wide variety of subjects on Wednesday from the Owners Meetings in New York -- including the possibility of seeing the automated ball-strike system in the Major Leagues, baseball at the Olympics, the continued growth in MLB viewership and attendance, baseball and softball participation and more.
Here are some of the main topics Manfred addressed.
ABS system in MLB
Regarding the ABS system, which was tested at Major League Spring Training this year, Manfred said the league plans to examine a potential change at the MLB level for upcoming seasons.
"We have a Joint [Competition] Committee process that we still need to complete," Manfred said Wednesday. "I do think that we're going to pursue the possibility of changing that process, and we'll see what comes out at the end of that."
Manfred said his impression from the challenge system for ball and strike calls used in Spring Training was that MLB teams "are really positive about ABS."
"My single biggest concern is working through the process and deploying it in a way that's acceptable to the players," Manfred said. "I want them to feel like we respected the committee process, and that there was a full airing of concerns about the system and an attempt to address those concerns before we go forward."
Manfred added that the related experiment of a check swing challenge system, which is being used in the Single-A Florida State League, will require more discussion.
"We haven't made a decision about the check swing thing," Manfred said. "We do try to think sequentially about what's coming out. I think we've got to get over the hump in terms of either doing ABS or not doing it before you'd get into the complication of a separate kind of challenge involved in an at-bat. … We've really got to think that one through."
Baseball at the Olympics
Manfred said that the league and owners have begun discussing the potential of MLB participation at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, which will feature both baseball and softball.
"There was conversation about the Olympics," Manfred said. "I would say this: I think we've made some progress with L.A. 2028 in terms of what it could look like."
Manfred said that MLB still needs to discuss changes that would need to be made to accommodate the Olympics with some of the league's partners, but he added that MLB players and the MLB Players Association "seem to be supportive."
MLB will continue with that process.
Rays and A's ballpark openings
Manfred said the Rays are on track to reopen Tropicana Field for the 2026 season.
Tampa Bay has been playing at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa this season due to extensive hurricane damage to The Trop.
"The repair of the stadium's moving along. We remain optimistic that we will be ready either for Opening Day or very shortly thereafter," Manfred said.
"Obviously, the big contingency is what happens with hurricane season. There's not much you can do about that other than keep your fingers crossed. But we are hopeful that we'll get it ready for Opening Day '26."
Manfred also said the A's are continuing the process with their new ballpark project in Las Vegas, with the goal of moving in by the 2028 season.
"My understanding is, they believe they're gonna make Opening Day '28," Manfred said.
MLB attendance and viewership
This week, Major League Baseball announced continued growth in viewership, as well as game attendance early in the 2025 season.
"The owners feel like we're off to a great start," Manfred said. "We're up about 1.6% on attendance. We look like we're headed for our third year in a row of increased attendance. Rivalry Weekend was really popular with the clubs. We had a great weekend attendance-wise, but the concept, people were really high on."
Manfred noted not only the gains of Major League viewership across the board on all media platforms, but also in international viewership, pointing to the large audiences in Japan for both the Opening Series between the Dodgers and Cubs and for other regular-season games.
Manfred said the better quality of MLB's on-field product compared to even the recent past, the star players in the big leagues today and a more balanced schedule that allows for more Interleague matchups like Yankees-Dodgers were all driving the gains.
"We are blessed, just talent-wise," Manfred said. "Start with Ohtani, Judge, but the young guys, too, like Bobby Witt Jr. -- and that's just one example of young players coming into the game [with] great talent."
Manfred added that the success of some of MLB's most prominent teams this year is also contributing.
"It's hard to ignore this: We're good in our big markets right now," Manfred said. "We really are. We've got two great teams here [in New York], L.A.'s great, the Cubs are great -- we've got good big-market teams right now."
AUSL Buzz
The inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball League, in which MLB announced a strategic investment, begins this weekend, and Manfred spoke about the opportunities there and excitement around it.
ATHLETES UNLIMITED SOFTBALL LEAGUE
“[There’s] a lot of buzz about the Athletes Unlimited investment. I think people are excited, A) to be in the women's sports space, but B) about the partner,” he said. “They think we found a good organization, and really excited to get going with that.”
Manfred ended with encouraging numbers about baseball appealing to a younger audience, and the rise of participation in youth baseball and softball.
“The last thing I'd mention is it is the 10th anniversary of Play Ball. We did a little run-through on participation numbers -- softball and baseball continued to lead among the major sports,” he said. “We were up 7.6% last year. And we continue to believe that that investment in young people is driving our business at the big league level.”