Bud Selig

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Bud Selig
Born July 30, 1934
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Education American History and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 1956.
Occupation Commissioner of Major League Baseball
Employers Major League Baseball
Term 1992 — present
Website
MLB Bio

Allan Huber "Bud" Selig, Jr. (born July 30, 1934 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is the Commissioner of Major League Baseball and has served in that capacity since 1992, though not formally until 1998.[1] Selig oversaw baseball through the 1994 strike, the introduction of the wild card, interleague play, and the merging of the National and American leagues under the Office of the Commissioner. He was instrumental in organizing the World Baseball Classic in 2006.[1] Selig also introduced revenue sharing.[2] He is credited for the financial turnaround of baseball during his tenure with a 400 percent increase in the revenue of MLB and annual record breaking attendance.[1] Selig enjoys a high level of support from baseball owners.[3][2] Baseball historian Jerome Holtzman notes Selig as the best commissioner in baseball history.[2]

Selig was also Commissioner of Baseball during the Steroids Era. The Mitchell Report, which was conducted at the request of Commissioner Selig, concluded that the MLB Commissioners, club officials, the Players Association, and the players all share "to some extent in the responsibility for the steroid era."[4] The results of the Mitchell Report have caused some to call for Selig to step down as commissioner.[1] Selig has pledged on numerous occasions to rid baseball of performance enhancing drugs, and has overseen and instituted many rule changes and penalties to that effect. [5]

Selig was previously the team owner and team president of the Milwaukee Brewers. As a Milwaukee native, he is credited for keeping baseball in Milwaukee. In 1970, he purchased the Seattle Pilots and renamed them the Milwaukee Brewers after a minor league team he had watched in his youth. The Brewers went to the 1982 World Series and won seven organization of the year awards during his tenure. Selig remains a resident of Milwaukee.

On January 17, 2008, Selig's contract was extended by the MLB through 2012, at which point he plans to retire.[6] Selig made $14.5 million in the 12-month period ending Oct. 31, 2005.[1]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Selig graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 1956 with degrees in political science and history.[7] He served 2 years in the armed forces before working with his father who owned a car leasing business in Milwaukee.[7] Selig continues to be involved in the automotive industry, serving as president of the Selig Executive Lease Company.[7]

As a young man, Selig watched the Milwaukee Brewers, a minor-league affiliate of the Chicago Cubs of the National League, unrelated to the current incarnation of the Milwaukee Brewers. Bud soon became a Braves fan when the National League franchise moved to his home town of Milwaukee from Boston in 1953. Selig became the team's largest public stockholder. Selig was heartbroken and devastated when he learned that the Braves were going to leave Milwaukee in favor of Atlanta. In 1965, when the Braves left Milwaukee, he divested his stock in the team.

[edit] Milwaukee Brewers owner

See also: Milwaukee Braves

As a minority owner of the Milwaukee Braves, Selig founded the organization Teams, Inc, in an attempt to prevent the majority owners (based out of Chicago) from moving the club to a larger television market. This was challenged legally on the basis that no prior team relocations (in the modern era) left a city without a team. Prior movements had all originated in cities which were home to two teams. When his quest to keep the team in Milwaukee finally failed after the 1965 season, he changed the group's name to Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club, Inc., after the minor league baseball team he grew up watching, and devoted himself to returning Major League Baseball to Milwaukee.

Selig arranged for major league games to be played at the now-vacant Milwaukee County Stadium. The first, a pre-season match between the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins, drew more than 51,000 spectators. Selig followed this up by hosting nine White Sox regular-season games in 1968 and eleven in 1969. Oddly enough, one of the series played in Milwaukee that year was against the expansion Seattle Pilots, the team that would become the Brewers. Those Milwaukee "home" games were phenomenally successful, with the handful of games accounting for about one-third of total White Sox home attendance. Clearly, Milwaukee was hungry for baseball.

To satisfy that fanbase, Selig decided to purchase the White Sox (with the intention of moving them to Milwaukee) in 1969. He entered into an agreement to buy the club, but the American League vetoed the sale, preferring to keep an American League team in Chicago to compete with the crosstown Cubs. Selig turned his attention to other franchises.

