Selig hits it big with students

[Elvis]

Selig hits it big with students

by Tom Schalmo / The Badger Herald

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

After more than 40 years of working in the same industry, it’s easy to get worn out, lose passion and throw in the towel.

Not for Bud Selig.

After 14 years as commissioner of Major League Baseball and 42 in the baseball business, Bud Selig is still passionate about the game he’s followed since he was a little boy.

Selig spoke at Hillel Theater Tuesday night, telling fans in attendance that they were witnessing the “golden age of baseball.”

The MLB is on its way to setting an attendance record this year, Selig said, as 73 million fans have watched games so far this year, less than two million short of the record set in 2005.

“Obviously, I’m partial, but baseball is the greatest game there is,” Selig said, adding that many of the games this year have been “mind-boggling.”

Dominating much of baseball news in recent years, though, has been the steroid scandal that has left some fans skeptical about players like San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds.

Selig addressed the scandal, admitting there is more work to be done, but added he believes baseball in on the right track.

“What I try to say to people all the time is the steroid controversy is a manifestation of the society we live in,” he said. “It’s a very, very, sad problem.”

What moved Selig to crack down even further on steroids, he said, was a meeting last year with Donald Hooton, whose son, a high school baseball player, committed suicide as a result of steroid use.

“It was a heartbreaking story,” he said. “[Hooton] made a stunning impression on me.”

Selig said people have criticized him for not recognizing the problem sooner, but said a Hall of Fame sports writer said to him, “How would you know? I’m in the clubhouse everyday, and I didn’t know.”

Bonds is on pace to break Hank Aaron’s career home run record, and Selig said MLB has every intention of recognizing it.

“We will be very appropriate if and when Barry breaks the record,” Selig said.

Selig did not want to comment on the steroid policies of other professional sports leagues, but said baseball is held to a “higher standard” than other sports.

“Baseball is a social institution — that’s what it is,” Selig said. “It’s bigger than a sport; it has an enormous amount of social responsibility.”

With some teams in bigger markets earning more revenue than smaller clubs, Selig said it’s imperative for each team to have a fair chance to succeed.

“The most important part of our sport are the two words that I use at owners’ meeting,” Selig said. “Our job is to provide hope and faith — hope and faith that your team has a chance to win.”

Selig also discussed his pride in inter-league play in baseball, a concept he fought for from the 1970s until it was enacted until 1996.

“It’s made new rivalries,” Selig said, including one between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers when the two teams were in separate leagues.

As he was watching one of the first inter-league games between the Cubs and Brewers, Selig said he was listening to Brewers announcer Bob Uecker on the radio and watching the Cubs’ Harry Carey on television.

“Harry Carey was saying, ‘What took them so long? This is really wonderful.’” Selig said. “And I’m not ashamed to say I cried.”

While being baseball’s greatest administrator, Selig remains one of the game’s biggest fans.

Of all his memories of baseball, Selig said one his most unforgettable was in 1957, when he uncharacteristically skipped an accounting class to watch the Brewers (sic) play the St. Louis Cardinals for the National League championship.

The Brewers (sic) won that game, and the next day, the New York Times ran a large photo of Aaron, and next to it was a picture from Little Rock, Ark., of white people beating up blacks during the Civil Rights movement, he said

“I’ve still got that newspaper, and I’ve shown it to a lot of people,” he added. “It was an amazing contradiction.”

Selig also shared his excitement for the new World Baseball Classic and potential of the Brewers’ young talent.

Members of the Jewish Cultural Collective, which sponsored the event, said they were proud to have the commissioner of Major League baseball speaking to their group.

“Commissioner Selig has been a major influence on major changes in baseball,” JCC events coordinator Jacey Bader said. “He is a well respected man who’s given a great amount to the game of baseball.”

Andrew Rubin, chair of JCC, said they were “proud” to have Selig speak at Hillel Theater.

Selig graduated from University Wisconsin-Madison in 1957, originally coming to the school with the intention of becoming a history professor.

“Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined where my career would take me,” Selig said.

Selig plans to retire as commissioner when his contract ends in 2009. Following his retirement, Selig plans to write a book and finally pursue teaching.

