Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. presents the Commissioner's Trophy to the ... [+]
There is a rule of thumb in crisis management that when an organization’s leader generates more bad press than the original crisis there is only one logical path: the leader must go.
So, it has come with Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball’s commissioner. His missteps in the handling of the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing saga are a roiling case study of what not to do. The result is an absolute revolt. Threats of violence by players against other players. Fans making death threats against players and their families. Players publicly tearing into the commissioner. The news media feasting on one misstep after another.
Instead of each day getting closer to healing, the wound seems to get ripped open wider.
Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the legendary, iron-fisted baseball commissioner charged with cleaning up after the 1919 “Black Sox” scandal, must be spinning in fury and frustration.
This isn’t a “call” for Manfred’s removal. It is an analysis of the situation in line with management crises that happen in many businesses. (See Boeing for one of the latest.)
Those who follow crisis response point often to an infamous quote a decade ago by Tony Hayward, who was CEO of energy giant BP at the time of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. After 11 people had died and oil continued to gush into the Gulf, Hayward tried to sound empathetic.
“We're sorry for the massive disruption it's caused their lives,” he said. “There's no one who wants this over more than I do. I would like my life back."
While there was pressure on Hayward before, his statement became the point of no return. It was seen as callous and self-centered. Calls for his ouster erupted immediately. Hayward tried to apologize, saying his comment was “hurtful and thoughtless.” Two months later, Hayward was out as BP’s CEO.
Manfred’s “Hayward moment” may have come last Sunday during an interview on ESPN.
Manfred was asked why he didn’t strip the Astros of their 2017 World Series title and take back the trophy because of their cheating that season.
“The idea of an asterisk or asking for a piece of metal back seems like a futile act,” Manfred said. “People will always know something was different about the 2017 season.”
A “piece of metal.” This is how Manfred referred to what is called the Commissioner’s Trophy, the one he presents personally to the world champions. The ultimate symbol of success and sacrifice in the sport.
Two days later, Manfred did his “Hayward apology.”
“In an effort to make a rhetorical point I referred to the World Series trophy in a disrespectful way," Manfred said. "It was a mistake to say what I said.”
The response from the players was predictable.
For example, the Dodgers’ Justin Turner told the online publication The Athletic, “The only thing devaluing it right now is the fact that it says ‘Commissioner’ on it. It’s just unbelievable. Is he that out of touch with our game, that those are his comments?”
Other players have called Manfred “a joke” and “anti-player.”
That Manfred was not better prepared to answer a predictable question at this point in the crisis speaks volumes.
The New York Times published a story online today saying Manfred cut short his annual trip to spring training this week to organize a call with owners and hold an all-hands meeting with the league office. In the writer’ words, Manfred “knew he had a crisis on his hands.” An understatement.
According to the Times, Manfred spent the week trying to rally his bosses – the 30 major league owners – and his staff. After previously pleading he was powerless to discipline Astros’ players for their actions, he said it was time to clean up a “culture of cheating” in baseball. A culture that apparently has been in place during his five-year tenure as commissioner but he is just now addressing.
Things are not likely to get better for Manfred and Major League Baseball anytime soon. A report on similar allegations against the Boston Red Sox during the 2018 season is due out in a few weeks.
Manfred’s continued presence as commissioner will only prolong the story. If he stays on, imagine what it will be like when it is time to present his “piece of metal” to this year’s champions.
To mix sports metaphors, the ball in now firmly in the team owners’ court.
