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1. Rob Manfred

A protégé of Hall of Fame Commissioner Bud Selig, Manfred has shown a radically different approach in his two years as baseball’s chief executive. While Selig was painfully slow adopting change, awaiting strong consensus among owners, Manfred is quick to make change. He is showing a strong willingness for innovation and a burning desire is to speed up the pace of play, marketing it to youth without damaging its fabric of being a timeless sport, or offending baseball’s conservative and traditional fan base.

2. Dan Halem

Halem is Manfred’s right-hand man, performing all of Manfred’s duties before he became commissioner. A brilliant man, he’s the point person on all of the labor, economic and legal fronts, and was the driving force on the new collective bargaining agreement and baseball’s Biogenesis drug investigation. He widely is viewed as Manfred’s successor if he stays in baseball.

3. Tony Petitti

Petitti is the creative force in Manfred’s inner circle in baseball’s hierarchy as the chief operating officer. Petitti, the former executive vice president of CBS sports, created and developed the Major League Baseball Network. He also is the catalyst behind baseball’s vision of speeding up the pace of the game to engage younger fans and the viewing audience.

4. Bill DeWitt

Dewitt has been CEO of the Cardinals since 1996, but has risen to considerable power under Rob Manfred, and is Manfred’s closest ally in ownership circles. He is a former chairman of the executive council and also a former chairman of the Commissioner’s succession committee that helped elect Manfred. Manfred, in fact, may not have been elected commissioner without DeWitt’s strong influence. He succeeds Jerry Reinsdorf as the most powerful owner in the game.

5. Scott Boras

Still – and probably always – the uber agent. Boras Corporation enjoyed $132.3 million in commissions last year, according to Forbes, and even as some of its legacy players retire – Mark Teixeira, Prince Fielder and others – the client list remains deep, relevant and lucrative. Bryce Harper will hit the market in two years; Kris Bryant may surpass whatever Harper fetches come 2021. Players love Boras for getting top dollar; ownership and front offices have no choice but to respect his clout, passion and knowledge of the industry and game.

6. Bob Bowman

The longtime president and CEO of MLB’s uber-successful advanced media wing, Bowman has helped the league generate billions in income thanks in large part to a successful – if sometimes frustratingly territorial – online video product that governs and profits off all the sport’s streaming broadcast packages and highlights. Since the 2015 implementation of Statcast in all 30 MLB parks, MLBAM now tracks an overwhelming amount of raw on-field data to be synthesized by its teams, its broadcasts, and its team of in-house analysts.

7. Tony Clark

Executive director, players association. Clark, now in his fourth season as head of the union, is the first former major leaguer to hold that position. In December he and MLB officials negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement that extends through the 2021 season and increases the minimum player salary to $535,000 this year. The MLBPA has long been regarded as the strongest union in major pro sports, and baseball remains the only one among them without a salary cap.

8. Terry McGuirk

The Braves’ CEO since 2001, McGuirk a powerful voice among baseball executives, while also having the ear of Manfred. The former Turner broadcasting executive maneuvered the stunning deal that led the Braves to move from downtown Atlanta to $672 million SunTrust Park, with a surrounding $452 million mixed-use development, without it being publicly known before an announcement.

9. Casey Close

He helped keep Derek Jeter’s name out of blaring headlines for the better part of two decades, and now Close is making his own name by controlling much of the ever-lucrative pitching market. Close changed the game – at least for a while – by negotiating opt-out clauses into deals for Zack Greinke, Masahiro Tanaka and Clayton Kershaw. Greinke already cashed in, to the tune of a new $206.5 million deal after the 2015 season. Tanaka and Kershaw are up next the next two winters. The low-key approach combined with lucrative results will ensure blue-chip players arrive in the Excel Sports Management stable.

10. Rob McGlarry

President of MLB network, reporting directly to Bob Bowman. McGlarry, an executive at the network since it launched in 2009, has played an instrumental role in negotiating MLB’s broadcasting agreements since arriving in 2003.

11. Bryce Harper

He’s supposedly second to Kris Bryant in fan recognition and likability among active major leaguers, but Harper’s relevance can’t be denied. He cast himself as the unofficial torch bearer for the expressive, occasionally brash young ballplayer with his “Make Baseball Fun Again” exhortation. The rare athlete who lived up to and perhaps exceeded the significant hype preceding him, Harper was an MVP by 22, and now boasts endorsements for almost every significant MLB corporate partner: Gatorade, T-Mobile and Under Armour, to name a few. After the 2018 season, it’s almost certain he will set a new standard for biggest contract. D.C.? New York? L.A.? Soon, it will be Harper making that call.

12. Kevin Plank

Under Armour inked a deal in December that will have the sportswear company supplying Major League Baseball’s uniforms beginning in 2020. The company’s logo is set to feature on the front of jerseys once they take over, rather than the tiny logo on a sleeve as we have become accustomed to. MLB fan apparel has become a big part of Under Armour’s business, challenging Nike’s long-standing dominance. Under Armour also sponsors Clayton Kershaw and Bryce Harper, two of the most high-profile stars in the game.

