"Rob Manfred is a f**king doofus" - Fans split on MLB commissioner's bold plans to expand the league

Since he started serving as commissioner in 2015, Rob Manfred attempted to make several changes to MLB. As a result, the executive has remained a controversial figure for the entirety of his tenure.

Manfred discussed on Monday one of his propositions for the future, saying that "geographical realignment" may be a possibility if MLB's expansion plans go smoothly.

"Rob Manfred said during last night's Little League Classic that he is interested in expansion and geographical realignment for MLB." FOX Sports: MLB tweeted.

Fans reacted to the news, and many voiced their disapproval.

"Rob Manfred is a f**king doofus," a fan commented.

"Rob Manfred also sucks at his job," one fan wrote.

"Hell no!" another fan wrote.

However, others were interested to see Manfred's plans take shape.

"Geographic alignment makes sense, especially if they expand. It would create better regional rivalries," a fan said.

"Yes - would be good for baseball to have Cali teams in one division. Have NY/east coast teams in another," another fan said.

"I’ve been asking for this for 20 years. Proximity is the greatest fuel for rivalries. Eliminate the Wild Cards with 8 divisions. Small markets increase their chance of winning divisions. East vs. West guarantees interest in the WS," one fan wrote.

How would MLB look if Rob Manfred's plans were to be implemented?

If MLB gets its wish and two more teams join the big leagues, the NL and AL could be changed. Replacing them would be the Eastern and Western Conferences, like in the NBA.

FOX Sports MLB Insider Ryan Gaydos predicted on Monday how "divisions" might look in the future.

The Eastern Conference would be divided into four divisions: East, North, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

East Division: Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies

North Division: Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays

Mid-Atlantic Division : Baltimore Orioles, expansion team, Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals

Southeast Division: Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, expansion team and Tampa Bay Rays

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred - Source: Getty

For the Western Conference, the Midwest, Southwest, Pacific Coast and West divisions would make up the four groups.

Midwest Division: Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins

Southwest Division: Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers

Pacific Coast Division: Colorado Rockies, Athletics, Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants

West Division: Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.

About the author

Raghav Mehta is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda awaiting results for a Bachelor's in Journalism from Delhi University. He enjoys highlighting the key battles between players at different stages of the game and analyzing the decisive moments upon which they hinge.

One of Raghav's favorite moments, which underscores this, was the Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout clash in the 2023 WBC, where two of baseball's best players faced off against each other in the 9th inning. With the score 3-2 to Japan, Shohei eventually got the strikeout, which was absolute cinema.

Raghav is a Baltimore Orioles fan and is enjoying watching such an exciting young team compete at the top in a very competitive division.

Raghav has loved watching sports for as long as he can remember and realized he was pretty decent at writing his thoughts down at around the age of 14. Combining the two meant he had something he would enjoy doing every day, and he had identified that well before going to college.

Aside from work, Raghav enjoys playing sports, working out and watching movies.

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Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez