John Torres: MLB’s new boss better not whiff on sport’s future

Whiff-a-ree, an-a whiff-a-rye
Gotta keep on whiffin’ until baseball die

Corporations are in it to make money. That’s no big revelation and nothing to be ashamed of.

Baseball, as a corporation, makes money hand over catcher’s mitt for the 30 owners, and newly-elected commissioner Rob Manfred’s main responsibility will be to make sure that continues. But here’s hoping that he turns out to be just a little bit more than just Bud Selig’s hand-groomed protégé.

Let’s hope that despite the profits, he is not only able to identify the major problems with the sport that used to be America’s most popular pastime but has the stomach to do something about it. Because if he doesn’t, those profits will one day start to dwindle.

Let’s hope that he takes a look at the fans in the stands, at the ever-graying clientele who are somehow still able to shell out six bucks for a beer and another five for a hot dog. Maybe he’ll realize that interest among younger fans is waning and he’ll defy the networks and insist on some World Series games being played in the afternoon.

...Let’s hope he is tough on cheaters — tougher than Selig — and decides to do it simply: in addition to a suspension, anyone caught using performance-enhancing drugs becomes ineligible for the Hall of Fame ballot. They will never even appear on one. Simple, straightforward, hopefully effective, and it would also eliminate the debate about putting cheaters in the Hall.

Maybe he’ll be more than a younger version of Selig. Maybe he’ll be his own man. Maybe he’ll care for a little bit more than the profit margin.

Maybe.