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Rob Manfred says MLB wants to be 'apolitical.' But that's just not possible in 2021

HOUSTON – On the first day of the World Series, commissioner Rob Manfred said of Major League Baseball, “We always have tried to be apolitical.”

First of all, that is demonstrably untrue. The league has a Supreme Court-granted antitrust exemption. MLB funds politicians through a PAC, and team owners contribute through their personal wealth. And yet still taxpayers subsidize stadiums. The league spent millions lobbying Congress for legal protection to underpay its minor leaguers, resulting in a provision in a spending bill signed by President Donald Trump. And when it suspended political contributions in the wake of the Jan.