Dump Bug Selig as MLB Commissioner

[Cantankerous]

I can’t be the only baseball fan to feel this way.

Bug Selig as Major League Baseball Commissioner is a farce; the major problem being that the concept of MLB Commissioner is to act in the “best interest of baseball”. Unfortunately Bug Selig is unable to do that for several reasons:

(1) He’s a “former” owner. (He “officially” relinquished his ownership of the Milwaukee Brewers by handing the team over to his daughter.)

(2) He’s an enemy of the union. See #1. One of the main reasons that he can’t get anything done is that whenever he proposes something (even the good things—what few there are) it’s immediately dismissed by the union as “pro-ownership”.

(3) The other owners love him because he’s “one of theirs”. See #1 again.

(4) When he says that baseball is losing money (a key issue of contraction/relocation, labor strife, and numerous other problems) everyone wonders how. And maybe they are (in their own unique accounting way), but it’s hard to take what a “former” owner says as the whole truth. See #1 yet again.

Dump Bug Selig.

Now I don’t have anything personal against the owners (that would be a separate rant/thread), but since Bud Selig is their “benefactor”, the union doesn’t trust him. So unlike commissioners before him, he can’t make those “best interest of baseball” decisions because he’s immediately seen as favoring ownership (regardless if in fact he actually is or not).

Dump Bug Selig.

A “real” commissioner would be able to make REAL decisions about labor problems, revenue problems, contraction/expansion/franchise relocation, steroid issues, etc., but the union views most (if not all) of the proposals from his office as unworkable. They usually feel as though their being strong-armed into something that helps the owners, and hinders the players. Now I have little sympathy for players that make millions of dollars per year playing a kid’s game, but I can at least understand why they scrutinize everything he says.

Dump Bug Selig.

Even the fans don’t like him. Just look at every high-profile MLB occasion (Playoffs, World Series, All-Star game) where he speaks to the crowd. He’s ALWAYS heavily booed. Take Sunday night (Oct 27) after the World Series when he was introduced before presenting the World Series trophy to Anaheim. What happened? He was booed.

Dump Bug Selig.

I would like to hear what other MLB fans think about this subject.

 

[gr8ful wes]

Ahh, the sports crumugeon(sp)

Good points. The best thing that I think he has done was to form a cause related marketing relationship with Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

 

[tcjsavannah]

My biggest issue with Bud is that he thinks the "fans" (a.k.a. the simple folk) aren't bright enough to understand what goes on in Major League Baseball. He talks down to the people he's supposedly trying to sell (or re-sell) the game to.

When confronted with facts that take away from his prior statements, his arguments are reduced to "that's not right because I say so."

The problem is, we'll never have another commissioner again with the kind of power and public support that MLB used to employ because the owners will never allow it.

 

[Alcibiaties of Athenae]

I agree, but who will be next?

They need a guy with some power, or it's a waste.

 

[Ming]

Of course the Commish is pro ownership... They hired him... and they pay him. If you think the owners are stupid enough to put somebody in that position that isn't pro ownership, I want whatever it is that you are smoking.

So get used to it, because the days of a strong commish who can actually do as he wants and act in a manner that the owners don't agree with are long gone.

 

[Cantankerous]

Ming,

I don't pretend to think that you're wrong, because I agree. Selig was "installed" specifically because he was pro-ownership. And that's the way they like it.

Unfortunately, that's a big reason (if not the biggest) as to why MLB has such stife with everything it does. No one takes Selig seriously. (And why should they?)

And hence the dilemma in which we, as baseball fans, reside.

As if we had a choice here, who do you think would make a good commissioner of MLB?

Of course when Selig was still "interim commissioner" and they were "searching" for a full-time commish, the name of Bob Costas always seemed to pop up. And while the owners would have never gone for someone like him (and who really knows if he'd have taken the job if offered), I think that someone like him would make for a great commissioner. As a self-described baseball fan himself, he would at least be the kind of person that "normal" people (i.e., the non-playing fans) could respect. And since he seems so passionate about the game (listen to him talk about the game in Ken Burns' Baseball), one could reasonably expect that if he made a decision that was "in the best interest of baseball" he would not just be blowing smoke.

But of course I'm just dreaming here....

 

[tcjsavannah]

Bill "Spaceman" Lee for Commissioner!

 

[gr8ful wes]

Originally posted by tcjsavannah
Bill "Spaceman" Lee for Commissioner!

I agree!!!

I met him at a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club that I was running. The guy is a riot, cares about kids, the game, and is charasmatic.

 

[tcjsavannah]

Even though my suggestion was made (partly) in jest, I think you hit on the key point - whoever takes over as Commissioner -needs- to be charismatic.

Bud Selig is about as charismatic as a thumb tack.

 

[jdd2007]

just be glad you dont have someone like Mike Brown in charge

im serious

 

[tcjsavannah]

You know, Mike Brown might be the worst person ever to be in charge of a major sports franchise since the stripper in "Major League"...

"Uh, this guy's dead."
"Cross him off, then."

 

[Cantankerous]

Originally posted by tcjsavannah
You know, Mike Brown might be the worst person ever to be in charge of a major sports franchise since the stripper in "Major League"...

