The Baseball HOF induction ceremonies this weekend include the enshrinement of MLB Commissioner Emeritus BUD SELIG, whose tenure was "more eventful than those of all nine men who preceded him in the office," according to Dan McGrath of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Selig introduced interleague play, expanded the postseason and delivered "revenue increases" that exceeded the "most ambitious projections." There was "plenty of good" during Selig's tenure, but the bad "came in the form of a 232-day players strike that wiped out" the '94 postseason. It also "doesn't get much uglier than a performance-enhancing drug scandal that defiled MLB's sacred record books." White Sox Chair JERRY REINSDORF said, "In a sport known historically for its hesitancy to embrace change or evolve, Bud championed and implemented more positive change than perhaps all the other commissioners combined. That's quite a legacy." Selig added, "Did we make mistakes? Of course we did -- nothing's perfect. But if you look at where baseball was in 1992 vs. where it is now ... worlds apart" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 7/24). Selig said, "I really thought if I was really going to get things done, I was changing a system, it was unpopular. Whenever you change things, it's unpopular. ... And so, I didn't like the hits that I was taking, but I also understood that baseball was in a period in the early and mid-90s where change was necessary." He added, "There really wasn't anything that I set out to do that we didn't get done. Yeah, there were some things I would have liked to be a little bit different, but there was so much change" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 7/27).
UNDENIABLE INFLUENCE: In Milwaukee, Tom Haudricourt noted Selig's tenure "morphed from turbulent to transformational," and he gained "immortality in the sport he loves so dearly." A's Chair Emeritus LEW WOLFF -- who along with former Bucks Owner HERB KOHL were fraternity brothers of Selig's at Wisconsin in the '50s -- is "making the 3,000-mile journey from California on his private jet" for the induction. Selig "became the consummate consensus builder, cajoling, pleading and often pestering owners until they saw things his way and voted as he desired" (JSONLINE.com, 7/21). In L.A., Mark Whicker wrote in approving Selig, the Veterans Committee ignored the '94 lockout, which "vaporized the entire postseason." It also "ignored Selig’s pernicious plan to use replacement players," which was later voided. Selig also "masterminded the three-way franchise swap" that gave Expos Owner JEFFREY LORIA the Marlins and Marlins Owner JOHN HENRY controlling interest of the Red Sox (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 7/27).
MAN BEHIND IT ALL: In Atlanta, Steve Hummer noted also being inducted is Braves Vice Chair JOHN SCHUERHOLZ, who becomes "one of only six in the Hall whose 'primary function was team-building among non-owners.'" Schuerholz was a "man of impeccable syntax and a pretty good baseball mind, a builder of World Series champions with two teams in two leagues" and the "guardian of 14 consecutive Braves division titles" starting in the '90s. In 17 years as Braves GM, and nine more as team president, Schuerholz "went about his business with a Fortune 500 kind of buttoned-down look and deportment." Current Braves GM JOHN COPPOLELLA said Schuerholz "could have been president/CEO of IBM." It was Schuerholz’ "air of corporate confidence that was his initial gift to the Braves," but it will be the "substance of Schuerholz’s work that will be celebrated." There was his "constant work of shepherding franchises to high ground, of preaching the doctrine of 'The Braves Way' until it became a franchise catechism" (AJC.com, 7/22). Royals Senior VP & GM DAYTON MOORE, who worked with Schuerholz in Atlanta, said, "You always know where John stands. You always know that he's behind you. You always know that he will do what's best for the team, and if it doesn't work, he will be there to take the blame for it. I think that's how you build a winning organization" (MLB.com, 7/27).
VOICE FROM ABOVE: Late A's announcer BILL KING will be honored with the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence. Current A's play-by-play man KEN KORACH in a special to the EAST BAY TIMES wrote King was a "rigid guy who lived life solely on his own terms." Korach's book on King "helped establish" his case for Cooperstown. As part of his acceptance speech, King likely "would have said something like, 'Screw it. Take your Hall of Fame and shove it,'" as he "never campaigned for the award." JOHNNY STEPHENS, King's stepson, said, “Bill broadcast because he loved it and not because he wanted the adulation. He didn’t need the Hall of Fame. He was fulfilled because he strove to meet his own standards and not anyone else’s.” Korach wrote the HOF honor "represents a worthy and overdue coronation." King, who died in '05, "spent 25 years captivating A’s fans with his brilliance, wit and enthusiasm" (MERCURYNEWS.com, 7/25). Giants broadcaster JON MILLER said King was a "work of art." Noting that King also used to call Warriors games, Miller said, "His tempo in basketball always reflected the tempo of the game. That’s what was really cool about it. You’d have a nice, easy pace going, then all of a sudden it would get really frenetic, and so would Bill." In S.F., John Shea wrote, "Nobody was better detailing a game in real time than King" (SFCHRONICLE.com, 7/25).
TRAIL BLAZER: In New Jersey, Tara Sullivan noted J.G. Taylor Spink Award recipient CLAIRE SMITH will "make history as the first woman" to be enshrined into the HOF. Smith wrote for newspapers such as the N.Y. Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Hartford Courant, and "spent time with the family of baseball pioneer JACKIE ROBINSON, receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Robinson foundation." Smith "withstood indignities like literally being pushed out of the visiting Padres locker room" during the '84 playoffs at Wrigley Field. She also "helped spawn the decree" by then-Commissioner PETER UEBERROTH that all MLB locker rooms be open to women (NORTHJERSEY.com, 7/26). In New York, Charlie Vascellaro wrote Smith "fought on the front lines for women in the male-dominated arena of sports writing." Together with a "handful of female contemporaries, she bore the brunt of the associated indignities during her nearly 40 years in the business." Not only was Smith "one of the first woman daily baseball beat reporters, she was also thrown directly into the fire covering the Yankees for the Hartford Courant, beginning in 1982 toward the tail end of the team’s 'Bronx Zoo' era" (Oneonta DAILY STAR, 7/27).
