All the ways Rob Manfred ruined the 2026 MLB Draft before mispronouncing the No. 1 pick

From UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky going No. 1 to the Miami Marlins landing top prep shortstop Jacob Lombard far later than expected, the 2026 MLB Draft had plenty of early winners. 

Commissioner Rob Manfred was not among them. Saturday’s first round featured nonstop embarrassment for Manfred, NBC, and the league itself. It was a stunning display that had the draft capturing the wrong sort of attention on social media.

So, where did things go wrong? Let’s start at the top of the draft, and we mean that in more ways than one. 

Rob Manfred and the 2026 MLB Draft had a day to forget

What does it say about the rest of the North American sports landscape that Manfred is arguably the second-best commissioner behind Roger Goodell? Adam Silver has let the players run the NBA for nearly a decade, and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is essentially irrelevant. 

And the less said about the WNBA’s Cathy Engelbert, the better. My Jack Russell could do a better job as commissioner. At least Winnie wouldn’t flake out on Dan Patrick. 

That’s what made the various miscues in Saturday’s draft so shocking. Look, live events often have a hitch or minor incident that nonetheless goes viral. You’ll often see speakers, typically guests or contest winners, incorrectly pronounce late-round NFL draft picks’ names.

Manfred has to have known for weeks, if not months, that Cholowsky would go within the first five picks. Botching the No. 1 pick’s name isn’t just egregious, but it only adds to the accusations that Manfred doesn’t really care about, or even understand, the sport. 

It’s one thing if you or I can’t pronounce Cholowsky’s name. We’re not the commissioner speaking to a nationally televised audience. 

MLB Draft broadcast schedule was nonsense

Sticking with the broadcast, who came up with the idea that NBC would only air the first 10 picks? All we’ve heard for years is that the league wants the draft to become a more noteworthy event. But if you don’t have MLB Network, you’re out of luck. Imagine ABC and ESPN only airing the first 16 NFL Draft picks before the rest of the draft moved exclusively to NFL Network?

I’ve had YouTube TV for nearly four years, and we lost MLB Network in 2023. For all of our sakes, let’s hope next year sees a more standard draft broadcast. The first round should always be on an easily accessible network. 

And how about the 40-minute wait between the draft beginning and the No. 1 pick? No one expected Manfred to call Cholowsky’s name at 1:05 p.m. ET, but the pick should have been announced by 1:20 at the latest. Goodell announced this past draft's No. 1 pick less than 15 minutes into the event. The NBA did so not even 20 minutes after opening the draft. What are we doing here?

In fairness to Manfred, the extended wait isn’t solely on his shoulders. The longer that the league waited to begin the draft, the more advertisements NBC could run without needing to pause every few minutes. Money makes the world go round, even if it comes at the cost (pun not intended) of our patience. 

Assuming that a potential lockout doesn’t impact the 2027 MLB Draft, Manfred and NBC must do much better. Otherwise, the draft will be what it always is: background noise or something you find updates about while scrolling social media. 

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