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Bud Selig: In his own words

Photo by: Scott Paulus / Milwaukee Business Journal

“It’s sort of like chicken soup when you have a cold. We know it’s a long shot, but nothing bad can come of it.”
— On final efforts to get a labor deal done in the 1994 season. No deal is struck, and part of the season and the World Series are lost. (Chicago Tribune, Sept. 12, 1994)

“They have been historic and difficult.”
— On his 1,000th day since being chosen acting commissioner (Chicago Tribune, June 8, 1995)

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“I’ll talk to the commissioner on the way home.”
— When asked during stadium talks whether a future All-Star Game is possible in Milwaukee if a new ballpark gets built by 2000 (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, June 28, 1996)

“Once a club has a territory, it has a territory. We don’t have anarchy. We have rules and we have guidelines that have been in existence for many years.”
— Responding to a declaration by then-Oakland A’s owner Steve Schott that he intends to move the team to the Silicon Valley, saying he has no intention of stripping the San Francisco Giants of their marketing rights in the area (SportsBusiness Journal, March 26, 2001)

“The greatest country in the history of the world is being attacked. So all of this (baseball) doesn’t mean very much.”
— On the attacks of 9/11 (The Michigan Daily, Sept. 12, 2001)

“I can only, again, let human events answer that question and if somebody would have told you five years ago or eight years ago that there would be 1,500 percent more revenue-sharing and a whole series of other changes that have taken place with a lot more about to take place, they would have said, ‘Well, that’s impossible.’ I’ll have to let that be the barometer.”
— When asked by Bob Costas if he had enough of a commanding presence on television to inspire public confidence (“Real Sports,” May 21, 2003)

“I don’t want to toot my own horn. But everything I have tried to do the last 11 years worked wonders this year.”
— Reviewing 2003 (Chicago Tribune, Oct. 28, 2003)

“You mean guys don’t get injured in spring training? Guys get hurt walking down the street. All the managers, pitching coaches (are) very sensitive. Look, you can always pick at something, but there’s a broader picture, a grander picture.”
— Responding to criticism about possible player injuries during the World Baseball Classic (Associated Press, March 5, 2006)

“We have no empirical data before 2003. I’ve heard a lot of people make observations. I think I’ve even used the term ‘McCarthyism.’”
— Suggesting that the records for Barry Bonds and other players linked to steroids should stand (San Francisco Chronicle, March 9, 2006)

“I know teams fight to get to a World Series and some don’t get in for a generation or two. You could never explain to their fans that those games are being played elsewhere, and I think a seven-game World Series is quite adequate.”
— On a proposal by agent Scott Boras to expand the World Series to nine games, and hold games in warm-weather stadiums (“The Dan Patrick Show,” July 9, 2007)

“This whole process didn’t work out as expeditiously as I would have liked. That’s the understatement of the year. But it worked out very well.”
— On the sale of the Chicago Cubs to the Ricketts family (SportsBusiness Journal, Nov. 19, 2009)

“I’ve never sent an email and I never will.”
— On his aversion to computers (SportsBusiness Journal, July 2013)

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