MLB Commissioner Bud Selig "is certain" that a seven-man, hand-picked search committee will "identify a successor that 23 of the game's 30 owners will approve," according to Matt Gelb of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. But he "just does not know when." Selig yesterday said, "They have a lot of work to do ahead of them. Let's just hope they can get it done in a reasonable amount of time." MLB COO Rob Manfred is the "favorite to replace Selig," and that is "reportedly what Selig wants." But a recent N.Y. Times story portrayed White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf as "skeptical of Selig's powerful role in the process of appointing a new commissioner." Selig yesterday "did not deny his influence." Selig: "I know there have been some stories, and I try not to overreact on that. I have confidence in their job to get this done. And they will" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 5/29). Baseball writer Murray Chass writes although Selig "won’t acknowledge that he has a succession plan, many people inside and outside baseball, apparently including Reinsdorf, believe Selig will propose" that Manfred succeed him when he retires. But Selig's plan "has two elements," including that he would "remain a senior adviser, and a committee of three or four owners would serve on an advisory panel" (MURRAYCHASS.com, 5/29).