13. Eric Shanks

He’s the co-president and COO of the powerful Fox Sports Media Group, Major League Baseball’s largest broadcast rights holder, which annually produces the World Series. He has been only the third president of the company at the age of 38, believed to be the youngest leader of a broadcast network sports division.

14. Joe Torre

The Hall of Fame manager and former star player brings and on-field and dugout perspective to his job as chief baseball officer, the main connection between the commissioner’s office and the teams and umpires in matters related to the playing of the game. Torre oversees discipline for on-field actions and has been involved in the implementation of instant replay and pace-of-play rules.

15. Tom Ricketts

The Ricketts family owns the Cubs, and Tom is the chairman of a board of directors that also includes siblings Pete, Laura and Todd. Under the Ricketts’ ownership, the Cubs have embarked on a $550 million renovation of Wrigley Field and its surroundings that is still ongoing. The product on the field has also been upgraded, as confirmed by last year’s World Series championship – the franchise’s first since 1908. In the pipeline: A possible Cubs TV network.

16. Theo Epstein

When you build potential dynasties in Boston and Chicago, and break century-long “curses” for the Red Sox and Cubs, it puts you in a different stratosphere, even in an ra where front-office executives are idolized to an extent. Epstein, president of baseball operations for the Cubs, has broken even further away from the pack of genius GMs, building not just a champion but, by all appearances, a perennial powerhouse in Wrigleyville. Ricketts gave him a reported $50 million deal to stick around; then-President Obama suggested he run the Democratic National Committee, an East Room joke that had more than a shred of truth to it. Still just 43, Epstein and his trusted lieutenants will almost assuredly keep the Cubs humming, but the baseball industry – and beyond – can’t help but ponder his next move.

17. Brian Seeley

Seeley is MLB’s top investigative cop and a former assistant U.S. attorney. He has a prosecutor’s mindset and a rich legal background. In 2014, he led the investigative unit that exposed the Biogenesis doping scandal -- one of the most extensive drug investigations in sports history -- that resulted in 14 player suspensions.

18. Hal Steinbrenner

For a few years after George Steinbrenner ceded control of the Yankees to his sons in 2008, it appeared the brash and outspoken Hank Steinbrenner might carry on the family’s tradition of hands-on, front-facing, controversy-courting ownership. But Hal Steinbrenner, by reputation the far more reserved brother, seems instead to be guiding the club toward an unlikely pragmatism now culminating in the club’s fruitful youth movement. The new-look Yankees seem primed to foster a core of good young players apt to complement whatever big fish they inevitably lure in free agency in the coming offseasons, all while still raking in significant revenue from the YES Network.

19. Mark Walter

Los Angeles Dodgers owner. Walter, a Chicago financier, and his investment group bought the Dodgers for a record $2.15 billion in 2012, then parlayed that purchase into a $8.3 billion TV contract. The Dodgers finished second in Walter’s first year as owner and have won four consecutive NL West crowns since then, though they’re still seeking their first World Series appearance since 1988.

20. Jerry Reinsdorf

Reinsdorf, who owns the Chicago White Sox and Bulls, is one of only three men who have owned sports franchises that won championships in multiple sports. Reinsdorf, who has owned the White Sox since 1981, was former Commissioner Bud Selig’s closest ally and easily the most powerful owner in the sport during Selig’s reign. He still wields considerable power among owners, but his attempt to have someone else succeed Selig instead of Manfred failed.

21. John Henry

The 67-year-old investor is the principal owner of the group that purchased the Boston Red Sox in 2002, two years before the team ended its celebrated “Curse of the Bambino” by winning the World Series for the first time since 1918. Since then, the Red Sox have won twice more and are ranked third on Forbes’ list of the most valuable franchises – with a value in 2016 of $2.3 billion. Henry’s reach also extends to the media that cover the Red Sox. His Fenway Sports Group owns 80% of the New England Sports Network (NESN), which broadcasts Red Sox games. He also owns The Boston Globe.

22. Derek Jeter

Long the face of baseball and a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, the telegenic former Yankee shortstop still carries a lot of weight in the sport. His online media outlet, The Players’ Tribune, offers baseball's biggest stars a direct means of communication with fans that extends far beyond social-media character limits. And Jeter, who earned $265 million in salary across his career plus millions more in endorsements, may soon make his long-held dreams of ownership come true, as he’s reportedly part of an ownership group vying to purchase the Miami Marlins.

23. John Skipper

President, ESPN. Skipper greenlighted the current eight-year, $5.6 billion deal with MLB that extends both sides’ partnership through 2021. Though ESPN televises three games a week during the regular season, the network has become a minor presence in the postseason, with rights only to one of the wild-card games. As ESPN feels the financial strain of cord-cutting, its relationship with baseball in future years will bear watching.

