MLB Commissioner BUD SELIG heads BASEBALL AMERICA’s list of MLB’s top 25 “Power Brokers.” MLBPA Exec Dir DONALD FEHR, who was first on the list when last compiled in ’98, ranks second. Only seven of the 25 on the current list were also represented in ’98. BASEBALL AMERICA’s Jerry Crasnick writes the list reflects the “short-lived ‘synergy’ between baseball and the entertainment industry” as well as the “consolidation of power” in MLB offices (BASEBALL AMERICA, 4/10 issue).
| NAME | TITLE |
| Bud Selig | MLB Commissioner |
| Donald Fehr | MLBPA Exec Dir |
| Bob DuPuy | MLB President & COO |
| George Steinbrenner | Yankees Owner |
| George Bodenheimer | ESPN & ABC Sports President |
| David Hill/Ed Goren | Fox Sports TV Group Chair & CEO/Fox Sports President |
| Scott Boras | Scott Boras Corp. President |
| Barry Bonds | Giants LF |
| Rob Manfred | MLB Exec VP/Labor Relations |
| Sandy Alderson | MLB Exec VP/Baseball Operations |
| John Henry | Red Sox Principal Owner |
| Jerry Reinsdorf | White Sox Chair |
| Gene Orza | MLBPA COO |
| Tim Brosnan | MLB Exec VP/Business |
| Bob Bowman | MLBAM President & CEO |
| Arte Moreno | Angels Owner |
| Michael Weiner | MLBPA General Counsel |
| Billy Beane | A's GM |
| Ichiro Suzuki | Mariners RF |
| Arn Tellem | SFX Sports CEO |
| Peter Gammons | ESPN Columnist |
| Curt Schilling | Red Sox P |
| Omar Minaya | Mets GM |
| John McHale Jr | MLB Exec VP/Administration |
| John Schuerholz | Braves GM |
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Selig Tops Baseball America’s
Power Brokers List |
BUD SELECT: BASEBALL AMERICA’s Tom Haudricourt writes MLB is currently in what Selig “calls a Golden Era” after setting an all-time attendance mark last season. Selig: “When you think about where we were 10 years ago, it is stunning. The sport in no way looks like it did back then. We have seen the greatest changes in the game’s history. There’s still a lot of work to be done and I feel a great responsibility. But I must admit it is very gratifying.” Selig’s current contract takes him through the ’09 season, meaning he will handle a new TV contract and a new CBA, both of which expire after the ’06 season. Haudricourt: “Owners understood that putting a new commissioner in place at that critical juncture could prove disastrous.” Mets Owner FRED WILPON said, “I have been in baseball nearly 25 years, and in that time I have never known anyone more dedicated and more devoted than Bud Selig” (BASEBALL AMERICA, 4/10 issue).
