5 takeaways from Manfred's playoff press conference

Prior to Tuesday's postseason opener between the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to the media about myriad topics.

From an uptick in homers to minor-league player wages, Manfred answered every question asked to him.

Here are five important topics the commissioner addressed:

HR spike has nothing to do with the baseball

Manfred was asked why he thinks there's been a major spike in home runs this season. Last year, there were 4,908 total blasts, while this year there were 5,608, the most since the MLB record of 5,691 in 2000.

Look, we have tested the baseball. We are absolutely convinced that this issue is not driven by a difference in the baseball. My own view is that the spike is related to the way that the game is being played now, the way that we are training hitters from a very young age, and we have not been able to find any external cause that explains the spike in home runs.

September call up rules should be modified

Manfred said the game has changed over the years, and when he was asked about the issue of September call-ups, he said he thinks a restriction should be put on the number of players eligible each night.

I don't think 18 pitchers in a game is a good thing. I have been outspoken about the idea that our game has changed. It's changed significantly in recent years. We started in August in the process of thinking about how - broadly thinking about how we're playing the game on the field and whether the evolution that's taken place needs to be managed a little more carefully to make sure that we provide our fans with the most entertaining, action-packed, fast-paced product that we can put out there.

Hopeful new CBA will be agreed upon soon​

MLB's collective bargaining agreement expires in December, and Manfred hopes the two sides can strike a deal early. One of the urgent issues is the qualifying offer process, which gives teams a draft pick if a free agent signs elsewhere after rejecting the qualifying offer.

The truth of the matter is I don't know the answer to that. My hope would be that we would resolve the new agreement before the free agent market starts. There have been years - not this past agreement, but the one before - where we actually finished the deal during the World Series. I only remember that because it's the only World Series I've missed in the last 25 years. And the last time around in 2011, we actually extended a couple of deadlines in the free agent market in order to allow us to finish up. I do think that there's a natural deadline there. The idea of operating under the new agreement is an appealing one. So let's hope we do it again.

There won't be an MLB game in Cuba next spring

Manfred was asked if the league planned on returning to Cuba next year for an exhibition series. The commissioner said it's not expected to happen due to the World Baseball Classic.

We have not made any firm plans for returning to Cuba. We have a number - we have the WBC next spring. We'll have the Cuban national team playing in the WBC. I think it's somewhat unlikely that in the same spring period when we were doing the WBC, that we would go back to Cuba.

Keeping track of overtime pay in minors is "impractical"

Manfred was asked about the minor-league pay dispute about the low wages players receive. When asked about why he's opposed to players getting paid minimum wage, he said that's not the issue, it's keeping tabs on the extra hours that doesn't prove useful:

We're not opposed to paying minor league players any particular wage. What we are opposed to is the imposition of administrative requirements in terms of keeping track of hours and overtime. They're simply impractical in minor league baseball. A young man decides that he wants to take extra batting practice, is that overtime, or is that his voluntary undertaking? A young minor league player decides that he wants to go to the gym. Are those working hours, or are they not? Most buses when we're on the road, time clocks, what do you do with the team that's on the road for ten days in terms of keeping track of hours?

(Quotes courtesy: ASAP Sports)