[trosmok]

So that bum wants to teach history? Pity the poor students who will suffer because of it. If he is so ignorant of even his own hometown's baseball history, how can he be trusted to get his facts straight about other places in the world? If he doesn't know the difference between the Braves and Brewers, and that 1957 is his most unforgettable baseball memory, whoa nellie! those kids are liable to believe anything, like baseball is entering another golden age. :eek:

Like Dr. King said: "Nothing in this world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and concientious stupidity."

[Captain Cold Nose]

So that bum wants to teach history? Pity the poor students who will suffer because of it. If he is so ignorant of even his own hometown's baseball history, how can he be trusted to get his facts straight about other places in the world? If he doesn't know the difference between the Braves and Brewers, and that 1957 is his most unforgettable baseball memory, whoa nellie! those kids are liable to believe anything, like baseball is entering another golden age. :eek:

Like Dr. King said: "Nothing in this world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and concientious stupidity."
Just like Professor Selig said. Mind-boggling.

[SamtheBravesFan]

:eek: My God, he can't be that stupid. Sure, the Braves held off the Cardinals for the pennant in 1957, maybe that's what he was thinking of, but there is no excuse for confusing the Braves with the Brewers. No excuse.

[Monarchs29]

At long last we now know what Bud's legacy to MLB will be. According to him we're actively taking part in the "Golden Age of Baseball".

:laugh That BS, he sure is full of BS.:laugh

I sure hope someone was standing by with a towel for BS after he finished.
He needed somthing to clean his face of all that BS.

[Knick9]

:eek: He can't be that stupid.

I wouldn't be surprised if he was that stupid. We are going through a "dark" age in baseball, not "golden." There is a huge difference. The man is not fit to be a true leader, and we have to put up with his BS until 2009. Great. :hp

[Elvis]

In fairness, I added the (sic) to the Brewers comment. In the article there was no such notiation, so I'm assuming it was the reporter/writer who made the mistake. Selig probably said "Milwaukee" and the writer assumed it was the same team. Selig might have his faults, but he's a passionate student of the game since childhood and knows his baseball history.

[SamtheBravesFan]

In fairness, I added the (sic) to the Brewers comment. In the article there was no such notiation, so I'm assuming it was the reporter/writer who made the mistake. Selig probably said "Milwaukee" and the writer assumed it was the same team. Selig might have his faults, but he's a passionate student of the game since childhood and knows his baseball history.

I will grant that that is possible. But I still stand by my dumbstruckness at Selig's "golden age" comment.

[Elvis]

I will grant that that is possible. But I still stand by my dumbstruckness at Selig's "golden age" comment.

That I will agree with. It struck me as a very odd comment. Golden age as far as revenue (marketing, TV and ads) and attendance, I suppose, but that's about it.

[ESPNFan]

This guy is nothing more than an ownership yes man. He has set back the game years when people discuss the integrity of the game. Don't believe the hype reguarding his attendance numbers, much of the increases are related to interpromotions betweeen businesses and corperate entertainment tax write offs/trade.

I'll have to go mark 2009 off on my calender. At least then I hope that every time someone mentions "the commisioner of major league baseball" I won't have the Benny Hill Show theme music running through my head.

[Skin & Bones]

I will grant that that is possible. But I still stand by my dumbstruckness at Selig's "golden age" comment.

In terms of attendance it is.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060905&content_id=1646811&vkey=pr_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Now I wouldn't call this era the golden age, or any era for that matter, but even with a large scandal floating around the game, fans are still going to games.

Baseball, in all actuality, may be the most popular it's ever been.

[SamtheBravesFan]

Now I wouldn't call this era the golden age, or any era for that matter, but even with a large scandal floating around the game, fans are still going to games.

Baseball, in all actuality, may be the most popular it's ever been.

