CHICAGO -- Commissioner Rob Manfred says baseball wants to study high-profile positions within the sport to see if certain qualifications predict success, a step that has everything to do with minority hiring.Baseball had no Latino managers before Rick Renteria took over the Chicago White Sox last month. Dusty Baker of the Washington Nationals and Dave Roberts from the Los Angeles Dodgers are the only black skippers among the leagues 30 teams.But there were 10 minority managers as recently as 2009, according to Richard Lapchick of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.Certain perceptions develop as to what people are looking for in particular positions and then people write stories saying, Oh, thats a problem on the minority front because, you know, maybe minorities are less likely to share these characteristics, Manfred said Thursday at the conclusion of two days of owners meetings.I think a first step in addressing those concerns is identifying which ones really matter and then you start to identify candidates who have all those qualifications and say, hey this may be the perfect guy for you and I have some science behind it in order to demonstrate that he is the best candidate, or she.Major League Baseball hired Korn Ferry last year in part to help top minority candidates in their interviews for positions in baseball operations. But Manfred said the search firm is going to focus on openings for individual clubs when its retained because of the potential for conflicts when it works for the central office and teams at the same time.When the White Sox announced Renterias promotion, they highlighted his ability to communicate in English and Spanish. But Manfred said there are all sorts of factors that could be considered.You could name probably 20 things off the top of your head, he said. The question is, once youve named them, do any of them really predict success on the field?While MLB briefed the owners on baseballs highly successful postseason and the upcoming World Baseball Classic, the ongoing labor talks with the players occupied a significant portion of the meetings at a downtown Chicago hotel, already decked out in its best Christmas decorations.The collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1. Negotiators for owners and players have been meeting since spring training.I remain optimistic that were going to make a deal, Manfred said. This process is not predictable in terms of time. I said there were certain natural deadlines out there. The beginning of the market was one and the expiration of the agreements another, and Im hopeful that were going to get a deal done before that latter deadline.Manfred declined to address any details from the bargaining sessions, but he said an international amateur draft remains on the table.Manfred also touched on several other fronts with the sport and the owners quarterly meetings:-The owners approved changes with the leadership structures in Oakland and Philadelphia, with John Fisher becoming the control person of the Athletics and John Middleton taking over the same position with the Phillies. The As announced that Lew Wolff will be transitioning from managing partner to chairman emeritus, and that he had agreed to sell most of his interest to the remaining owners.Fisher and Middleton each controlled the biggest stake in their specific teams before taking over their new roles.I think the ownership committee has a strong preference that the individuals who are either the largest or one of the largest equity owners in clubs be the individual who is the baseball control person, Manfred said.-Manfred also reacted to supermodel Kate Uptons online support of fiance Justin Verlander after the Detroit Tigers ace finished second to Bostons Rick Porcello in voting for the AL Cy Young Award. Verlander was left off the ballot by two voters, prompting a series of tweets by Upton that were widely circulated on social media.The particular content of the tweet Im not going to comment on, a chuckling Manfred said. I do think that engagement on social media by players and people close to players is important in todays world. I think that it brings attention to the sport at a point during the year when its our offseason and we have less going on.-The Cubs first World Series title since 1908 helped generate great ratings during the playoffs, and there is talk around the sport about how to build on the success from the postseason.Were not going to have the Cubs and 108 years every year, Manfred said. But I think there are lots of compelling baseball stories that can help us produce the kind of postseason popularity that we enjoyed this year.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Wholesale NBA Hoodies . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. 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Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez was unconditionally released by the New York Yankees on Saturday, ending his 12 years in pinstripes and perhaps his big league career after 22 seasons.New Yorks move leaves the team responsible for $27,103,825 remaining in his $275 million, 10-year contract. He is owed $7,103,825 of his $20 million salary for the final 65 days of this season and $20 million next year.The 41-year-old designated hitter went 1-for-4 with an RBI double in his finale Friday night, a 6-3 win over Tampa Bay. He hit .200 with nine homers and 31 RBI this season. He has 696 home runs, fourth on the career list behind Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714).Rodriguezs career batting average is at .295. A 14-time All-Star and three-time AL MVP, A-Rod has 3,115 hits and his 2,086 RBI are second to Aarons 2,297 since RBI became an official statistic.dddddddddddd He was suspended for the 2014 season for violations of baseballs drug agreement and labor contract.Rodriguezs finale was seen by a season-high 368,000 viewers on the Yankees YES Network, opposite the Olympics, a Mets-Padres game and the New York Giants NFL preseason game. In addition, the game also was televised nationally on Fox, and YES is no longer available on Comcast.Mariano Riveras farewell in 2013 was seen by an average of 258,000 viewers on YES and Derek Jeters in 2014 by an average of 1.25 million on YES, the most-viewed program ever on a regional sports network. 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