Rob Manfred: 154-game season is possible

Less than one month into his tenure as commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rob Manfred instituted changes designed to hasten the game's pace of play.

The newly appointed commissioner remarked Monday that he'd be open to shortening the season, as well.

"I don't think length of season is a topic that can't ever be discussed," Manfred told ESPN's Darren Rovell. "I don't think it would be impossible to go back to 154 (games)."

Manfred, however, noted that amending the length of the season is not among his priorities, while any change to the schedule would have to be approved by the players' union. 

Though baseball used a 154-game schedule for years, the American League adopted the 162-game schedule in 1961 before the National League followed suit one year later.

"We already have some of our record books which reflect a 154-game season and obviously some of it reflects a 162-game season," Manfred said. "So there's some natural flexibility there. But if anyone suggests to go to something like 110 games, then there's a real problem. That will throw all our numbers out of whack."