That's what confuses the hell out of me. Baseball is perceived as dishonest, you're charged both arms and legs for a family outing at a stadium, and yet still people go to the games willingly! :eek:

[ESPNFan]

That's what confuses the hell out of me. Baseball is perceived as dishonest, you're charged both arms and legs for a family outing at a stadium, and yet still people go to the games willingly! :eek:


Its pretty easy to understand actually. The place I work now has a massive public and commercial association with the Red Sox. The amount of tickets they have set aside just for company related business and events is shocking. These are generally written of as a business expence or used as trade or even donated for some PR. I also know for a fact that every major media outlet in the city has not only some type of Luxury Box affiliation as well as regular tickets.
Figure in every other sponcer who recives a large block of tickets as trade and the demand from the general public becomes larger and larger until its out of control as it is here in Boston. The only way to reliably get tickets is to become a season ticket holder.

Also teams in trouble always pad their attendance.
You don't need to look any further for confirmation of this then when the gate is made official and the announcers look out and laugh at the inflated number.

And more and more teams have new updated and fan friendly parks, that become huge attractions in and of themselves. So watching your Pirates or Brewers stumble through the season becomes a hell of a lot more comfortable. I'm sorry but Christ would have had to be batting clean up for me to pay to watch a game at Three Rivers again.

And the final bit of smoke and mirrors on Bud's 2005 Attendance "record" is that it was largely a product of moving the Expos out of Montreal. That made a difference of almost 2 million people instantly. Attendance in Washington this year is down by at least 500k BTW.

[Skin & Bones]

Its pretty easy to understand actually. The place I work now has a massive public and commercial association with the Red Sox. The amount of tickets they have set aside just for company related business and events is shocking. These are generally written of as a business expence or used as trade or even donated for some PR. I also know for a fact that every major media outlet in the city has not only some type of Luxury Box affiliation as well as regular tickets.
Figure in every other sponcer who recives a large block of tickets as trade and the demand from the general public becomes larger and larger until its out of control as it is here in Boston. The only way to reliably get tickets is to become a season ticket holder.

Also teams in trouble always pad their attendance.
You don't need to look any further for confirmation of this then when the gate is made official and the announcers look out and laugh at the inflated number.

And more and more teams have new updated and fan friendly parks, that become huge attractions in and of themselves. So watching your Pirates or Brewers stumble through the season becomes a hell of a lot more comfortable. I'm sorry but Christ would have had to be batting clean up for me to pay to watch a game at Three Rivers again.

And the final bit of smoke and mirrors on Bud's 2005 Attendance "record" is that it was largely a product of moving the Expos out of Montreal. That made a difference of almost 2 million people instantly. Attendance in Washington this year is down by at least 500k BTW.
I agree with all your points, but the the previous record was in 2004. So while moving the Expos out of Montreal indeed made a difference, let's not pretend that attendance wouldn't have been at an all-time high regardless.

[Ubiquitous]

Okay all those tickets that all those companies get are not free, they pay for them. It is part of the price for sponsorship. Nothing is free. The bread you get at a restaurant is not free even though it doesn't show up on your bill. The bobblehead doll you get at the turnstile is not free, even though you don't have to give them cash for it. The attendance is not high because of a bunch of promotional tickets.

Now then one of the reason why sporting event tickets are so costly is because a company is allowed to deduct 25% of the ticket value for tax purposes. So that 60 dollar ticket doesn't feel like a 60 dollar ticket to a company. Whereas a private citizen does not get to deduct the ticket.


No matter how much you want to say the numbers are doctored or why they are what they are this one fact is undeniable. More people are going to baseball games then ever before, and in most cases more people are going to a ball game on a per team or per game basis then ever before and I don't think any other era is really close to this level.

[ESPNFan]

[/B]
I agree with all your points, but the the previous record was in 2004. So while moving the Expos out of Montreal indeed made a difference, let's not pretend that attendance wouldn't have been at an all-time high regardless.

Actually there is no need to pretend because its basicly a stone cold fact according to BallparksofBaseball.com.

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/2000-03attendance.htm

2004 total attendance: 72,968,953
2005 total attendance: 74,385,295

Subtract the 2,692,123 for the Nationals and substitute the average of the last 5 years at Montreal and you get 831,038.

The result is 72,524,210. not only is that not going to beat the 2004 record but its also less than the total gate for 2000 and 2001 as well.

Even if you substituted the best attendace number for the Expos in that 5 year span, 1,025,639 your still going to be a couple hundred thousand short of a record.