24. Stuart Sternberg

He owns one of MLB’s smaller fish – the Tampa Bay Rays – and voted against the most recent collective bargaining agreement, calling it a missed opportunity “to address the extraordinary and widening competitive gap that exists on-field between higher and lower revenue clubs.” But the Rays’ stadium situation is untenable, everyone knows it and the franchise, while not a free agent, has a greater potential for mobility than any other. Tampa Bay? St. Petersburg? Montreal? The first two are far more likely, but the twists in their venue saga bear watching as 2027 – when their lease at Tropicana Field expires – approaches.

25. James Andrews

The foremost authority in the elbow-reconstruction procedure known as Tommy John surgery, Andrews has extended the careers of hundreds of pitchers. He would like to prevent at least that many from requiring the operation. Andrews has spoken out about the dangers of overusing youth pitchers and co-authored a set of guidelines known as Pitch Smart to help them avoid injuries.

26. Larry Baer

Baer was one of the key figures in keeping the San Francisco Giants from moving to Tampa Bay in the early 1990s and in getting their privately financed ballpark built; he has since ascended to CEO. The club’s current streak of 489 sellouts is the majors’ longest. The Giants have won three World Series under Baer’s stewardship while becoming innovators in areas such as ticket pricing and player rest.

27. Andrew Friedman

The Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations since 2014, Friedman first rose to prominence in baseball when he was named the Tampa Bay Rays general manager in 2005 at age 28. His analytic approach turned the perennial losers into a playoff team for the first time in franchise history when they reached the World Series in 2008. With the Dodgers, he has assembled what could be described as an all-star front office that includes former MLB GMs Josh Byrnes (San Diego) and Farhan Zaidi (Oakland). Friedman now has big-city dollars to mix with his baseball savvy: For the past three seasons, the Dodgers have had baseball’s largest payroll.

28. Jeffrey Loria

Five years after opening a stadium made possible by strong-arming area taxpayers, the Miami Marlins owner is now hard at work on a multi-billion dollar exit strategy: Selling the club. Numerous bidders have reportedly emerged for the club, including names such as Derek Jeter and the Kushner family. Loria had a huge hand in baseball’s exit from Montreal and solidifying the Marlins’ future in South Florida. Now, he’ll hold all the cards in determining who will steer the franchise in the future.

29. Billy Bean

Still one of only two former MLB players to publicly come out as gay, Bean now serves as the league’s Ambassador for Inclusion. In that role, Bean tours clubhouses every year to engage with players in the hopes of fostering environments more accepting than those he confronted during his playing days in the late 1980s. Bean’s visits have come with some controversy – most notably when then-Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy said he “disagree(s) with the (gay) lifestyle” during spring training in 2015 – but Bean persists in shepherding the league into the 21st century. The results are already evident, as the club has outlawed cross-dressing as a rookie hazing ritual.

30. Jane Forbes Clark

Hall of Fame chairman. The granddaughter of Hall of Fame founder Stephen C. Clark, she’s a major mover and shaker in Cooperstown, N.Y., which swells to several times its size every year at the end of July for the induction ceremonies. She also serves as a liaison between the Hall and the players who return yearly to welcome new inductees.

31. Bill James

The impact of James as a baseball writer, historian and statistician cannot be overstated in the game we know today. He was the first to use what’s now known as “sabermetrics” (a term he coined from the Society for American Baseball Research’s acronym) as a new way of looking at and measuring the game – often in direct opposition to conventional wisdom at the time. His annual self-published Baseball Abstract spawned a new generation of analytically minded sportswriters. He is currently a Senior Baseball Operations Advisor for the Boston Red Sox, a position he’s held since 2002.

32. David Ortiz

Even in retirement, Big Papi remains an influential figure. Ortiz still appears in national TV commercials and he’s revered by both American and Latin players, especially those from his native Dominican Republic. He’s baseball’s quintessential ambassador, and he has the commissioner’s ear.

33. Mark Shapiro

Shapiro, president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays, is one of the most powerful disciples of Atlanta Braves vice president John Schuerholz. He was a fixture in the Cleveland Indians organization for 24 years, and groomed such GMs and executives as Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff of Cleveland, Ross Atkins of Toronto, Neal Huntington of Pittsburgh, Derek Falvey of Minnesota, David Stearns of Milwaukee and Mike Hazen of Arizona. He has been so instrumental in the hiring of new GMs that MLB cut ties with search firm Korn Ferry.

34. Mike Trout

The best player in baseball by far, Trout enters his sixth full big-league season with two MVP awards, five All-Star nods and countless statistical accomplishments on his resume, but a bafflingly low Q rating only partly explained by the Angels’ middling performances in 2015 and 2016. At this point, Trout’s stature as an on-field great is so certain and so widely recognized throughout the sport that he could easily generate headlines with even the mildest of opinions, but Trout, for now, seems content to just be incredibly good at baseball.