I don't know, tcjsavannah, consider the fact that Major League Baseball officially "owns and runs" the Montreal Expos. That essentially makes Bud Selig their "person in charge".

And we come full circle...

 

[Flatlander Fox]

Selig loves the game. I have watched a few documentaries on him and believe that about him. He just didn't decide to own a team on a whim.

While Bob Costas would be a good fit, the ownership wouldn't allow an "Everyman" into that position. Fmr. Senator George Mitchell's name was always kicked around, but never materialized into anything.

I think Hank Aaron would be a great Commish.

 

[Cantankerous]

Originally posted by Flatlander Fox
Selig loves the game. I have watched a few documentaries on him and believe that about him. He just didn't decide to own a team on a whim.

I don't doubt that Selig has a love for the game. My understanding is that he worked for years to get a franchise back in Milwaukee after the Braves left and he was probably held in high regard from Wisconsin baseball fans. As a owner he's probably better than most because he didn't always see his team as merely a business transaction. But baseball needs a more neutral voice with which to lead, and his attitudes are too strongly in favor of ownership.

Now like I said before, I weep not for the players (whose average salary is somewhere in the $2 million range), but Selig does not have the ability to speak in the "best interest of baseball" because he is too closely related to the owners. Whether an idea of his is ridiculous or brilliant, the players will always be skeptical of his motives because they can never see him truly as a neutral figure.

Originally posted by Flatlander Fox
While Bob Costas would be a good fit, the ownership wouldn't allow an "Everyman" into that position. Fmr. Senator George Mitchell's name was always kicked around, but never materialized into anything.

I agree totally that the owners never wanted an "everyman". They clearly wanted a card-carrying member of the "owner's club" so that their views and concerns would be heard loud and clear. And that's why (IMO) there was never any serious consideration for anyone other than Selig when the search was on.

Originally posted by Flatlander Fox
I think Hank Aaron would be a great Commish.

You'll get no argument from me there. In fact a legendary player like Aaron would carry great legitimacy in a role as commission.

 

[gonzo_for_civ]

I think bud selig needs to pull the stick out his ass and let pete rose into the hall of fame. I won't be happy w/any ownership until one of the most deserving players in history gets put into the HOF.

And I woul REALLY like to see mlbs accounting books.....they're losing money...bull****!

 

[Cantankerous]

Originally posted by gonzo_for_civ
And I woul REALLY like to see mlbs accounting books.....they're losing money...bull****!

I'm no accountant, but it seems to me that many teams are probably actually spending more money in a season than what they make. So in essence they are losing money from the immediate bottom line.

However, sports franchises (and baseball is no exception) are increasing in value exponentially. (Didn't the Red Sox sell for something like $600 million this year?)

So the owners may be losing bucks when you compare income to expenditures on a per year basis, but the value of their franchise is increasing MUCH greater than what they're losing.

And not every team is losing money.

And there HAVE to be some funky accounting practices going on somewhere in those books. And that's most likely why Selig and the Gang don't want anyone to see them.

 

[Ming]

I'm sure Montreal was lossing money, and Arizona as well... but as Cantankerous so nicely points out, the value of the franchise makes up for their annual losses... Baseball's problems were caused by themselves... when a utility infielder who can't hit makes a million dollars a year, something is wrong. I don't begrudge the players for getting what they can, but I do blame the owners for being stupid and paying it

 

[tcjsavannah]

I don't doubt that some teams are losing money, but I think the problem comes from the fact that different franchises have different sources of revenue.

Some teams, like Montreal, don't have a lot. They charge $$ to get in, they get some money from merchandise sales and a bit from TV, but that's it.

Others, like the Yankees, get sweet deals from TV networks, get parking revenues, get publicity/appearance fees (think anybody would pay to see a Montreal player at a memorabilia store??) as well as other facility-based revenues.

I think the Commissioner's office is very selective in limiting what teams report as their operating costs. It's like they let them count everything they spend but only 1/2 of what they bring in...

 

[Cantankerous]

tcjsavannah,

You're right. The inequities of location play a huge factor in the revenues of baseball; big markets vs. small markets. "Haves" like the Yankees will inevitably most always turn a healthy profit. (After all, correct me if I'm wrong, but the Yankees get more money for their local TV contract than any other team, and that's money they don't have to share.) "Have nots" like the Expos don't even have a local TV contract. (Or do they? At least a season or two ago they didn't have one, but they may have gotten one for the 2002 season and I didn't get that memo.)

But the owners are definitely their own worst enemy. No one forces them to give out these enormous contracts, but most (at least the ones with money) are afraid that if they don't shell out big bucks for the top players then their buddy across the country will. (And evitably the "buddy" does just that.) And if they all agree to artificially keep salaries low, then they are attacked by the player's union for collusion.

I'm all for the players getting as much money as they can, and I'm all for the owners making money from their business, but salaries are a bit ridiculous when mediocre players make sums of money equal to the GNP of small countries.

And the owners have no one to blame but themselves. And while we're on the subject, let's go ahead and blame Bud Selig as well. He deserves it.

 

[Magnus]

Welcome back, Flatlander Fox! And I agree wholeheartedly that Hammerin' Hank would make a great Commmisioner but it will never happen, because this aint a perfect world, ya know?