Ex-MLB commissioner Fay Vincent slams successor Rob Manfred's decision to move the All-Star Game

Former Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent has slammed successor Rob Manfred over the ‘mistake’ of moving the All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver in response to the new voting law in Georgia that many believe to be racist. 

‘Major League Baseball can’t become a weapon in the culture wars, a hostage for one political party or ideology,’ the 82-year-old Vincent wrote in The Wall Street Journal’s opinion section.  

Georgia’s new law limits mail-in voting and allows for more legislative control over the election process following former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. Critics of the law, including Delta and Coca-Cola, say it unfairly targets minority voters in metropolitan areas. 

Former Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent has slammed successor Rob Manfred (pictured) over the 'mistake' of moving the All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver in response to the new voting law in Georgia that many believe to be racist

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has taken criticism for moving the All-Star Game to Denver

Former Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent (left) has slammed successor Rob Manfred (right) over the ‘mistake’ of moving the All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver in response to the new voting law in Georgia that many believe to be racist

According to Vincent, who served as MLB commissioner from 1989 until 1992, the injured parties in this case will 'be Atlanta's stadium workers and local vendors.' The All-Star Game is lucrative for host cities, generating an average of $84.4 million a year over the last decade, according to MLB data. 'The midsummer All-Star Game is an exhibition that benefits only the city where it's played,' Vincent wrote. 'The players will get paid no matter where the game takes place. MLB will get the same television revenue'

According to Vincent, who served as MLB commissioner from 1989 until 1992, the injured parties in this case will ‘be Atlanta’s stadium workers and local vendors.’ The All-Star Game is lucrative for host cities, generating an average of $84.4 million a year over the last decade, according to MLB data. ‘The midsummer All-Star Game is an exhibition that benefits only the city where it’s played,’ Vincent wrote. ‘The players will get paid no matter where the game takes place. MLB will get the same television revenue’

In his piece, Vincent accused Manfred of making a ‘serious mistake’ by moving the annual mid-summer exhibition to Denver’s Coors Field ‘without first protesting the substance of the law.’

‘Mr. Manfred failed to spell out specific criticisms of Georgia’s voting law,’ Vincent wrote. ‘Now he’s put himself in the awkward position of having to defend Colorado’s voting laws.’

Conservatives, including Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, have painted Manfred as an uninformed hypocrite over the decision, claiming that Colorado’s laws voting laws are similarly prohibitive.

‘Georgia has 17 days of in-person early voting including two optional Sundays, Colorado has 15,’ Kemp said. ‘So what I’m being told, they also have a photo ID requirement. So it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.’

Kemp was not entirely correct. Colorado does not require identification for mail-in voting, and although it does for first-time registrations, voters can use 16 different forms of ID.

Furthermore, Colorado Democrats are boasting about their mail-in voting system fo its accessibility. In November, for instance, there were more than 350 drop boxes for ballots and voters could track their votes, to see if they were accepted and counted, thanks to Colorado’s state-wide tracking system.   

Conservatives, including Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (pictured), have painted Manfred as an uninformed hypocrite over the decision, claiming that Colorado's laws voting laws are similarly prohibitive. 'Georgia has 17 days of in-person early voting including two optional Sundays, Colorado has 15,' Kemp said. 'So what I'm being told, they also have a photo ID requirement. So it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.' Kemp was not entirely correct. Colorado does not require identification for mail-in voting, and although it does for first-time registrations, voters can use 16 different forms of ID

Conservatives, including Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (pictured), have painted Manfred as an uninformed hypocrite over the decision, claiming that Colorado’s laws voting laws are similarly prohibitive. ‘Georgia has 17 days of in-person early voting including two optional Sundays, Colorado has 15,’ Kemp said. ‘So what I’m being told, they also have a photo ID requirement. So it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.’ Kemp was not entirely correct. Colorado does not require identification for mail-in voting, and although it does for first-time registrations, voters can use 16 different forms of ID

Ann White of Roswell holds protest signs on the North Wing stairs of the Georgia State Capitol building on day 38 of the legislative session in Atlanta

Ann White of Roswell holds protest signs on the North Wing stairs of the Georgia State Capitol building on day 38 of the legislative session in Atlanta

But Vincent’s criticism of Manfred’s decision goes deeper than just his understanding of Colorado voting laws.

According to the former Commissioner, who served from 1989 until 1992, the injured parties in this case will ‘be Atlanta’s stadium workers and local vendors.’

The All-Star Game is lucrative for host cities, generating an average of $84.4 million a year over the last decade, according to MLB data.

