Some would say that being the Commissioner of Baseball is a thankless job! At once, reviled and applauded, Allan (Bud) Selig would probably agree! During his long stewardship of Major League Baseball, he’s taken the love/hate relationship among owners, managers, players and umpires to a whole new level!

 

Who is Bud Selig? And how did he get the top job? Did he play baseball like a god? Was he the greatest record-breaker in America’s most loved game? Did he inspire reverence and devotion among his fans?

 

None of the above!

 

Bud Selig was born in Milwaukee in 1934.  He attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in American History and Political Science in 1956, followed by two years’ service in the armed forces. He worked with his father in the auto business and, encouraged by his mother, was an avid baseball fan, following the old Milwaukee Brewers minor league team and the Chicago Cubs. She would take him and his brother to Old Orchards Field where the triple-A farm team of the Cubs used to play. And when the National League franchise came to Milwaukee in 1953, Bud was the Chicago Braves’ largest public stockholder.

 

Devastated when the team departed Milwaukee for Atlanta in 1965, Bud dumped his stock in the team and founded “Teams Inc., an enterprise devoted to returning Major League Baseball to Milwaukee and keeping it there. Re-named “The Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club” after the minor league baseball team whose games he attended while growing up, Bud was able to bring several Chicago White Sox games to Milwaukee in 1968, where they played at the old Milwaukee County Stadium – the first was a pre-season match between the White Sox and the Minnesota Twins and it attracted well over 50,000 spectators. There were nine more regular-season games in 1968 and eleven in 1969, one of which was against the Seattle Pilots – the team that would later become the Brewers! These games were successful beyond anyone’s dreams, accounting for a third of the total White Sox home attendance.

 

In 1969, Bud decided to buy the White Sox in his determination to bring MLB to Milwaukee. He succeeded in entering into an agreement with the club, but it was shot down in flames by the American League as they wanted to keep an AL team in Chicago as competition for the Chicago Cubs on the other side of town!

 

Disappointed – but not discouraged, Bud Selig and his investors spent months negotiating to buy the cash-strapped Seattle Pilots franchise. Finally, a federal referee declared it bankrupt and Bud got the team for $10,800.00! Tickets for the Brewers went on sale the following day and the team’s equipment was hustled to the Milwaukee County Stadium – no time to make new uniforms, so the team insignia was torn off the old ones!

 

Major League Baseball had returned to Wisconsin after a four-year absence! And the Brewers played their first game on April 7, 1970. They lost 12-0 to the California Angels, in front of a crowd of almost 40,000 yelling and hooting spectators.

 

There was only one way to go, and that was Up! Things could only get better – and under Bud Selig’s guiding hand as club president, the Milwaukee Brewers took part in post-season play in 1981, finishing first in the American League East during the second half of the season. In 1982, the team made it to the World Series, led by Paul Molitor and Robin Yount, but losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. The Brewers also earned seven Organizations of the Year awards and three Baseball America Awards from 1985 to 1987.

 

Flashback now – to 1966. Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, star pitchers for the Los Angeles Dodgers had helped the team win the 1965 World Series. The Dodgers needed them both for the 1966 World Series and the two players each negotiated the largest one-year contracts in baseball history. In 1968, fearful that other star players would do the same, the owners negotiated the first Collective Bargaining Agreement with the union leader, forbidding players from holding joint negotiations. The union agreed, but only if the rule also applied to owners. The agreement stated that “players shall not act in concert with other players and clubs shall not act in concert with other clubs.”

 

This stood the test of time until Commissioner of Baseball Peter Ueberroth told the owners during a 1985 meeting that they were crazy to agree to a ruling which could cost them millions of dollars just to win a World Series. Major League baseball players became “free agents” after playing for their team without a contract which could invalidate the “reserve clause” present in every player’s contract.  As a rule, owners did not allow players to play without signing a new contract and it resulted in the player being restricted indefinitely to the team with which he first signed. This removed market competition and kept players’ salaries comparatively low.

 

Two players found themselves in this situation and submitted a grievance to arbitration. The teams’ owners had argued that under the one-year agreement, they were within their rights to renew perpetually the players’ annual contracts. Arbitrator Peter Seitz then issued the ruling, stating that after one year, players became free agents. Many appeals were launched and finally, MLB and the Players’ Association signed an agreement which allowed players with six years’ experience to become free agents.

