O?ice of the Commissioner
MAJOR. LEAGUE BASEBALL

 

 

 

ROBERT D. MANFRED, JR.
ofBaseha?

May 26, 2016

Humbercrest Public School
Mme Stevens? Class

14 St. Marks Road

York, Ontario

M65 2H7

Canada

Dear Students:

I received your thoughtful letter dated May 18"1 regarding the unfortunate incidents in the Sunday, May 15th Blue Jays-Rangers
game and wanted to ensure that you received a response.

i appreciate your view of this issue, and echo your premise that some of the behavior demonstrated in the game was wrong
and deserving of serious consequences. Mr. Odor?s seven-game suspension, following his appeal, was the longest that a
position player has received for an on-field altercation in more than three years. in that context, I believe that our office acted
appropriately. it is our firm expectation that we will not see a repeat of such unacceptable actions again. While competition
sometimes spurs challenging emotions and heated situations, it is a responsibility of our players and on-field personnel to rise
above such circumstances and carry themselves with dignity and professionalism. When they fall short of that standard 
which was certainly the case in the situation that prompted your letter we hoid them accountable.

We are fortunate to have a great game, with countless players who set strong examples for young fans like you. At its very
best, baseball imparts important values like sportsmanship, teamwork and determination, all of which have meaningful
applications beyond the diamond. i truly believe that our sport stands for those qualities in the vast majority of its 2,430 games
each regular season.

On behalf of Major League Baseball, 1 thank you for taking the time to write to me and wish all of you the very best in school

and in your future endeavors. i hope that you will be great fans of our sport throughout your life.

Sincerely,



Robert D. Manfred, Jr.
Commissioner of Baseball

245 Park Avenue New York, NY 10167
(212) 951-7811 Fax: (212) 949?8654