MLB today announced that its new seven-man committee tasked with finding the successor to outgoing Commissioner Bud Selig will be chaired by Cardinals Owner Bill DeWitt Jr. Joining DeWitt on the new succession committee will be White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf, Rockies Owner Dick Monfort, Pirates Chair Bob Nutting, Angels Owner Arte Moreno, Phillies President & CEO Dave Montgomery and Twins CEO Jim Pohlad. The new panel will report to MLB’s Exec Council, and is aiming to be “respectful” of Selig’s planned retirement when his current contract expires in January. DeWitt said the group will be working in a confidential manner. He did not outline a projected timeline to identify leading candidates. The panel has met several times already. DeWitt: “We will look to get input from all the clubs. It won’t just be a seven-man committee doing everything and informing them at the end. We’re obviously looking for a strong CEO, a visionary leader who has a passion for the game.”
DeWitt added the potential field for a new commissioner is “wide open” and there is not any preexisting bias as to whether someone is currently working in baseball or not. Similarly, the seven owners on the committee are not necessarily precluded from being commissioner candidates themselves. The succession committee will present candidates to the Exec Council, and once clearing that body, must be approved by at least 23 of 30 team owners for election. Notable candidates for the post include current MLB COO Rob Manfred, MLBAM President & CEO Bob Bowman and Exec VP/Business Tim Brosnan, but there is no defined heir apparent.
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Selig sidestepped questions as to whether he would consider some type of Commissioner Emeritus title. But he continued to echo prior comments about looking forward to retirement. He said, "There’s a time to come in life, and there’s a time to go, and this is a time to go, and there’s no sense in playing games." In other events from the quarterly owner meetings wrapping in N.Y., Selig again expressed support for the newly expanded instant replay system, which despite a few operational glitches is now pushing average review time below two minutes in length. Selig: "For something new, it’s really been good. Our fans like it, and it’s making the game better." The league also continues to work with various committees and team doctors to identify causes and potential remedies to the current rash of pitcher injuries. Selig said, “It’s a problem, no doubt about it. I’m almost afraid to pick up the paper anymore for fear of bad news.”