35. Brodie Van Wagenen

Sports management with a side of glitz. Van Wagenen, co-head of Creative Artists Agency’s baseball division, teamed with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation for two years, during which he negotiated a $240 million contract for Robinson Cano with the Seattle Mariners. He also managed to fetch, over the course of two off-seasons, $137.5 million for Yoenis Cespedes despite an iffy market for the slugger after the 2015 season. And he’s also the man who deftly brought you Tim Tebow, baseball player.

36. Fred Wilpon

Wilpon’s involvement in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and ensuing financial crisis made the Mets a laughingstock in the early part of this decade. Things have calmed down since and the team is winning, thanks in large part to the Wilpons’ patience with general manager Sandy Alderson. Fans still call for Wilpon’s ousting, but he has done all the right things in recent years and the Mets are now dominating back pages in New York for the right reasons.

37. Neal ElAttrache

The team doctor for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Rams is known as the orthopedic surgeon to the stars, having operated on the likes of Kobe Bryant and Zack Greinke, as well as actors Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger (the last two on the same day). ElAttrache is also an expert on Tommy John surgery.

38. Kris Bryant

Perhaps the most prominent and most promising young star on a Cubs roster chock full of them, the bright-eyed Bryant represents a rare Northside player who has only known success: The Cubs won 97 games in Bryant’s first big-league season in 2015 then, you may have heard, won 103 games and the World Series in his sophomore year. With teammate Anthony Rizzo, he forms half of a formidable and marketable set of middle-of-order sluggers known to adoring Cubs fans as “Bryzzo.” Off the diamond, his matinee-idol looks are on display as a pitchman for Express.

39. Clayton Kershaw

Baseball’s highest-paid player at $33 million a season, Kershaw is a three-time Cy Young Award winner and generally regarded as the game’s top pitcher. Kershaw, 29, can opt out of his seven-year, $215 million contract after next season, setting up the possibility of a bidding war for his services.

40. Kim Ng

The highest-ranking woman in baseball, Ng, as senior VP of baseball operations, oversees MLB’s international operations. Ng was an assistant general manager with the Yankees and Dodgers and interviewed for the Los Angeles GM post before joining the MLB office in 2011. Her name has surfaced in connection with other GM jobs, but so far no female has been hired for such a post.

41. Bud Selig

Selig, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer, perhaps was the most powerful commissioner in baseball history. He led baseball into its golden era where revenues are expected to exceed $10 billion. He’s the Commissioner Emeritus for three more years, and still has a powerful voice among long-time owners. Manfred, who was Selig’s protégé, does not have daily interaction with him, but utilizes Selig’s strengths when needing support from certain ownership factions.

42. David Levy

At the end of the 2012 season, Levy, president of Turner Broadcasting System, brokered an eight-year TV deal with MLB that, combined with deals with ESPN and Fox, will deliver a combined $12.4 billion. Turner will retain exclusive rights to one League Championship Series each year.

43. Joe Garagiola Jr.

The long title - MLB senior VP of standards and on-field operations - mostly means Garagiola, son of the late player and broadcaster of the same name, hands out discipline for on-field incidents. Garagiola served as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ general manager from 1997-2005.

44. John Fisher

Fisher, the son of The Gap founders, has been the Oakland Athletics’ majority owner since 2005, but he remained on the background until replacing Lew Wolff as managing partner in November. With the NFL’s Raiders headed to Las Vegas, the A’s appear primed to finally get a new stadium in Oakland.

45. Gary Green

Green, a clinical professor at UCLA, is Major League Baseball’s medical director. He has been the chief consultant to MLB on anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs since 2003, and helped shape baseball’s powerful drug-testing program.

46. Andy MacPhail

He laid the foundation for the Baltimore Orioles’ current success – Adam Jones, Manny Machado and Buck Showalter all bear his fingerprints – and now holds a ton of cards in Philadelphia, where he’s president of baseball operations. The Phillies have just $28 million committed beyond 2018, when perhaps the greatest free agent class in baseball history hits the market. Their payday from a 25-year, $2.5 billion local TV contract will rise every year. Translation: The Phillies will be ready to strike, and soon.

47. Shohei Otani

By changing the rules governing international signees in the new collective bargaining agreement, MLB and the MLBPA likely cost the league a couple of years’ worth of the services of one of the sport’s most fascinating players. Japan’s best starting pitcher and one of its top sluggers as a part-time DH, Otani considered entering the American ranks out of high school but signed with Nippon Ham of the NPB when the club promised him the opportunity to be a two-way player. Unless MLB creates some form of loophole in the CBA, its fans might not see Otani before the 2020 season. The ankle injury that kept him out of the 2017 WBC also kept Otani off the mound for the start of the NPB season, but he opened the campaign by going 10-for-20 with four doubles and two homers as a designated hitter. When he does come to the USA, the bidding war for his services – and how the winning team may deploy him – will be fascinating.

48. Ted Lerner

As the Nationals’ owner, Lerner is going to be in the spotlight as Bryce Harper’s free agency approaches. The organization has recently committed $385 million for Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, but will Lerner foot the bill for Harper’s sure-to-be mega deal? He has already been the benefactor of four $100 million+ contracts since 2010.