In 1970, he purchased the bankrupt Seattle Pilots franchise, moving them to his hometown and officially renaming the team the Brewers.

During Selig's tenure as club president, the Brewers appeared in the 1982 World Series (under the leadership of future Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Paul Molitor) but have failed to make another appearance in the postseason since. Under Selig's watch, the Brewers also won seven Organization of the Year awards. Selig was part of owner's collusion in 1985-1987, resulting in the owners paying $280 million in damages to the players.

Upon his assumption of the commissioner's role, Selig transferred his ownership interest in the Brewers to his daughter Wendy Selig-Prieb in order to remove any technical conflicts of interest, though it was widely presumed he maintained some hand in team operations. Although the team has been sold to Los Angeles investor Mark Attanasio, questions remain regarding Selig's past involvement. Selig's defenders point to the poor management of the team after Selig-Prieb took control as proof that Selig was not working behind the scenes.

Selig has long been considered a hero by baseball fans in Milwaukee, and while such enthusiasm ebbed somewhat during the failed management term of his daughter, Selig is still recognized for all that he as done for baseball and its presence in Milwaukee. In particular, Selig is famous for his lunches at Gilles Frozen Custard, a well-known hotdog and custard stand not far from Miller Park in Milwaukee.

[edit] Acting Commissioner

Selig became an increasingly vocal opponent of Commissioner Fay Vincent, and soon became the leader of a group of owners seeking his removal. Selig has never stated that the owners colluded, while Vincent has:

The Union basically doesn’t trust the ownership because collusion was a $280 million theft by Selig and [Jerry] Reinsdorf of that money from the players. I mean, they rigged the signing of free agents. They got caught. They paid $280 million to the players. And I think that’s polluted labor relations in baseball ever since it happened. I think it’s the reason [MLBPA executive director Donald] Fehr has no trust in Selig.[8]

—Fay Vincent

Following an 18-9 no-confidence vote, Vincent resigned. Selig had by this time become chairman of the Executive Council of Major League Baseball, and as such became de facto acting commissioner.

Hailed by some baseball's owners as a visionary who has salvaged the sport, others have vilified Selig.[citation needed] His first major act was to institute the Wild Card and divisional playoff play, which has created much controversy amongst baseball fans. Those against the Wild Card see it as diminishing the importance of the pennant race and the regular season, with the true race often being for second rather than first place, while those in favor of it view it as an opportunity for teams to have a shot at the playoffs even when they have no chance of a first-place finish in their division, thus maintaining fan interest later in the season.

Selig suspended Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott for a year in 1993 for repeated prejudicial remarks and actions. The same year, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was reinstated from a lifelong suspension that was instituted by Selig's predecessor Fay Vincent. Pete Rose has claimed that he applied for reinstatement over the years and received no such consideration. It should be noted, that Rose along with his close friend and former teammate Mike Schmidt (who is a strong supporter of Rose's reinstatement into baseball), met with Selig in 2002, where Rose privately admitted to Selig (two years before going public with his admission) about betting on baseball. Incidentally, Bud Selig was a close friend of the late Bart Giamatti, who was the commissioner when Rose was first banned from the sport in 1989.

[edit] 1994

As acting commissioner, he presided over the 1994 players strike and resulting cancellation of the World Series (the first time it had not been staged since 1904). Since then, some have accused Selig of being little more than a puppet for the owners rather than a true leader.[citation needed] Notably, the NBA, NHL, and NFL commissioners have always been considered primarily as advocates[citation needed] for the league owners who elect them and to whom they are answerable. Some have argued that Selig's role as a representative of the owners interests has led directly to Major League Baseball's ability to institute changes and bargain strongly with the Players Association in a way that was never possible before[citation needed].

[edit] Commissioner

After a six-year search for a new commissioner, the owners voted to give Selig the title on a permanent basis midway through the 1998 season.

During his tenure the game avoided a third work stoppage in 2002, and has seen the implementation of interleague play, divisional realignment (oddly enough, the subject that resulted in the ouster of Selig's predecessor Fay Vincent), and the addition of a third round of post-season play.