 

So where does Bud Selig figure in all of this? He formed part of the so-called Owners’ Collusion during the baseball seasons 1985 to 1987 – collusion meaning that owners collaborated with each other concerning players’ contracts – which resulted in the Owners having to pay out $280 million to the Players. Bud never agreed that the owners colluded, but the-then Commissioner of Baseball, Fay Vincent stated that,

 

“The Union basically doesn’t trust the ownership because collusion was a $280 million theft by Selig and Jerry Reinsdorf of that money from the players. I mean, they rigged the signing of free agents and they got caught! They paid $280 million to the players. And I think that’s polluted labor relations in baseball ever since it happened. I think it’s the reason that the Major League Baseball Players’ Association executive director Donald Fehr has no trust in Bud Selig.”

 

After this, Commissioner Vincent resigned, following an 18-9 vote of no-confidence – and as Chairman of the Executive Council of Major League Baseball, Bud Selig was the next in line. He became the Acting Commissioner in 1992.

 

His first major innovation was to introduce the Wild Card and Divisional Play-off play. In MLB, this play-off spot is awarded to the team in each League holding the best record among the non-division winners. Earlier, the League had expanded to twenty-eight teams and had reorganized its two leagues to have three divisions. And, as a three-team play-off would be irregular, a fourth team would have to be fielded and would therefore receive the “wild card.”

 

This decision caused much debate and disagreement among fans. Those against the idea felt that it would minimize the value and importance of the Pennant Race and the regular season, and would result in the teams battling for second rather than for first place. Those who were for the idea saw it as a chance for teams to enter the playoffs, even when they had no hope of finishing in first place in their own division, thus maintaining the fans’ support later on in the season.

 

This arrangement has been in place since 1995 – but was first intended for use in 1994 when the play-offs were cancelled, owing to the baseball players’ strike, which lasted from August, 1994 until April, 1995. As Acting Commissioner, Bud represented MLB during the strike and cancelled the 1994 World Series making it the first time this great event had not been held since 1904 – ninety years!

 

As Acting Commissioner of Baseball, Bud could exercise the same powers as if he officially held the authoritative position of Commissioner. In 1993, he suspended the owner of the Cincinnati Reds, Marge Schott for a year for her prejudicial remarks and actions as well as her racist attitude. At the same time, he reinstated George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees who had earned a life-long suspension from Bud’s predecessor, Fay Vincent.

 

Such consideration has not been given to baseball great Pete Rose who has applied for reinstatement several times. In 1989, the late Bart Giametti, the then Commissioner had banned him for life from entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame for gambling on baseball games. Pete met with Bud Selig in 2002 and admitted his guilt; however, Giametti had been a close friend of Bud Selig and Pete’s request was turned down.

 

Bud was given the title of Commissioner permanently during the 1998 season and holds the position to this day. In 2002, he managed to stave off another threatened players’ strike and oversaw the implementation of “interleague” play which had been introduced in 1997.

 

Prior to 1997, American League and National League baseball teams did not meet during the regular baseball season. They met up only during spring training, All-Star games and exhibition games such as the Hall of Fame game held in Cooperstown. From 1998 all that changed and regular season MLB games could be played between teams in different leagues. Bud also integrated the two separate administrative bodies of the American League and National League, which had been cumbersome and ineffective. He consolidated them into the Commissioners’ Office in 2000.

 

Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Bud Selig postponed all baseball games for a week. This was done out of respect for the many victims and also to safeguard the players and fans in case of further attacks. However, the 2001 World Series was held as scheduled and the final game was played in Arizona. The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees in a heart-stopping game with two extra innings and three late-innings comebacks, ending with a walk-off hit.

 

Two days later, Bud held a vote on contracting two teams, (Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos). This move resulted in Bud Selig and Jeff Loria, (owner of the Expos) facing a suit for racketeering and conspiracy to defraud the Expos’ minority owners. The case finally ended up in arbitration and was settled for an unknown sum, much to Bud’s relief! It seems that the judge had ruled that the Expos could not be contracted until the case was settled! And by the way, if Bud and Jeff Loria had been found liable, the punitive damages could have gone as high as $300M!