49. Sean Forman

The founder of Baseball-Reference.com, the most complete source of baseball statistics on the Internet. MLB executives, as well as writers, broadcasters and fans rely heavily on the database Forman – and his company Sports Reference -- has collected and maintained since 2000. One of the site’s major contributions to the sabermetric revolution is its efforts to roll all of a player’s contributions into a single, quantifiable number: Wins Above Replacement (WAR).

50. Pedro Martinez

The second Dominican elected to the Hall of Fame, Martinez has remained a visible presence in the game as an analyst for TBS and the MLB Network and as special assistant for the Boston Red Sox. He also released an autobiography in 2015, the year he entered the Hall. Martinez is the pitching version of David Ortiz, a widely admired figure in the U.S. and Latin America.

Gallery: Most powerful people in MLB

51. Ken Rosenthal

Known to the general public as the insightful but unassuming bow-tied dugout reporter and interviewer for Fox’s MLB broadcasts, Rosenthal doubles as a deadly accurate and accountable must-follow source for inside-baseball scoops and trends. Nicknamed “Robothal” in some circles for his tireless and comprehensive reporting, especially before the trade deadline and during the winter meetings, Rosenthal smoothly negotiates the contemporary media landscape across multiple platforms despite output that reflects a dogged pursuit of information.

52. Jeff Idelson

President Baseball Hall of Fame. Idelson oversees daily operations of a museum attended by about 300,000 visitors a year and gathers memorabilia to add to the shrine’s collection. Idelson represents the Hall at international events and maintains close contact with players who have been inducted.

53. Joe West

‘Country Joe’ is the president of the World Umpires Association. He spent 39 seasons as an umpire, in which he umpired six Word Series and two All-Star Games. In 2014, West helped negotiate a five year labor agreement with the league and get the largest umpiring contract in baseball history.

54. Jim Crane

Crane, one of baseball’s newest owners as chairman of the Houston Astros, quickly is gaining power and influence. He purchased the Astros for $680 million in 2011, and agreed to move his team to the American League in 2013. The franchise now is worth in excess of $2 billion while becoming a power in the American League.

55. Manny Machado

There’s a case to be made that the Orioles infielder is already the best player in the game. The 24-year-old infielder is a once-in-a-generation talent, and should go toe-to-toe with Harper for the biggest contracts in MLB history when they are both free agents after the 2018 season. Machado may not currently have the name recognition of Trout and Harper, but that’s going to change as rumors begin to swirl ahead of his free agency.

56. Brian Cashman

Closing in on 20 years as general manager of the New York Yankees, Cashman’s influence continues to grow years after gaining greater autonomy from Tampa-based forces in the organization. Under his watch, the Yankees have won seven American League pennants and five World Series titles, and thanks to his maneuvers last year, are positioned to combine young, cheap talent with big-money acquisitions.

57. Jerry Ford

Perfect Game USA began as a small outfit in Iowa designed to provide exposure to baseball players in an area not traditionally mined for prospects. Two decades later, Ford’s local project has ballooned into a multi-million dollar national powerhouse. Its year-round travel ball events are a must-stop for scouts and collegiate evaluators – and for parents hungry for their kids to get drafted or receive scholarships. Perfect Game estimated that 37 2015 major league All-Stars were alums of its events; its influence figures to grow, although it has received criticism for perpetuating the year-round travel ball culture that might possibly compromise the health of pitching arms.

58. Joe Maddon

Maddon is so highly regarded that the Cubs hired him after the 2014 season when their managerial job wasn’t even vacant. He’s quirky and unconventional, doing things as a manager that the rest of the league ends up trying to imitate. Aside from leading the Cubs to their first World Series in 108 years, he turned the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays into a perennial in the late 2000s. His glasses are by far the most recognizable feature among managers and the way he commands a microphone is unrivaled.

59. Tony Reagins

Reagins, the former GM of the Los Angeles Angels, is the leader of MLB’s entire youth program as MLB’s senior vice president. The role is vitally importantly to Manfred’s challenge of luring youngsters back to the game, particularly within minority groups, where only 7% of opening-day rosters are comprised of African-Americans.

60. Cal Ripken

A deity in the state of Maryland for decades, Ripken has become even more influential in the sport since retiring in 2001. The 56-year-old is president and CEO of Ripken Baseball, which seeks to promote baseball at a grassroots level organization through tournaments and camps. Ripken has called postseason games on TBS for the last four years and features on the studio show as well. He has purchased three minor league teams including the Aberdeen IronBirds, who he relocated from Utica to play at Ripken Stadium, now a landmark overlooking I-95 in northern Maryland.

61. Pat O’Conner

President of the minor leagues, O’Conner has spent 33 years in professional baseball, including the last 23 years in the minors. The minor leagues have never been more profitable under his reign, drawing 42 million fans in 2014 and 2015, while garnering unprecedented attention to its prospects.

