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Bud
Selig "The Commissioner Who Just
Can't Win"
Originally
written for Baseball-Almanac.com
biography
Email:
Michael
Aubrecht Website:
Pinstripe
Press
SINCE ITS
DEBUT
during the Civil War, baseball
has evolved from a mere
recreational activity used by
soldiers to pass the time in army
camps into a major sporting
industry generating millions of
dollars of revenue annually. Like
any large corporation, there are
many positions; both on the field
and off, required to keep the
business of Major League Baseball
running.
Beyond the
obvious jobs of coaches and
players, there are countless
support and administrative
personnel facilitating the
"behind the scenes" aspects of
the sport. Since its inception,
professional baseball has
appointed one top executive, the
Commissioner of Baseball, to
oversee the entire operation and
maintain the integrity of the
game. Unfortunately, like most
public officials, the
Commissioner is often forgotten
in times of prosperity, yet the
first to be blamed when problems
arise. It is a job that requires
not only a tremendous love for
the game, but an even greater
patience for the fans and media.
From Judge Kenesaw Mountain
Landis to Francis T. Vincent,
Jr., most Commissioners have
experienced disappointment by the
fans at one time or another.
One man however,
seems to have taken this
love-hate relationship with the
public to another level.
Unfortunately, our current
Commissioner appears to have
inherited a broken version of our
National Pastime. "His" baseball,
unlike any of his predecessors,
has been long-corrupted by big
money endorsements, self-centered
athletes and performance
enhancing drugs. The baseball he
was handed to manage is all but a
faded shadow from the glory days
when players were worthy and the
fans treated them with respect.
Many purists believe that both
classes have declined in the
modern game and as a result, much
of the blame has fallen back on
the Commissioner. This poses the
question; why would anyone
willingly take on such a role
fully aware of the burden that
waits? And who would want to? The
answer to both questions lies in
looking at a man that did: Mr.
Alan H. "Bud" Selig.
After several
heartbreaking failures, Bud was
finally successful in 1970 when a
Seattle bankruptcy court awarded
the Seattle franchise to the
investment group led by him, and
the modern-day Brewers were
born.
Selig was a
successful car dealer from
Wisconsin who purchased the
fledgling American League
franchise known as the Seattle
Pilots for a reported $10.8
million dollars. When Milwaukee
joined the major leagues in 1953,
Bud became a faithful Braves fan
and subsequently the largest
public stockholder in 1963.
Unfortunately, he would later
watch his beloved Braves move to
Atlanta in 1965 resulting in the
loss of both his team and his
investment. Recognizing the
importance of baseball to his
city, Selig later formed an
organization dedicated to
reestablishing a team in
Milwaukee. After several
heartbreaking failures, Bud was
finally successful in 1970 when a
Seattle bankruptcy court awarded
the Seattle franchise to the
investment group led by him, and
the modern-day Milwaukee Brewers
were born. Amazingly, Bud's
college roommate was Senator Herb
Kohl of Wisconsin and both of men
went on to become owners of major
league franchises within their
own city. Like his political
partner, Selig was always active
in his community as a member of
the board of the Green Bay
Packers football team and the
University of Wisconsin medical
school. He was also the founder
of "Athletes for Youth", a
trustee of the Boys and Girls
Club, and helped establish both
the Child Abuse Prevention
Network and Businesses Against
Drunk Driving.
After being given
the position of "Interim
Commissioner" in 1992, Bud was
officially named baseball's ninth
commissioner six years later on
July 2, 1998. Following his
appointment, Selig's daughter
Wendy took over as acting
president of the Brewers club and
his interest in the team was
placed in a trust. First and
foremost a fan, Bud entered the
position of Commissioner with the
same tenacity that had led him in
his crusade for a franchise in
Milwaukee. Unfortunately,
baseball was still reeling from
multiple labor disputes and was
suffering a steady decline in
both ticket sales and television
ratings. Over the last two
decades, the National Football
League had clearly become the
most powerful and financially
successful sport with
professional basketball not far
behind. Unbelievably,
professional baseball had slipped
from a perennial National Pastime
to third on the list of popular
American sports.
Perhaps the
biggest threat faced by the
modern game's Commissioner is the
rapidly growing dichotomy between
rich and poor teams.
From the day he
first entered the offices of the
executive council, Bud had faced
many serious and difficult
issues. Initially, he presided
over the 230-day strike that
wiped out the World Series for
the first time in 90 years.
Eventually, he was able to help
secure a new collective
bargaining agreement with the
Players Association, but
afterward, many disgruntled fans
felt that the Fall Classic's
cancellation was a major factor
in the decline of baseball's
popularity. To this day, some
believe that the game will never
fully recover and may never again
reach the romantic heights that
it once enjoyed.
Some of Selig's
other contributions to the game
were the implementation of new
rules, as well as the institution
of addition playoff rounds. Some
of these changes were
overwhelmingly popular and
unpopular with baseball's fans.
These included the establishment
of Interleague Play which opened
up the door for many American and
National League teams to compete
against one another for the first
time in history; the Wild Card
system which added opportunities
for more teams to participate in
the post season; and the
validation of the All-Star Game
by making it count for home-field
advantage in the World Series.
Perhaps the
biggest threat still faced by the
modern game's Commissioner is the
rapidly growing dichotomy between
rich and poor teams. Few people
however, could be as uniquely
well-suited to address this
issue. As the owner of a
small-market team, Selig
obviously understands the
difficulties that the
"Milwaukee's" of the world have
going up against financially
superior teams like the New York
Yankees. This issue will continue
to plague Major League Baseball
and along with the debate over
mandatory drug testing, has
turned the spotlight on Bud to
fix the problem at all costs.
Over the last few years, many
fans and media have doubted
Selig's abilities refusing to
recognize that any of his
policies have had a noticeable
impact on fixing today's "broken
game" Fortunately for him, many
others have applauded his efforts
and baseball finally appears to
be making a slow but steady
comeback.
So far Bud
Selig's legacy has been met with
mixed emotions and it seems for
every fan that recognizes the
benefits of change, there is a
purist who denies them. Time will
only tell as Selig's term in
office is far from being up and
many issues still need to be
resolved. Fortunately, he appears
ready to stay the course and
hopefully better days for
baseball are on the horizon.
Unlike his players though, it
appears in many instances, this
Commissioner, Bud Selig, "just
can't win".
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