Top 3 candidates who could potentially replace Rob Manfred as the MLB Commissioner in 2029 ft. Noah Garden

Rob Manfred announced on Thursday that he will vacate his position as the MLB commissioner in 2029. The 65-year-old was elected on August 14, 2014, as the 10th Commissioner of Baseball after edging out Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner. He replaced then-commissioner Bud Selig, who served the post for 23 years.

Manfred broke the news in front of the press at the Grapefruit League Media Day in Tampa. The commissioner told the media, "You can only have so much fun in one lifetime," as he was discussing his plan to step down in five years.

With Manfred's quite surprising announcement, we'll now take a look at his possible replacements in 2029.

1) Noah Garden

Garden presently serves as the league's Deputy Commissioner of Business and Media. He oversees the game's overseas and global operations, which include broadcasting, business and media development, global consumer items, global alliances, and sports betting.

The alumnus of Northeastern University reports to Manfred. With the current focus of the league on global expansion, after the popularity gained from the World Baseball Classic last year, Garden appears to be a strong candidate for the highest position in baseball.

2) Dan Halem

Halem is MLB's Deputy Commissioner, Baseball Administration and Chief Legal Officer and has been at the helm since 2017. The Harvard Law School graduate is in charge of labor relations, human resources, and the legal affairs of the league.

If the league wants a reliable person to negotiate collective agreements between the owners and the players, then Halem is the perfect candidate for the job.

3) Chris Marinak

Currently holding the position of Chief Operations & Strategy Officer, Marinak is in charge of the league's media product that reaches audiences. The University of Virginia alumnus manages MLB.COM, MLB.TV, and the applications relating to Major League Baseball's streaming services.

With a transition from conventional television to handheld and online streaming, the potential will be limitless if Marinak takes charge of the league.

Rob Manfred's MLB journey

Robert Dean Manfred Jr. was born on September 28, 1965, in Rome, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1980 and from Harvard Law School in 1983.

A lawyer by trade Rob Manfred initially worked with the MLB in 1987 in collective bargaining. He took his first full-time post in the league in 1998, when he was named Executive Vice President of Economics and League Affairs.

Manfred became Chief Operating Officer of the league in 2013 after then-commissioner Bud Selig named him as the successor to Bob DuPuy. It didn't take long for him to assume the highest executive rank in baseball when he was elected in 2014 as the commissioner and was sworn into the role on January 25, 2015.