62. David Appelman

The creator of Fangraphs, a website that not only features player and team statistics, but analytical articles and charts as well. The writing at Fangraphs has not gone unnoticed by MLB front offices looking to add more analytically minded and data-driven viewpoints to their decision-making process as a number of the site’s former writers have been hired by MLB teams.

63. David Ross

How does a 40-year-old retired former backup catcher become one of baseball’s most well-known ambassadors? Ross won World Series rings with the Red Sox in 2013 and the Cubs in 2016 and developed a reputation as one of baseball’s most respected clubhouse leaders during his tenure in the league, but Ross made his biggest star turn when he became the first baseball player to compete on Dancing With The Stars. He’ll remain involved with the Cubs as a special assistant in 2017, and will also serve as an on-air analyst at ESPN this season. A book and a movie are forthcoming, along with an influential future in the sport seemingly of his choosing.

64. Peter Angelos

Twelve years after the Washington Nationals moved to his backyard, the Baltimore Orioles owner still holds many of the cards in the region, thanks to an ongoing dispute regarding revenue distribution of the TV network that both clubs jointly own and operate. How deep is the enmity? The Washington Post reported that when the Orioles decided to trade a struggling Jake Arrieta in 2013, the club refused to entertain offers from the Nationals.

65. David Dombrowski

Dombrowski has over 35 years as an executive in baseball and has been the general manager or vice president of baseball operations for four different franchises – the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers and currently the Boston Red Sox. Dombrowski, who built the 1997 Marlins that won the World Series, is powerful in brokering deals and not afraid of the players he gives up – and now has more potent financial resources than ever in Boston.

66. Jason Robins

The CEO of Boston-based DraftKings, one of the two major daily fantasy sports companies in the USA. Since 2015, DraftKings has had an exclusive sponsorship as the official daily fantasy game of MLB and as an official partner with 27 of the 30 MLB teams. DraftKings and its chief rival FanDuel (which have reached an agreement to merge in late 2017) have a major impact on the way MLB fans watch the game. And as fantasy sports and gambling become less taboo in the eyes of the four major sports leagues, its influence only figures to increase.

67. David Beirne

Beirne is a co-founder of Fantex, an investing platform that sells shares in "tracking stocks" tied to pro athletes. The rising company has lured several major leaguers to invest in the athlete stock exchange, which pays the athlete a one-time fee and in return gets a percentage stake in all of his future earnings.

68. Bob Tewksbary

Hitting’s aerial revolution is in full swing, and Tewksbary is perhaps its most significant leader. A former minor leaguer turned hitting coach in New Hampshire, Tewksbary rode to prominence thanks to his work with Josh Donaldson, who went from fringe major leaguer to All-Star and MVP after adopting Tewksbary’s principles of movement. Now, a gaggle of major leaguers come to him in Florida every winter, and it’s as much players like Matt Joyce – who solidified a flagging career after working with Tewksbary – who give him and other coaches in this space their influence.

69. Ken Williams

Williams, along with Michael Hill of the Miami Marlins, is the highest-ranking African-American team executive in baseball. The Chicago White Sox executive vice president became only the second African-American GM to win a World Series when the White Sox won their first World Series since 1917 in 2005. He has tremendous influence in baseball’s African-American community.

70. Sandy Alderson

A high-ranking baseball executive for more than three decades now, Alderson mentored Billy Beane in Oakland long before he took over the Mets' helm in 2010. Now 69, Alderson has pulled the New York franchise out of its Madoff-complicated rebuilding phase while collecting and developing a deep arsenal of fireballing starting pitchers. During his time working in the MLB commissioner's office from 1998 to 2005, Alderson helped the league combat the corruption that riddled the amateur free-agent process in the Dominican Republic.

71. Jessica Mendoza

The Sunday Night Baseball platform is a powerful one, and manning it in a groundbreaking fashion will only boost Mendoza’s profile. The first woman to serve as a permanent lead analyst on a national baseball broadcast, Mendoza’s influence will rise as a generation grows up on her voice, and as MLB continues to nurture women and girls as fans. It also doesn’t hurt that she’s excellent at her job, fluent in the modern mechanics and metrics that continue to re-shape the game.

72. Nigel Eccles

The CEO of FanDuel, the largest daily fantasy sports site in the USA. FanDuel and DraftKings have a combined 5 million users.

73: Rachel Robinson

Robinson is the matriarch of the Civil Rights Movement, the wife of the late Jackie Robinson. Robinson, 94, is revered throughout the industry, and really, the world. She founded the instrumental Jackie Robinson foundation, which has reached over 22 million students and 2.9 million educators. Their daughter, Sharon, is now the educational consultant for MLB.

74. Ron Fowler

Fowler, co-owner of the San Diego Padres, emerged as a power broker in MLB when Fowler was appointed by Manfred to be chairman of the labor committee during their collective bargaining agreement. He also was selected in January to baseball’s executive council. He quickly has become entrenched as one of Manfred’s most trusted owners.

