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Rob Manfred's net worth: MLB chief dubbed 'incompetent' for booting Ken Rosenthal

Ken Rosenthal is allegedly being booted for making comments about MLB commissioner Rob Manfred while he was writing for The Athletic back in 2020

Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal is leaving MLB Network. Reportedly, Rosenthal is being booted for making comments about MLB commissioner Rob Manfred while he was writing for The Athletic back in 2020. Rosenthal, a top news breaker, was kept off the air for around three months, but at the time he wrote the column, it went publicly unnoticed. 

Rosenthal took to Twitter on January 4 to announce his departure. "Can confirm MLB Network has decided not to bring me back. I’m grateful for the more than 12 years I spent there, and my enduring friendships with on-air personalities, producers and staff. I always strove to maintain my journalistic integrity, and my work reflects that," he wrote. 

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"Rob Manfred finally seems to be figuring out he has no choice: Strike a deal with the union and salvage the 2020 season, or ruin his legacy as commissioner of baseball," Rosenthal had written in 2020. "As if the perception that Manfred is beholden to owners and out of touch with players was not bad enough, he was trending on Twitter on Monday after performing a massive flip-flop."

"Granted, the commissioner is forever in a tricky spot, empowered to act in the best interests of the game, but employed by the owners. Still, how does Manfred in a span of five days go from telling ESPN the season “unequivocally” would take place to saying on the same network he was “not confident” it would happen?" he had written.

Rosenthal, who was still being paid, was put in a months-long penalty box. He did return for the trade deadline. The deadline was pushed to August 31 that season due to the pandemic. Rosenthal had regularly been on MLBN, even as late as on 'MLB Tonight' prior to Christmas this year. The 59-year-old remains at Fox Sports, and will also continue at The Athletic. 

Rob Manfred's net worth

American lawyer and business executive Rob Manfred reportedly has a net worth of $30 million. Manfred is known for serving as the 10th Commissioner of Major League Baseball. He has also served as the COO of MLB.

Manfred has been widely criticized on social media for booting Rosenthal over his past comments. "Rob Manfred is the dumbest and most incompetent commissioner in the history of organized sports. I genuinely don’t think he has ever done anything right. He has no spine, which is probably why he’s only 5’6. He is the worst thing to ever happen to baseball," one user commented. "Rob Manfred’s tenure has included: - Calling the World Series a “piece of metal” - Owners squeezing every conceivable dime in the middle of a pandemic - The first work stoppage since 1994 - Taking the best reporter in baseball off TV because he’s (rightly) critical," wrote another. 

"I hope Ken Rosenthal goes scorched earth and writes a Rob Manfred hit piece," one user wrote, while another commented, "My offer to fight Rob Manfred one on one at any 10,000-seater arena in these here United States AND CANADA live on pay-per-view will stand in perpetuity until he accepts". "does rob manfred know he’s universally hated and is just in denial about it or is he so unaware that he was genuinely shocked when a top baseball reporter criticized him," one user commented.

MLB Network has previously let go of personalities like Chris Rose and Eric Byrnes. “As MLB Network continues to look at fresh ways to bring baseball to our viewers, there is a natural turnover in our talent roster that takes place each year,” an MLB spokesman told New York Post. "Ken played a significant part at MLB Network over the last 13 years. From spring training to the winter meetings, we thank him for his work across MLB Network’s studio, game and event programming, and wish him the very best going forward.”