Menu
Leagues and Governing Bodies

Selig Leaves As MLB Commissioner After 22-Year Tenure That Brought Significant Change

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig this weekend will conclude a 22-year term in the office that, while "rife with turmoil at the start, will go down as the most transformational of any in the sport’s history," according to Bill King of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Selig was able to implement interleague play, revenue sharing and "two wild-card slots in the playoffs, and then two more." He also pooled Internet rights, improved competitive balance and achieved labor peace "all while an industry worth about $1 billion grew to approach $9 billion." Selig said, "People would say, ‘Bud didn’t do this and Bud didn’t do that.’ But that’s not the way you get things done. At the end of my administration, people can analyze all the changes. They may think it took too long. But they don’t understand the politics and they don’t understand the people. So that’s my style. I knew my group. I knew how they acted and how they didn’t act and what they did and what they didn’t do. People could be critical, because it’s easy to be critical when you don’t know what you’re talking about. When you look back now on the 22 years, even I am sort of stunned. I mean, wow” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/19 issue). As part of its tribute section to Selig, SBJ also includes a timeline of historic moments, a look at his attempts to keep MLB in Milwaukee, nine "big wins" for him during his tenure, why he was the right man at the right time for MLB, some of his more memorable quotes and some of his unfinished business that awaits incoming Commissioner Rob Manfred.

WHERE THERE'S LIFE, THERE'S BUD
: On Long Island, David Lennon wrote during Selig's run as commissioner, MLB has "grown from the ashes" of the '94 strike into a $9B industry "built on massive TV contracts and the skyrocketing profits derived from the sport's advanced media enterprise." Selig "isn't the sole reason for that, obviously." But he "turned out to be the right man at the right time and somehow was able to break the owners' maddening cycle of tearing down and then rebuilding the sport every few years." Selig also "pushed to implement strict PED testing and penalties, expanded video replay, interleague play and the imminent pace-of-play rules" (NEWSDAY, 1/18). In N.Y., Tyler Kepner writes some fans "will never forgive Selig" for his blemishes. But the "important thing ... is to consider how far baseball has advanced." At the start of Selig’s tenure, there was "constant labor strife." Now, there is "labor peace." At the start, there was "no drug testing." Now, there is the "strongest program of any North American sports league." Revenue, below $2B in '92, "has soared past" $9B. Large-market teams "still have inherent advantages, but now they share significant profits with small-market teams." Every club in the majors, except the Blue Jays, "has reached the playoffs" since '01, thanks to a "more sensible economic system and the broader playoff field Selig endorsed" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/23). USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale wrote Selig has brought MLB ownership "closer together than a school kid's summer camp" and has baseball "on a roll the industry had never witnessed before his 22-year tenure" (USA TODAY, 1/15). In L.A., Bill Shaikin wrote what Selig "has done in more than two decades in office is remarkable" (L.A. TIMES, 1/15).

TAKING OWNERSHIP: FOXSPORTS.com's Ken Rosenthal noted the players’ strike of '94-95 "shortened two seasons, forced the cancellation of a World Series and alienated countless fans," but the industry "came roaring back, helped by Selig’s numerous innovations and stabilized by perhaps his greatest achievement -- 21 consecutive years of labor peace that will extend" through '16. Selig "deserves credit for innovations such as the expanded playoffs, interleague play and instant replay." He also "deserves credit for introducing the toughest drug-testing plan in professional sports after initially reacting too slowly -- like many of us -- to the Steroid Era." Former MLBPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr believes Selig’s "greatest strength ... was his ability to build consensus among owners" (FOXSPORTS.com, 1/22). In L.A., Bill Dwyre wrote Selig "ruled over baseball for more than two decades with hair out of place and the right word just out of reach." But those who "knew and understood him willingly traded style for effectiveness." Dwyre: "Hate him or love him, Selig got the job done" (L.A. TIMES, 1/8). YAHOO SPORTS' Jeff Passan writes "to define Selig by his mistakes, whoppers though they may have been, serves as a black-and-white rendering of a man who did his finest work in the gray." The public version of "Selig the goofus runs in stark contrast to the legislator who glad-handed baseball into a thriving 21st-century business" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/23).

SUCCESSOR SAYS SELIG SUCCEEDED: In Phoenix, Nick Piecoro noted Manfred "praised Selig's ability to build consensus during his time on the job, during which time the game expanded by four teams, realigned and added wild-card slots to the playoffs and implemented drug testing policies, among other changes." Manfred said, "It is a tribute to his ability, his personality and his personal skills that he can produce the kind of unity that has really revolutionized this game" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/16). More Manfred on Selig: “I think his skill was tested by the fact that we had so much turnover [in ownership], which required him to go out and make converts of all these new people. David Glass buys in right before the strike. We dance him through three of the worst years in baseball. And somehow we come out on the other side and he’s Bud’s wing man. You know what I’m saying? I think that turnover actually tested his method of doing business” (THE DAILY).

HOW HIS CONSTITUENTS REGARD HIM: SportsBusiness Journal compiled a series of quotes from major players in MLB, both on the team and league side, about Selig and his influence over the game (THE DAILY).

* Cardinals Chair & CEO Bill DeWitt Jr.: “What’s best for the game is what drives him. When you see that, how can you as an owner say, ‘I’ve got my own best interest to look out for.’ How can you do that? The greater good is what’s best. And when we forget, he’s there to remind us.”

* Red Sox Chair Tom Werner: “It’s important that he has stood in an owner’s shoes. He has sweated over attendance in April. He’s had to deal with agents who are pounding on the table asking for more money for their clients. He’s had to deal with the pain of losing a five-run lead in the ninth. So he’s got a perspective which I think is very comforting for owners who are often vilified. I think his empathy is helpful.”

* Royals Owner David Glass: “If you said to me, ‘Sit down and talk to 30 different owners and get them all to agree on something,’ I would tell you ‘No. I don’t have time for that, nor do I even want to attempt it.’ But he does it. I mean, he is relentless. And persuasive. And not easily deterred.”

* White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf: “Why can’t you disagree? I have disagreements with all kinds of people. That doesn’t make them your enemies. This country is so polarized between Republicans and Democrats. I’m not a polarized guy. And Selig wasn’t, either. He respected my right to disagree, and I respected his right to be wrong."

* MLB Exec VP/Administration & CIO John McHale Jr.: "He’s always in contact. He’s always trying to make sure he knows what’s on people’s minds. What’s worrisome to them. What’s making them nervous. What they think is good. What they want to improve. He’s always in contact with his constituency. It is an exhausting, but completely seamless availability to his owners that has allowed him to develop that sense of trust and credibility.”

* MLB President of Business & Media Bob Bowman: “No matter where you look, it was his unique perspective that the game had to get better. And it starts with ownership getting along, which he did better than anybody. Perhaps only someone of his talent could have gotten these disparate people together and got them to pull an oar all in one direction.”

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2015/01/23/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/Selig.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2015/01/23/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/Selig.aspx

CLOSE