MLB commissioner Rob Manfred calls Royals’ Urban Youth Academy project a ‘model’ for other cities

Rob Manfred came to Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday to help present the Royals with their World Series rings.

Before the ceremony, Manfred said handing the World Series trophy to David Glass was one of the highlights of his first year as Major League Baseball’s commissioner. But there’s another baseball project in Kansas City on Manfred’s mind: the MLB Urban Youth Academy that’s being constructed in the 18th & Vine District.

“The Royals have really stepped up,” he said.

Royals catcher Sal Perez gave $1 million, Alex Gordon donated $750,000 and Chris Young also pledged money to the project, which will include four ballfields and educational space. The Royals will operate the academy.

“Kansas City’s a little microcosm of what we would like to achieve in respect to youth participation,” Manfred said. “It is baseball’s effort to make the game available in areas where kids otherwise might not have an opportunity to play.

“So if we can get 30 of them that look like the model we have going here in Kansas City, we would be in great shape.”

Lost in translation

The Royals are among a few major-league clubs who have yet to employ a full-time Spanish-language translator, which is a new MLB rule.

“We’re working with the teams to make sure that those who don’t, in fact, comply with the requirement,” Manfred said. “It’s important to give Spanish-speaking players, English is a second, not a comfortable language, in a position where they can comfortably communicate with the press.”

A Royals official said the process to hire a translator is ongoing.

Religious freedom

Manfred was asked about the “religious freedom” amendment being discussed in the Missouri legislature that some feel would allow for discrimination against the LGBT community. The Big 12 and NCAA have both said they are watching the issue in regards to hosting future events in the state.

Would such an amendment affect a future All-Star Game bid by the Royals?

“I don’t think this is an immediate issue for us,” Manfred said, noting the game has been scheduled through 2018.

“As a general proposition, we are an institution that favors inclusion, tolerance diversity and most of the time our business decisions reflect those fundamental values.”

New netting

Manfred said fan safety was the first concern but MLB also focused on “fan choice” when deciding to recommend that all clubs add additional netting at their stadiums

“I hope that we found the right balance,” he said, adding that he understands that for some fans the netting is an issue.

The Royals have added screens that extend from the backstop at a 45-degree angle to the end of each dugout.

Manfred says baseball wanted to “make more information available to fans so if they were concerned about the safety issues it would be easier for them to find locations where they were protected by netting.”

Plans for Cuba

Manfred said a short-term goal for baseball would be for Cuban players to sign and play for major-league teams without permanently leaving Cuba for the United States.

“We want to get out of the situation where players are forced to literally take risks to their lives to get out of Cuba to come here and play,” he said.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 5:07 PM with the headline "MLB commissioner Rob Manfred calls Royals’ Urban Youth Academy project a ‘model’ for other cities."