Ken Rosenthal out at MLB Network for criticizing commissioner

MLB Network has decided not to renew the contract of veteran reporter Ken Rosenthal, according to a report by Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.

Rosenthal on Monday confirmed the news on his Twitter feed, saying, "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. Nothing else is changing for me professionally. I am proud to remain part of the great teams at The Athletic and Fox Sports."

According to Marchand's report, Rosenthal is believed to be out because of criticisms he made of Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred during the summer of 2020. At the time, the league was trying to figure out a way to play a season at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a column for The Athletic, Rosenthal wrote that Manfred's legacy as commissioner was on the line, and he stated that Manfred was guilty of performing a "massive flip-flop" in the press.

In fact, Manfred was guilty of a massive flip-flop. One minute, the commissioner was saying the 2020 "unequivocally" would happen. Less than a week later, he said was "not confident" that there would be a season. Remember that flap? Manfred rightfully got roasted for it on Twitter.

That apparently didn't sit well in the league office, and Rosenthal was quietly kept off the MLB Network airwaves for three months, before returning at the belated Aug. 31 trade deadline during the 60-game, pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Now, about 18 months later, Rosenthal is out for good, and I don't think this will sit well with most baseball fans. Rosenthal is a fair and respected reporter, and his ouster paints the commissioner in a further bad light.

Is Manfred incapable of accepting criticism? Does he believe he should not have to answer difficult questions? Sure looks like Manfred's skin is a little thin, and that's not a good look. 

And it isn't as if Rosenthal is going to be silenced. As he noted on Twitter, he still has his jobs at The Athletic and Fox Sports. He's still got quite an audience, and even without the MLB Network gig, fans who want his take on the state of the game will know where to find him.