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Allan Huber "Bud" Selig (born July 30, 1934 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is the current Commissioner of Baseball, having been formally appointed on July 2, 1998 after having served as acting commissioner since 1992. He was previously the team owner and administrator of the Milwaukee Brewers. On August 21, 2004, Selig's contract was extended for three years by Major League Baseball, extending his term to December 31, 2009. Selig is a resident of Milwaukee and a wealthy car dealer.
Selig received a bachelor's degree in American History and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1956.
Milwaukee Brewers owner
In 1970 he responded to the 1965 departure of the Milwaukee Braves to Atlanta by purchasing the bankrupt Seattle Pilots franchise, moving them to his hometown, and renaming the team the Milwaukee Brewers.
During Selig's tenure as club president, the Brewers appeared in the World Series for the first time ever in 1982.
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.
Actions as Commissioner
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. Selig, who is Jewish, also suspended Marge Schott for a year in 1993 for repeated predjudicial remarks and actions.
During his tenure the game has nearly had a second work stoppage (barely avoided in 2002), seen the implementation of interleague play, divisional realignment (oddly enough, the subject that resulted in the ouster of Selig's predecessor), and the addition of a third round of post-season play.
As Executive Council Chairman (Selig's official title while serving as "acting commissioner" from 1992-1998) and Commissioner, new stadiums have opened in Arizona, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle and Texas. In 2002, Selig announced that he would start enforcing the 60/40 rule (asset/debt ratio) despite the Brewers being at 100/97 just five years before. Under Selig, Major League Baseball also saw the consolidation of the administrative functions of the American and National League into the Commissioner's Office in 2000. The last official presidents of the NL & AL were Leonard Coleman & Dr. Gene Budig respectively.
While unanimously hailed by baseball's owners as a visionary who has salvaged the sport, he is almost as equally vilified by media and fans, primarily for labor-related issues but also for considering "innovations" that have met with disfavor, particularly placing advertising on player uniforms and on the field. Ever since the days of the 1994 work stoppage, fans have accused Selig of being little more than a puppet for the owners rather than a true leader, community, and with good reason. He is a detriment to the game, a self-interested former used car salesman who somehow managed to hijack the nation's pastime. In return for functioning as the owner's stooge at the expense of the game, he has been well compensated. His annual salary is currently nearly $3 million. Though his fellow owners may applaud him now, his legacy will be that of a man who did his best to destroy the sport he purported to love.
On September 11, 2001, Selig ordered all baseball games postponed for a week because of the terror attacks on New York and Washington. He did this because of two things: The events were so deadly, that fun and games were futile, especially having seen so much death and destruction were being seen on television, and most importantly, never ever again, can safety be taken for granted.
Selig was also heavily criticized for staging contraction hearings less than 48 hours after the dramatic conclusion of the 2001 World Series. The sketchy actions of Selig have made him very disliked in the baseball community.
But the most embarrassing moment during Bud Selig's tenure as commissioner had to have been during the 2002 All-Star Game in Selig's hometown of Milwaukee. The game was tied 7-7 in the bottom of the 11th inning. Unfortunately, the managers ran out of fresh players and caught in a sudden jam, Selig had no other option other than to call the game a tie.
In the aftermath of the fiasco, Major League Baseball decided to create the stipulation that the winning league of the All-Star Game would gain home-field advantage for that year's World Series.
External links
- Bud Selig (http://www.nndb.com/people/226/000025151//) at the NNDB (http://www.nndb.com/)
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