MLB commissioner Rob Manfred was in attendance for Game 2 of the ALDS between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.Dan Hamilton
At least one Toronto Blue Jays' fan made himself loud and clear to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred about the distaste many Torontonians have for the early starts of the playoff games.
"Really, we love mid-day baseball," one fan bellowed at the commissioner as he was standing on the field at Rogers Centre on Friday morning, his sarcasm clearly evident.
"Thanks a lot."
After a 22-year wait between American League East titles, the Blue Jays were rewarded – some would say stiffed – with a 3:37 p.m. (ET) start time for their first AL Division Series game against the Texas Rangers on Thursday.
The 12:45 (ET) start time for Friday's second game made it even more onerous for the working fan to take time off work to get down to Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays will get prime-time broadcast treatment when the series resumes in Arlington, Tex., for Game 3 with an 8:07 p.m. (ET) start on Sunday.
But it is back to sharing the airwaves with soap operas on Monday should a fourth game be required, with the start time pegged for either 1:07 p.m. or 4:07 p.m. (ET), depending on the status of the other ALDS between the Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros.
While acknowledging that the Blue Jays, as Canada's only non-U.S. franchise, are not the strongest broadcasting draw south of the border, he said it is a reality that MLB has come to accept and deal with.
"I don't worry about that," Manfred said, speaking to reporters on the field before the start of Friday's Blue Jays-Rangers game. "I mean, the fact of the matter is, we made a business decision that we're going to operate in the United States and Canada. And that's one of the results. I just can't be that bothered with it.
"What I'm more concerned about is that we attract people to watch the game in America but we get the added benefit of added engagement in Canada."
But Manfred was quick to add that beefing up the ratings in the U.S. markets was not the only reason Toronto got saddled with some of the early start times.
"We schedule the games taking into account a variety of factors," he said. "Broadcast ratings are part of it. Toronto's going to play in the prime time slot on Sunday night so it obviously is not dictated by broadcast concerns.
"Somebody had to play early [Friday]. We got four games [Friday], three-hour windows. Somebody's got to play in that early slot."
Manfred also touched on MLB expansion, which is a hot-button topic to Montreal baseball fans who have shown tremendous support for Blue Jays' exhibition games at Olympic Stadium the past two years.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre has met with Manfred about the possibility of major-league baseball coming back to the city but the commissioner said there have been no new developments in that aspect.
"Look, I've been positive about the idea that Montreal's a viable major-league market," Manfred said. "I think I've been clear about what needs to be done there. And it is a process that takes some time."
A new stadium is at the top of Manfred's priority list before any moves to Montreal would be considered.
And as far as the roof being closed for both of Toronto's playoff games against the Rangers, a decision controlled by MLB, Manfred said it came down to the weather.
"Well, I can tell you about today," Manfred said. "The forecast was that the temperature was going to continue to decline, probably down to around 14 at some point in the game, supposed to have pretty high winds.
"And our thinking was, why play in less than ideal conditions."