75. Scott Cutler

As president of StubHub, Cutler and his group have a significant impact on how tickets are sold, distributed and – perhaps most notably – re-sold. StubHub has an exclusive deal as MLB’s secondary-market seller, and also has arrangements with a significant number of individual clubs. In 2016, StubHub reached a reported $100 million deal with the New York Yankees, who had opted out of the original deal with MLB.

76. Joe Buck

The Fox Sports broadcaster, 47, has called more World Series (18) and All-Star Games (17) on TV than any play-by-play announcer in history. He succeeded his father, Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck, as the television voice of the St. Louis Cardinals before moving to Fox full-time. Perhaps more than any other broadcaster, Buck’s presence at any MLB event signifies it’s an important one.

77. Randy Marsh

Marsh, a longtime ump now serving as the league’s director of umpires, must guide the sport’s officials through challenges unknown to their predecessors, brought upon by the explosion of technology. The ever-evolving replay review process, facilitated and necessitated by widespread use of high-definition slow-motion replay, draws attention to the performance of an umpiring corps that typically makes a goal out of remaining unnoticed. Now Marsh faces a small but growing call for computers to replace humans in calling balls and strikes – the long-awaited “robot umps” – precipitated, certainly, by the ubiquity of pitch-tracking graphics on MLB broadcasts.

78. Albert Pujols

A three-time MVP with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pujols is midway through a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels that should afford him the chance to chase some hallowed milestones. Pujols, 37, is nine home runs short of reaching 600 for his career. Though slowed by age and injuries in recent years, Pujols hit a combined 71 homers the last two seasons.

79. John Mozeliak

The man behind baseball's most consistently competitive roster, Mozeliak is in his 10th full season as the Cardinals' GM and looking for his tenth winning club in that span. One of his former aides, Jeff Luhnow, now runs the Houston Astros. Another, Chris Correa, is now banned for life from baseball for hacking the Houston Astros.

80. Buck Showalter

Always a respected baseball man, Showalter has reignited his influence by deftly managing the Baltimore Orioles to three postseason berths in the past five seasons. Working closely with GM Dan Duquette on roster machinations, Showalter is well-equipped to take on almost any job in baseball operations. He figures to be in high demand when his contract in Baltimore expires after 2018.

81. Buster Olney

Another two-platform powerhouse, Olney is the Peter Gammons of the digital era, with a consistent presence on ESPN and a prolific output of influential online content.

82. Tom Tango

Pseudonym of the co-author of a groundbreaking 2007 sabermetric work, The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball, the enigmatic Tango has maintained his own sabermetric website and served as a consultant for several major league teams. In 2016, MLB Advanced Media hired him to help develop new ways of measuring and calculating data using its new Statcast technology. Among his most recently created Statcast metrics: barreled ball and defensive catch probability rates.

83. Billy Beane

He’ll never be forgotten as the revolutionary who shook baseball evaluation and front office management to its core. Yet his loyalty to the Oakland A’s has ensured he wields less clout than those who followed in his footsteps, such as the Dodgers’ Friedman. Still, with an ownership stake in the club and an enduring name recognition to casual fans thanks to Moneyball, Beane will always remain relevant.

84. Lucas Herscovici

Vice president of consumer connections for Anheuser-Busch InBev, maker of Budweiser and its line of beers. Herscovici’s name may not resonate with fans, but the company he represents certainly does. Herscovici oversees A-B InBev’s sports-sponsorship deals, including the one with MLB, a longtime partner which ensures Bud’s products and logo are in the background of every clubhouse celebration.

85. Alex Rodriguez

The 41-year-old has the highest career earnings of any player in history, totaling more than $400 million on salary alone and is back in America’s good graces following his PED suspension in 2014. Since retiring last season, Rodriguez has become a fixture on Fox’s studio shows, and is already one of the more influential baseball pundits. A-Rod serves as a special instructor for the Yankees and is going to get a lot of credit for helping the organization’s promising young hitters. His new relationship with Jennifer Lopez is once again increasing his brand awareness outside of baseball.

86. Arte Moreno

Los Angeles Angels owner: Moreno purchased the then-Anaheim Angels in 2003 and changed their name to expand their appeal. Moreno has spent aggressively on players and has been rewarded with attendance totals of more than 3 million every year since he arrived. After reaching the playoffs five times in Moreno’s first seven seasons, the Angels have gotten there once in seven years.

87. Justine Siegal

The first woman to serve as a coach for a major league team, Siegal helms Baseball For All, a non-profit that aims to expand girls’ participation in baseball. In 2015, Siegal spent two weeks as a coach at the Oakland Athletics’ instructional league. Next week, Major League Baseball will host its first girls’ baseball tournament in conjunction with Jackie Robinson Day in Los Angeles, featuring a large group of Baseball for All alums. As MLB aims to nurture growth among youth players, Siegal will be a key figure in tapping into the girls’ market.