Whereas in the past, the National and American Leagues had separate administrative organizations (which, for example, allowed for the introduction of different rules such as the designated hitter), under Selig, Major League Baseball consolidated the administrative functions of the American and National League into the Commissioner's Office in 2000. The last official presidents of the NL and AL were Leonard S. Coleman, Jr. and Dr. Gene Budig respectively.

[edit] 2001

On September 11, 2001, Selig ordered all baseball games postponed for a week because of the terror attacks on New York and Washington. The games were postponed not only out of respect and mourning for the victims, but also out of concern for the safety and security of fans and players.

Selig was heavily criticized for staging contraction hearings on the Minnesota Twins, Montréal Expos, Oakland Athletics, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays less than 48 hours after the dramatic conclusion of the 2001 World Series. This action, among others, led to Selig (along with former Expos owner Jeffrey Loria) being charged with racketeering and conspiring with Loria to deliberately defraud the Expos minority owners. If found guilty the league could have been liable for $300 million in punitive damages. Selig was eager to settle the case because the judge had previously ruled that the Expos could not be moved or contracted until the case was over. The case eventually went to arbitration and was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. In the case of the Minnesota Twins, it was discovered that Selig had conspired with Twins owner, Carl Pohland, to contract the franchise. Selig's motive was geographical fan base expansion for his Milwaukee Brewers. The Minnesota Twins fanbase stretches from Minnesota to eastern Montana(including the Dakotas)and also includes strong fan bases in Iowa and Nebraska. Being hemmed in by the Twins to the west and the White Sox and Cubs to the south, Selig attempted to seize on the opportunity to improve the Brewers mediocre attendance. However, a strong, grass-roots legal campaign to keep the Twins in Minnesota succeeded in thwarting this conspiracy.

[edit] 2002

In 2002, Selig began enforcing the 60/40 rule (asset/debt ratio).

Also in 2002, an embarrassing moment for Selig occurred during the All-Star Game in Selig's hometown of Milwaukee. The game was tied 7-7 in the bottom of the 11th inning. Unfortunately, the recent custom of allowing each player appearance time meant that the managers had used their entire rosters. To avoid risking the arms of the pitchers who were currently on the mound, Selig declared the game a tie, to the dissatisfaction of the Milwaukee fans. Since then, Selig has tried to reinvigorate the All-Star Game, most notably by awarding the winning league home-field advantage in the World Series. The 2003 All-Star Game had the same U.S. viewership as 2002 (9.5 rating; 17 share) and the ratings declined in 2004 (8.8 rating; 15 share) and 2005 (8.1 rating; 14 share).[9] The American television audience increased in 2006 (9.3 rating; 16 share).[10]

[edit] 2005

In 2005, Selig faced Congress on the issue of steroids. After the Congressional hearings in early 2005, and with the scrutiny of the sports and national media upon this issue, Selig put forth a proposal for a stricter performance-enhancing drug testing regime to replace the current system. This proposal also included the banning of amphetamines, a first for the major North American sports leagues. The MLB Players Association and MLB reached an agreement in November on the new policy.[11]

On July 1, 2005, Selig suspended Texas Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers for 20 games and fined him $50,000. Rogers got in trouble when on June 29, 2005, he purposely grabbed the camera of a cameraman, resulting in one camera falling to the ground. When the cameraman proceeded to pick up his camera, Rogers went back to him in an arguably threatening way. One of the reporters then resumed filming and Rogers smiled and talked to him. While an appeal of his suspension was pending, Rogers appeared at the 2005 All-Star Game in Detroit, where fans loudly booed him. On July 22, 2005, Selig heard Rogers' appeal of his suspension; he decided to uphold the 20 games. However, an independent arbitrator ruled that Selig had exceeded his authority and reduced it to 13 games.

[edit] 2006

On December 1, 2006, Selig announced that he would be retiring as commissioner of baseball upon the expiration of his contract in 2009. Selig earned $14.5 million dollars from MLBA over the timespan October 31, 2005 to October 31, 2006.[12]

[edit] The Steroids Investigation

Main article: 2006 Baseball steroids investigation

In early 2006, Selig was forced to deal with the issue of steroid use.

