Commissioner Rob Manfred's big announcement for MLB
Less than a week away from the season opening, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has an exciting announcement for the sport.
Manfred is moving the league away from tradition to incorporate the latest technology -- the iPad Pro -- into all 30 Major League dugouts and bullpens.
"Now we will have available for people in the dugout iPad pros that will contain a variety of types of info that are used to make decisions on the game," Manfred said. "We think the technology will make that decision faster and better."
Manfred hopes the first-ever integration of technology on the field - instant replay and streaming -- would play a huge role in his effort to ensure that "baseball is passed on to the next generation."
Rob Manfred completed his first year in January as the game's tenth commissioner, replacing Bud Selig. But in his short time as commisioner, he's witnessed major, historic events, from watching the Kansas City Royals win their first World Series in 30 years to an MLB exhibition game in Cuba between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba's national team.
Although current restrictions do not allow for the movement of Cuban players, Manfred told "CBS This Morning" Wednesday that he hopes the exhibition is "the beginning of us getting to a change in the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba and that allows Cuban players to come here and return home freely".
"Cuba is a place where baseball is part of the culture and those are markets that we like and we hope to develop that market as a place where MLB can be played on a regular basis," Manfred said.
Manfred has also had to make what he called one of the most "difficult decisions" in not reinstating slugger Pete Rose, who was banned from the league for gambling. Even now, he said he still has people asking him to overturn his decision.
"Whether he gets into the Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame issue and the Hall of Fame is independent from MLB," Manfred said. "The issue in front of me was whether I felt comfortable with the idea that Pete Rose could work in the game and potentially impact the integrity of the play on the field."
Manfred said when he spoke to Rose, he admitted that he still had not quit gambling.
"So I think that he would have to demonstrate to me that he dealt with whatever issues that he has with respect to gambling and can stay away from those types of behaviors that caused his problems," Manfred said.