VENICE, Fla. — Rob Manfred made a startling admission while announcing the end of baseball’s bitter labor battle last week: He’s failed in his role as a diplomat to players.

The acknowledgement was stunning enough that famously polite Atlanta Braves starter Charlie Morton nearly laughed when told about it.

“The commissioner said that?” Morton asked.

Indeed, he did. And it prompts a thornier question: What can Manfred do to prove he’s sincere about mending this rancorous marriage?

“One of the things that I’m supposed to do is promote a good relationship with our players,” Manfred said Thursday, after the end of baseball’s 99-day lockout. “I’ve tried to do that. I think that I have not been successful in that.”

It’s perhaps the one point on which Manfred and players agree.

“To just put it bluntly, he doesn’t do anything for us,” St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright said. “I know how that’s going to read, so Commissioner Manfred, don’t take it personal. That’s just how it looks from a players’ standpoint.”

It may be hard for fans scarred by labor strife to remember, but player relations was once Manfred’s specialty. He was elected commissioner by Major League Baseball’s 30 owners in 2014 partly because of his record of maintaining labor peace over more than a decade as the league’s lead negotiator.

Cracks quickly emerged in that foundation. The sport’s collective bargaining agreement negotiated in 2016 prompted a slowdown in free agency. A mysterious change to the baseballs spurred a spike in home runs. Astros players evaded punishment after stealing signs en route to a 2017 World Series title, and in defending his investigation, Manfred referred to the championship trophy as a “piece of metal.” He apologized days later.

A clash over the terms of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season fully fractured the relationship. A work stoppage became inevitable, and the sides agreed to end this winter’s lockout just in time to preserve a 162-game regular season.

Players have some ideas on where Manfred can improve — starting with the way he speaks publicly, especially about the game.

“Maybe just all the comments and stuff,” Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow offered. “I’d say there was a lot of anger towards, like, the ‘piece of metal.’ There are small things like that.”

“I don’t think the Lombardi Trophy is a joke to anyone, or whatever they call the NBA trophy, or the Stanley Cup,” Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier said. “That’s not a joke to those guys. I don’t hear their commissioners saying stuff like that.”

Just two weeks ago, Manfred riled up players and fans by joking and laughing with reporters at a news conference to announce the cancellation of opening day due to the lockout.

“We didn’t get a deal done two weeks ago, and he’s like kind of laughing or smiling,” Kiermaier said. “I didn’t think anything was funny or comical about what happened.”

“I think for me it’s just more positivity toward the game and players, and that’s really it,” said New York Yankees reliever Zack Britton, a member of the players’ association’s executive subcommittee.

Some players were encouraged by Manfred’s admission, which accompanied vow to prioritize strengthening the bond between management and players. Manfred said he’d use small steps to begin the healing process.