We asked AI to predict who will be the next MLB Commissioner after Rob Manfred steps down in 2029 (& its pick may surprise you)

On Thursday, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced his intentions of stepping down from the position at the end of his current term. The 65-year-old surprised the baseball universe with the announcement, which received mixed responses from MLB fans on social media.

"Rob Manfred confirmed today that he plans to retire as @MLB commissioner at the conclusion of his current term, which ends Jan. 25, 2029. @MLBNetwork" - @jonmorosi

While there are still several years remaining before Rob Manfred is no longer the commissioner, fans and experts have already begun to ask who will take over the position. A number of names have been floated out, and while there will undoubtedly be rumors until a successor is named, there is no guarantee who will step into the position.

In order to make the best educated guess about who will be named the next MLB commissioner, we turned to the artificial intelligence program Gemini. The artificial intelligence program takes many of the biases that some may have out of the equation, giving the best possible answer.

Gemini believes there are 3 potential options to replace Rob Manfred

Before diving into the three names that Gemini mentioned as potential Manfred replacements, it must be noted that the artificial intelligence program how difficult it is to predict something that will occur five years from now. It also mentioned that its predictions are based on available information and that the next MLB commissioner could be determined by a confidential committee.

A.I. program believes that there are a number of potential suitors to be the next MLB Commissioner

One of the people that Gemini believes could replace Manfred is the MLB's current Deputy Commissioner and Chief Legal Officer Dan Halem. Gemini believes that his experience within the organization, as well as his legal background, make him a suitable candidate.

The program also believes that former and current team executives could be seen as suitable replacements. Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics and Theo Epstein of the Chicago Cubs are two of the names that the artificial intelligence program believes could be legitimate replacements.

Of course, Gemini did not rule out that a surprise candidate could emerge in a similar fashion as Bud Selig did in 1998. The program believes that it could be someone with experience in industries outside of baseball, which makes the replacement difficult to predict.