Major League Baseball Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred will replace Bud Selig as commissioner of the sport in January 2015.After several votes by MLB owners Thursday, some of which became contentious, Manfred was chosen unanimously over Boston Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner

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Manfred, 55, was groomed by Selig to succeed him, coming aboard full-time as MLB executive vice president in 1998.

During his tenure, Manfred was in charge of labor relations. He managed to avoid any work stoppage by the players' union, which nearly crippled the game late in the 1994 season. 

Selig, 80, has run baseball since 1992 when he became acting commissioner following the ouster of Faye Vincent.

The former owner of the Milwaukee Brewers became full-time commissioner in 1998, overseeing MLB's growth as a $8 billion-a-year industry amid various scandals, including the wide use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs by some of the game's biggest stars.

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