Manfred says big Oakland turnout doesn’t change ‘decade worth of inaction’

By KEN MAGUIRE
AP Sports Writer

LONDON (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says that one big turnout by Oakland Athletics fans doesn’t change “a decade worth of inaction,” as he defended earlier comments about the “reverse boycott” held in protest of the team’s proposed move to Las Vegas. Manfred claims he was taken out of context when he had sarcastically applauded the 27,759 A’s fans for amounting to “almost an average Major League Baseball crowd” last Tuesday in a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at the Coliseum. The commissioner spoke Friday at a press conference before a weekend series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs. Nevada has approved $380 million in public financing for a ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip.