This week marks the four words that signal the unofficial start of spring: “Pitchers and catchers report.” But with Republicans taking control of the House of Representatives last month, they should be accompanied this year by four other words: “Gentlemen, start your subpoenas.”
Over the latter part of this week, pitchers and catchers will head southward, as training camp opens for each of the 30 Major League Baseball clubs. (The rest of the teams’ rosters will report early next week.) But after MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred sided with partisan Democrats and moved the 2021 All-Star Game away from Atlanta over Georgia’s voting law, Republican lawmakers should ensure that he will spend March 30 — baseball’s Opening Day — testifying before them about his actions two years ago.
Manfred Buckled Under Political Pressure
During the opening week of the 2021 baseball season, Manfred announced that MLB was moving the All-Star Game and the professional draft away from Georgia over the voting law the state had recently passed. The move came one day after Biden said he “strongly supported” moving the Midsummer Classic over the law, which he called “Jim Crow on steroids.”
The article on MLB’s website discussing the decision to move the game specifically quoted Biden’s statements attacking the Georgia law, along with praise from athletes like LeBron James and Magic Johnson (part owners of MLB clubs). It did not include any statements from supporters of the Georgia measure. It also claimed without evidence that the “law includes a number
