CSN Bay Area

Rob Manfred officially took over for Bud Selig as Major League Baseball's commissioner on Sunday morning.

He wasted no time in making a controversial statement.

In an ESPN interview, Manfred made it clear he would be very open to eliminating defensive shifts, which would prevent teams from moving multiple infielders to one side of second base.

"I really like Rob Manfred," Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow told KNBR 680-AM on Monday morning. "He's a really bright guy and I think he's a tremendous choice to take the reigns from Bud Selig ... but when you're coming out in the very first interview and you drop this, I'm thinking, 'Rob. Rob. No. Rob. You're losing credibility, Rob. Rob, not the shift thing, keep that quiet, just go away.' I think he made a big mistake. It was bad. The shift is very cool..."

In 2014, baseball averaged 8.14 runs scored per game, the lowest mark since 1981.

Banning a team's ability to shift its defense would theoretically lead to more offense, a common theme across many sports in today's day and age.

"I think he spoke too soon," Krukow's broadcast partner Duane Kuiper told KNBR 680-AM on Tuesday morning. "I don't think he (Manfred) talked to Joe Torre. I don't think he talked to Frank Robinson. I don't think he mentioned it to any of the baseball people. I can't guarantee you this, but I'm pretty sure that they would say, 'You know what. I don't think that's a place you ought to go to right off the bat.'

"The overshift, as far as I'm concerned, now is part of the fun of the game. Does it take away hits from people? Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it does. But that's all part of adjusting and you got to figure it out ... we are seeing more and more of it, and I think fans now get it, they watch it, and they want to see if it's gonna work."