The 79-year-old baseball commissioner announced in a statement on Thursday that he will retire in January 2015, having served 22 years, the second-longest term behind Kenesaw Mountain Landis, following a decade of insisting his departure was inevitable.
Under his revolutionary leadership, there was a two-decade period of labour peace, interleague play, a $8 billion industry, and an enlarged postseason. However, he oversaw a protracted drug controversy and a postponed World Series.
“He has served as baseball’s voice. His voice was liked by some. Ron Gardenhire, manager of the Minnesota Twins, stated that some individuals didn’t. “I have a lot of respect for the guy.”
It’s true that Selig has historically acted like the Boy Who Cried Wolf when it came to retirement. Despite his continuous acceptance of new contracts, he stated in 2003 that he would stand down at the end of 2006.
Although some owners, including his wife, had doubted that he would actually step down, this was the first time he had made an official announcement that he would be leaving the highest position in the sport. He even provided the precise day, January 24, 2015.
“I look forward to continuing its extraordinary growth and addressing several significant issues during the remainder of my term,” stated the president.
Selig’s tenure and contributions to his sport are comparable to those of David Stern, the NBA commissioner for 30 years until his retirement in February, and Pete Rozelle, the NFL commissioner from 1960 to 1989.
Selig stated he would soon make public a transition plan that would restructure baseball’s central administration. Baseball’s lead labour negotiator, Rob Manfred, has been more influential recently, but it’s unclear if Selig’s replacement will come from within the commissioner’s office.
Many had conjectured that Selig wished to outlast Landis, who held office from November 1920 to November 1944.
The most notable aspect of Selig’s tenure may have been the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs. From October 1985 until August 2002, management and players did not have a drug agreement, and drug testing with consequences did not begin until 2004. Selig has defended his record on numerous occasions, claiming that baseball handled the situation as quickly as it could and that player negotiations were still open.
“Under him, the game has significantly improved. “He’s tried his hardest to try to clean up the game,” Joe Girardi, manager of the New York Yankees, remarked. “He has made an impression on the game. It is without dispute.”
During Selig’s leadership, the leagues were divided into three divisions instead of two in 1995 due to the addition of wild cards and an extra round of playoffs. When the postseason went to four rounds last year, the number of wild cards doubled to four.
In 1998, expansion teams from Arizona and Tampa Bay began play, bringing the total number of major league teams to thirty. Along with revenue sharing, interleague play started in 1997, giving smaller-market clubs a stronger opportunity to compete. That same year, Selig retired Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 for the entirety of Major League Baseball, and additional initiatives ensued. Launches of Major League Baseball Advanced Media in 2000, the World Baseball Classic in 2006, the Major League Baseball Network in 2008, and a restricted video review of umpire calls in 2008 and the Major League Baseball Network in 2009.
As evidenced by the $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers last year, owners have frequently lauded his financial acumen, which has resulted in record franchise values. During his leadership, the typical player wage has increased threefold to over $3 million.
Even Selig occasionally agreed with the criticism levelled at him: he proceeded cautiously. Operating baseball from his Milwaukee-based residence for many years, he aimed to foster agreement among owners instead of imposing his will on them, as Peter Ueberroth did. Selig gained what he desired by using a grandfatherly charm.
Overall, things have gone well, according to Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos. “You’re going to have your detractors, that goes without saying.”
When Selig was a young boy, his mother took him to baseball games, and he became a fan. While employed in the family’s car leasing company, he tried to prevent the Milwaukee Braves from moving to Atlanta for the 1966 season and instead became a minority shareholder in the franchise.
He set up nine regular-season games for the Chicago White Sox in 1968 and eleven the following year in Milwaukee as a stopgap solution. He acquired the Seattle Pilots in bankruptcy court shortly before the 1970 season, relocated the team to Milwaukee, and changed the team’s name to the Brewers.
Under the guidance of John Fetzer, the owner of the Detroit Tigers, Selig rose to prominence as an owner in the early 1980s, serving as chairman of the Player Relations Committee, which set labour policy. He was a member of the party that pushed for Fay Vincent’s resignation after three years in office and sought significant changes to the sport’s current contract with players. On September 9, 1992, Selig assumed the position of acting commissioner while serving as the executive council’s chairman.
While he oversaw a seven and a half-month strike in 1994–1995 that resulted in the World Series being cancelled for the first time in ninety years, owners and players were able to come to uninterrupted agreements in 2002, 2006, and 2011.
Despite his repeated declarations that he would not accept the position full-time, Selig was officially elected commissioner on July 9, 1998. Wendy Selig-Prieb, his daughter, took over as team manager after him, but the Selig family did not sell the franchise until 2005.
In 2001, Selig consented to a renewed term as commissioner. He told a gathering of Associated Press Sports Editors that he will retire in 2006 when he originally made the announcement in 2003.
“I think that will be plenty for a guy who took it on September 9, 1992, and I told my wife it would take two to four months — fourteen years later. I truly would like to do other things, so there is no issue.”
When questioned once more about if this was his last term, Selig said, “Oh, there’s no question.”
After that, he signed on to fresh deals in 2004; 2008; and 2012.
Selig has expressed his desire to pen a book. He has been a professor at the law school at Marquette and the University of Wisconsin.
“We are excited to collaborate with the commissioner for the upcoming fifteen months,” union president Michael Weiner stated in a release. “Then, we hope the commissioner enjoys his retirement and wish him well.”