‘The midsummer All-Star Game is an exhibition that benefits only the city where it’s played,’ Vincent wrote. ‘The players will get paid no matter where the game takes place. MLB will get the same television revenue.’

Vincent also believes baseball needs to be bigger than any singular political issue.

‘During my time as commissioner, I learned that the American people view baseball as a public trust,’ he wrote. ‘They want the game to stand for the best and noblest of our national virtues. They see baseball as the repository of their dreams, even as they root for their favorite teams. They don’t want, and won’t accept, anything that separates them from the game’s history and leadership.

‘Major League Baseball can’t become a weapon in the culture wars, a hostage for one political party or ideology. It can’t be only for the rich or the poor, nor can it only be for one race, as it was until 1947. Baseball must always stand above politics and its dark elements of corruption, greed and sordid selfishness. It can’t go wrong by standing for national greatness.’

A truck bearing an ACLU message against the recently-passed Senate Bill 202 which was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp appears on a truck passing near the state capitol

A truck bearing an ACLU message against the recently-passed Senate Bill 202 which was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp appears on a truck passing near the state capitol

Vincent also accused Manfred of making the decision without consulting the players’ union or owners. 

‘To move the site of the All-Star Game is one thing; to ignore union and ownership powers is quite another,’ Vincent wrote. 

While Manfred was criticized for the decision by the Atlanta Braves, the host club, he did speak with executive director Tony Clark and other union leaders before making the decision, according to the league statement. 

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has received some support from former players, including Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson (pictured)

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has received some support from former players, including Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson (pictured)

However, there was no player vote on the matter. 

Manfred has received some support from former players, including Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson. 

‘The stand that Major League Baseball makes, to me, is very powerful and the first time that they’ve really stepped up since I can remember,’ Jackson told The New York Times. 

Retired Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass also weighed in, saying that former teammate, Hall of Famer, and civil rights figure Roberto Clemente would have supported Manfred’s decision. (Clemente died in a plane crash in December of 1972 while flying aboard a plane that was delivering supplies to Nicaragua following a devastating earthquake) 

‘I am a probably conservative, white, former baseball player that learned things that have become important to me by being in the presence of Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and a lot of those guys, and watching and admiring Henry Aaron, who embodied, I think, everything good in the game.

‘They took it, quite simply, because the people’s rights to vote were being challenged and/or threatened,’ the 78-year-old Blass said.

‘I’m proud to have been a member of Major League Baseball for taking that stance because it’s not the easiest one. There’s probably a lot of sponsorship money involved. But I’m glad. Roberto Clemente would have been glad, too.’ 

Pittsburgh teammates Roberto Clemente and Steve Blass after the Pirates won the World Series in 1971. Blass, now 78, told The New York Times that the late Clemente would have supported Manfred's decision to pull the All-Star Game from Atlanta over the voting law

Pittsburgh teammates Roberto Clemente and Steve Blass after the Pirates won the World Series in 1971. Blass, now 78, told The New York Times that the late Clemente would have supported Manfred’s decision to pull the All-Star Game from Atlanta over the voting law 

MLB had planned to honor Aaron at the All-Star Game in Atlanta following his recent passing in Georgia at age 86. According to Manfred, there are still plans to honor the Braves legend and MLB’s one-time home run king at this summer’s All-Star Game. 

And according to Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker - one of MLB's only two black managers - Braves legend Hank Aaron would have also supported Manfred's decision

And according to Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker – one of MLB’s only two black managers – Braves legend Hank Aaron would have also supported Manfred’s decision

And according to Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker – one of MLB’s only two black managers – Aaron would have also supported Manfred’s decision.  

‘I think it’s great the league is going to properly honor Hank Aaron, no matter where the game is played,’ Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker told MLB.com. 

‘My opinion is it’s a positive move by Major League Baseball to support voting rights. That was a pretty big and bold move by baseball, and I’m proud of the fact they stood by the voting rights of people. This is what Hank would have liked. Even though [the 2021 All-Star Game] was in his town, he always had the rights of the people in the forefront of his mind and his heart.’ 

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, MLB’s only other black manager, said he would have boycotted this year’s All-Star Game in Atlanta rather than leading the National League squad. 

‘In a world now where people want and need to be heard — in this particular case, people of color — for MLB to listen and do something about it, to be proactive, I think it just sets a tone from MLB to the players that we have to be in this together,’ Roberts said, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times. ‘It’s a great game, but for it to continue to flourish we have to be in it together, and this is a huge step toward that.’ 

Major League Baseball will honor Braves legend Hank Aaron at the All-Star Game in Denver

Major League Baseball will honor Braves legend Hank Aaron at the All-Star Game in Denver 

source: dailymail.co.uk