 

Bud was delighted that Miller Park, the brand-new stadium opened in 2001 in his hometown of Milwaukee was the scene of the 2002 All-Star game! However, after nine innings, it was tied 7-7.  Both team managers had used up their entire rosters, following the unwritten rule of giving playing time to as many available players possible within the nine innings - and following the bottom of the eleventh inning, it was still tied!

 

Risking the fury of all the Milwaukee fans, Bud declared the game a tie!

 

He later stated that this decision saddened him greatly, but was a necessary one because of his (and others) concern for the pitchers’ fitness. He attempted to instill new energy into the All-Star game by giving the winning League the benefit of playing on their home field in the World Series. In 2003, the number of television viewers for the All-Star game was the same as in 2002 but dropped precipitously in 2004 and 2005. But an upswing was reported in the numbers of viewers for the game in 2006.

 

Bud Selig was unceasing in his efforts to protect the integrity of the game of baseball. In 2005, he suspended the Texas Rangers pitcher, Kenny Rogers for twenty games and a punitive fine of $50,000! Kenny had seized a camera from its cameraman, flinging it to the ground and when the cameraman tried to retrieve it, Kenny approached him in a threatening manner. As another cameraman continued filming, Kenny knocked him down again. He appealed the decision but was booed and heckled by the fans at the 2005 All-Star game in Detroit. Bud reviewed Kenny’s appeal and decided to uphold the twenty-game suspension, following which the issue went to an independent arbitrator who declared that Bud had overstepped his authority. He reduced Kenny’s suspension to thirteen games. But he confirmed the $50,000 fine!

 

In early 2005, Congress had instituted a series of hearings on the use of steroids in sports, attracting a great deal of attention from the national media. Following this, Bud proposed a more stringent testing directive to replace the current one. For the first time, the new rule also included the banning of all amphetamine use which resulted in MLB and the MLB Players reaching an agreement in November, 2005.

 

But more was to come! Within a few months, Bud Selig found himself facing the controversy concerning the use of performance enhancing drugs and, with the expected home-run record of Barry Bonds looming, he launched an independent investigation into the use of steroids by several MLB players, including Bonds.  Bud stated that the book “Game of Shadows” regarding the use of performance enhancing drugs was the reason for the investigation which released its report in December 2007, naming many former and current baseball players.

 

As Barry Bonds approached his 755^th career home run, there was doubt that Bud would attend the game in the wake of all the controversy. However, he did attend Bond’s record-tying home run against the San Diego Padres, but not the record-breaking 756^th home run on August 7 – but he sent a congratulatory message to Bonds on his achievement.

 

Bud Selig has weathered a storm of criticism for not taking more vigorous measures against the use of steroids in professional baseball and for postponing action until the issue became a serious problem for the game. After several appearances in front of Congress to testify on PED use, one newspaper christened him “The Steroids Commissioner.” It has been suggested by at least one congressman that Bud should resign because of the widespread use of PED’s in baseball during his stewardship.

 

Bud Selig served as Acting Commissioner for Baseball between 1992 and 1998. He was officially appointed to the position in 1998 and still serves to this day. He has guided baseball through its highs and lows and is presently bringing it into a period of renewal following all the controversies during his reign. He can take credit for the last seven seasons having been the seven best-attended seasons in baseball history. Revenues have increased more than five-fold, from $1.2 billion in 1992 to nearly $7 billion in 2010.

 

He had planned to retire when his contract expired in 2009, but MLB extended it through 2012 at which point Bud has said that he is definitely going to hang up his Commissioner’s hat.

 

He has presided over America’s most beloved game which has evolved to include among many other achievements,  interleague play, revenue sharing, a three division format, the wild-card, realignment and World Series home field advantage based upon the All-Star Game winner. The number of awards earned by Bud Selig would, if listed, run to several more pages in this article.

 

There is no doubt that Bud Selig has, in his position as Commissioner of Baseball, achieved heights beyond that of anyone else wearing the hat! His love for the game, his determination to protect its integrity and his drive to expand it has resulted in the opening of almost twenty new ballparks over the years. He has seen all this happen during his years of service and as a measure of thanks owed, the Milwaukee Brewers owner, Mark Attanasio commissioned a statue of Bud to be designed by artist Brian Maughan and placed outside Miller Park in August 2010.

 

Bud Selig is one of the very very few living persons to see a statue of himself. And there is little more to say, after that particular achievement.