Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday he will retire when his current term ends in January 2029.
During a press conference during spring training, Manfred noted that he will be 70 years old and will have served as commissioner for fourteen years when his term ends on January 25, 2029.
“You can only have so much fun in one life,” Manfred said.
Manfred, 65, succeeded Bud Selig in January 2015 and was given a five-year term as baseball’s 10th commissioner.
The owners voted in November 2018 to offer Manfred a new contract for the 2024 season, then voted last July to approve his final term.
“I have been open with them about the fact that this will be my last term,” Manfred said. “I told them before the July election and I am absolutely committed to that.”
Manfred defeated Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner in the first contentious vote for a new commissioner in 46 years. The third candidate, MLB executive vice president of business Tim Brosnan, withdrew just before voting began.
Candidates to succeed Manfred have not publicly emerged. Dan Halem, who joined MLB in 2007 as general counsel for labor, has been deputy commissioner since 2017. He will be 58 years old in May.
“I am sure that the selection process will look like it did last time,” said Manfred. “A committee of owners will be formed and they will identify candidates, go through an interview process and ultimately someone or a number of people will be put forward.”
One of the major outstanding issues during Manfred’s tenure is new ballparks for the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays. Oakland received approval from MLB in November to move to Las Vegas, where the A’s hope to build a new ballpark that will open in 2028.
Tampa Bay hopes to build a new ballpark next to the current Tropicana Field.
“I hope I’m here to go to opening day as commissioner for both Tampa Bay and Las Vegas,” Manfred said.
He doesn’t expect the expansion to 32 teams to be completed until 2028.
“I don’t think realistically those clubs would be playing before I’m done,” Manfred said. “I would like the process to be in order before I leave.”