Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. issued the following statement yesterday:

“Over the past two days, players on a number of Clubs have decided not to play games.  I have said both publicly and privately that I respect those decisions and support the need to address social injustice.  I have not attempted in any way to prevent players from expressing themselves by not playing, nor have I suggested any alternative form of protest to any Club personnel or any player.  Any suggestion to the contrary is wrong.”