This is a list not of the 50 best players in MLB — Rob Manfred is not a better baseball player than José Ramirez — but, rather, of the top 50 people set to influence the 2024 MLB season. At least for this exercise, think of these folks as the characters in your favorite TV show, not numbers on a box score.
The criteria is subjective and the ordering imperfect, but the pudding is in the process. On this list are All-Stars, prospects and players you’ve maybe never heard of — not to mention owners, agents, managers, one former interpreter and three guys named Jackson.