On March 30, 2006, as a response to the controversy of the use of performance-enhancing drugs and the anticipated career home run record to be set by Barry Bonds, Selig asked former senator George Mitchell to lead an independent investigation into the use of steroids in baseball's recent past. Joe Sheehan from Baseball Prospectus wrote that the commission has been focusing "blame for the era exclusively on uniformed personnel", and failing to investigate any role played by team ownership and management.[13]

[edit] 2007

Much controversy surrounded Selig and his involvement in Barry Bonds' all-time home run record chase. For months, speculation surrounded Selig and the possibility that he and Hank Aaron would not attend Bonds' games as he closed in on the record. Selig announced in July 2007 when Bonds was near 755 home runs that he would attend the games. Selig was in attendance for Bonds' record-tying home run against the San Diego Padres, sitting in Padres owner John Moores' private suite. Bud Selig did not attend the San Francisco Giants' baseball game on August 7th when Barry Bonds hit his record-breaking 756th home run; after the event, Selig released a statement congratulating Bonds.

On November 15, 2007, attention was brought once again to Barry Bonds as he was indicted by a federal Grand Jury for perjury and obstruction of justice in connection to his testimony before the Grand Jury regarding BALCO, a San Francisco Bay area lab known to be involved in the distribution of steroids to professional athletes.

On December 13, 2007, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell released his report on the use of performance-enhancing substances by MLB players. The report names many current and former players who allegedly used performance-enhancing drugs during their career, including Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Miguel Tejada, Eric Gagné, and Paul Lo Duca.

[edit] 2008

On January 17, 2008, Selig's contract was extended by the MLB through 2012, at which point he plans to retire. Some observers have criticized Selig's role in the steroid era. Chicago Sun Times columnist Jay Mariotti called Selig the "The Steroids Commissioner."[14] Selig has been called to Congress several times to testify on performance enhancing drug use. Congressman Cliff Stearns said in December 2007 that Selig should resign because of use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball during his tenure.[1]

[edit] Notable changes to Major League Baseball

Bud Selig helped introduce the following changes to Major League Baseball:

During Selig's terms as Executive Council Chairman (from 1992-1998) and Commissioner, new stadiums have opened in Arizona, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Arlington, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C., with stadiums scheduled for the Mets, Yankees, Twins, and the Marlins in future years.

[edit] Israel Baseball League

Selig serves on the Advisory Committee of the newly formed Israel Baseball League.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Selig Given 3-Year Contract Extension
  2. ^ a b c Selig emerges as the best of all of baseball's bosses
  3. ^ Retiring? Ousted? Bud Selig’s Contract Extended to 2012
  4. ^ Mitchell Report (PDF) 310-311. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
  5. ^ Selig unlikely to penalize Giants execs Assigning blame could be difficult
  6. ^ The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News
  7. ^ a b c MLB Bio
  8. ^ Interview with Fay Vincent
  9. ^ All-Star Game Television Ratings on Baseball Almanac
  10. ^ SI.com - MLB - 2006 All Star Game - Ratings up for All-Star Game, HR Derby - Wednesday July 12, 2006 6:41PM
  11. ^ "MLBPA/MLB joint announcement", MLBPA, 2005-11-15. Retrieved on 2007-03-21. 
  12. ^ Press, Canadian (2007-04-03). MLB: Selig made $14.5 million last year (HTML). The Sports Network (TSN). Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
  13. ^ Sheehan, Joe (2007-05-22). Prospectus Today — Break with the Past (HTML). Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
  14. ^ Selig's only legacy: S-T-E-R-O-I-D-S

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Fay Vincent as Commissioner		 Acting Commissioner of Baseball
1992-1998		 Succeeded by
Became Commissioner of Baseball
Preceded by
Fay Vincent		 Commissioner of Baseball
1998-present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
v • d • e
Major League Baseball Commissioners
1920-1944: Kenesaw Mountain Landis | 1945-1951: Happy Chandler | 1951-1965: Ford Frick | 1965-1968: William Eckert | 1969-1984: Bowie Kuhn | 1984-1989: Peter Ueberroth | 1989: Bart Giamatti | 1989-1992: Fay Vincent | 1992-present: Bud Selig
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