88. Max Scherzer

He has money - $215 million coming to him through 2021 – talent, smarts and charisma. Scherzer, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, remains one of the game’s most dominant pitchers and brighter mound minds. He was also excellent in postseason work for Fox Sports and has served on various MLB advisory committees.

89. Terry Francona

A two-time World Series-winning manager in Boston, and now a pennant-winning skipper in Cleveland. Francona’s wizardry in guiding the pitching-thin Indians to Game 7 of the World Series reminded the baseball world he’s one of its great minds and charismatic leaders.

90. Mike Rizzo

Five seasons after the controversial decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg in early September and hold the ace out of the postseason, the Nationals' president and GM can boast a strong working relationship with super agent Scott Boras -- who represents Nats stars like Strasburg, Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer -- and the type of budget necessary to pursue Boras' marquee players in free agency. The seven-year, $175 million extension Strasburg signed with Washington last season bucked a trend of big-name Boras clients eschewing extensions for free agency, and fuels some hope Rizzo and the Nats can do something similar for Harper.

91. Giancarlo Stanton

If only his body would stop betraying him, Stanton would be much higher on this list. The home run remains baseball’s sexiest currency, and in the Statcast era, it is Stanton who clouts the sport’s mightiest shots. Not afraid to expose himself – be it participating in the Home Run Derby or posing in ESPN The Magazine’s Body issue – Stanton also has a $325 million contract. And he can opt out of that contract after the 2020 season.

92. Sheldon Adelson

What does the Las Vegas casino magnate have to do with baseball? Well, nothing at the moment. But the NFL and NHL’s Vegas entries only prove what Commissioner Rob Manfred said in February: Las Vegas is a “viable” market. While perhaps only the Tampa Bay Rays might eventually be viewed as a possible relocation candidate, Manfred has not shied away from expansion talk. And the road to Vegas often runs through Adelson, who has a net worth of $32.2 billion and was poised to finance the Raiders’ new stadium there.

93. Barry Bonds

Baseball’s all-time home run leader has become a far more likable public figure since his playing days ended. Baseball as a whole is warming up to Bonds as he rebuilds his legacy after the BALCO scandal. Considered a Hall of Fame longshot not long ago, Bonds’ stock is rising, getting 53.8% of the vote this year – still well short of the required 75%, but way up from the 34.7% he received in 2014. Bonds was the Marlins’ hitting coach in 2016, and quietly works with hitters of all stripes.

94. John Schuerholz

Schuerholz, the Atlanta Braves vice chairman who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer, is considered one of the greatest baseball executives in baseball history. He led the Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves to World Series titles. He was perhaps the most influential leader among team executives during former Commissioner Bud Selig’s watch, and still is on several of Manfred’s committees.

95. Jeff Kearney

As head of Gatorade’s U.S. sports marketing, Kearney heads a division that is integral in determining which players will extend their brand through the popular sports drink. For now, it’s Bryce Harper on Gatorade’s Mount Rushmore with the likes of Serena Williams, Cam Newton and Lionel Messi.

96. Miguel Cabrera

A surefire Hall of Famer if he stopped playing today, Cabrera has won two MVP awards and four batting titles. In 2012 he became the first player since 1967 to claim the Triple Crown of hitting, leading the league in batting average, home runs and RBI. Cabrera, who turns 34 April 18, is in the second season of an eight-year, $240 million extension.

97. John Smoltz

The Hall of Fame pitcher has become Fox’s lead analyst alongside play-by-play man Joe Buck – arguably the most high-profile national baseball job –throughout the postseason and World Series. Smoltz’s philanthropic work in the Atlanta area is highly-regarded and his name was floated around in the past as a possible candidate for Congress.

98. Carlos Correa

Houston Astros shortstop. The 2015 AL rookie of the year is at or near the top of a recent wave of standout shortstops in the majors, and the youngest at 22. In 2016 Correa signed a five-year endorsement deal with Adidas for an undisclosed amount estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars. Widely regarded as one of the emerging faces of the game, Correa won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2021 season.

99. Dennis Gilbert

Gilbert, formerly as powerful an agent as Scott Boras, switched to the ownership side after retiring as an agent now is a special assistant for Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. He founded the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation in 2002 and holds an annual fund-raiser that has raised in excess of $2 million. His insurance firm also is used by many major league clubs to insure multi-year contracts of their highest-paid players.

100. Libby Schaaf

As Oakland’s mayor, Schaaf stood up to the NFL, refusing to let the Raiders extort the city out of millions of dollars in stadium subsidies a second time. Mindful that the A’s represent 81 home dates compared to the Raiders’ 10 (including exhibitions), Schaaf made sure they stayed in town. The Raiders’ announced departure for Las Vegas will leave the A’s as Oakland’s only major sports franchise, and they may finally get their new ballpark.

Capsules by Ted Berg, Scott Boeck, Steve Gardner, Gabe Lacques, Bob Nightengale, Jorge L. Ortiz, Jesse Yomtov