[ESPNFan]

Okay all those tickets that all those companies get are not free, they pay for them. It is part of the price for sponsorship. Nothing is free. The bread you get at a restaurant is not free even though it doesn't show up on your bill. The bobblehead doll you get at the turnstile is not free, even though you don't have to give them cash for it. The attendance is not high because of a bunch of promotional tickets.

Now then one of the reason why sporting event tickets are so costly is because a company is allowed to deduct 25% of the ticket value for tax purposes. So that 60 dollar ticket doesn't feel like a 60 dollar ticket to a company. Whereas a private citizen does not get to deduct the ticket.


No matter how much you want to say the numbers are doctored or why they are what they are this one fact is undeniable. More people are going to baseball games then ever before, and in most cases more people are going to a ball game on a per team or per game basis then ever before and I don't think any other era is really close to this level.

I know quite a few people who own season tickets and write them off as a business expence as well. What I am trying to say is now more than ever going into any given season teams have a higher portion of their total gate already spoken for. These numbers are fairly constant and increases demand for the average fan for the remainder of the season. And I'm not saying these tickets are free by any means but thier cost helps to counteract a much less desireable expense.

Another factor I forgot to mention is Ticket Agents. I loathe these people. How this isn't scalping is beyond me. But these guys buy up bunches of the best seats to almost every game. I know they are huge here in Mass, and I wonder it its the same everywhere. Again your pool of available tickets is reduced and demand increases because people, like myself, refuse to give these guys our money, or just don't want to pay their inflated rates.

And your right, more people go to games now than ever before. But remember there are more teams now, bigger stadiums now and simply more people now as well. But these current levels were approaching over 12 years ago. In 1993 baseball attendance exploded and then the 1994 strike blew that good will apart. But something brought everyone back in 1998. Hmm I wonder what that was ;) .

[Monarchs29]

A point ot remember: The attendance numbers are "PAID", not actual.

I'm reasonably sure that there are a number of seats in every venue that are never filled, but being 'good corporate citizens, a lot of companies buy seats only to be used as tax write-offs. And they do this each and every year. I'd also make a large bet that in some of these companies, most employees don't even know the seats are available.

Also, I refer you back to 3-4 years ago when, purportedly, some 'good?' fan bought up 25,000 tickets so the Marlins wouldn't finish at the bottom of the heap, attendance-wise. Way to go, Boy Blunder.

So, Bud, before you start spouting off about how great the the numbers are, let's, for once, do an actual count.

[Captain Cold Nose]

A point ot remember: The attendance numbers are "PAID", not actual.

I'm reasonably sure that there are a number of seats in every venue that are never filled, but being 'good corporate citizens, a lot of companies buy seats only to be used as tax write-offs. And they do this each and every year. I'd also make a large bet that in some of these companies, most employees don't even know the seats are available.

Also, I refer you back to 3-4 years ago when, purportedly, some 'good?' fan bought up 25,000 tickets so the Marlins wouldn't finish at the bottom of the heap, attendance-wise. Way to go, Boy Blunder.

So, Bud, before you start spouting off about how great the the numbers are, let's, for once, do an actual count.
The tickets got sold. Why is that a blunder? Or even on Selig's shoulders?

[trosmok]

Attendance figures are simply another case of cooking the books and duplicitous manipulation of facts that Slug has made part of the business of baseball. It really is amazing that baseball is now more popular worldwide than ever before, but this is in spite of the efforts of the puppet commissioner not because of them. His legacy will forever be the Steroid Commissioner and nothing else, because of his too little too late approach to all of MLB's problems, especially the worst scandal in generations of our game. The guy is really a dolt when it comes to history and geography, not to mention math; remember during contraction talks he testified under oath that St. Louis is actually closer in distance to Milwaukee than the Twin Cities are?:lookitup

[LouGehrig]

That's what confuses the hell out of me. Baseball is perceived as dishonest, you're charged both arms and legs for a family outing at a stadium, and yet still people go to the games willingly! :eek:

Doesn't it say something about people.

[Ubiquitous]

No because it really isn't true. Going to a baseball can be cheap or it can be expensive. It is up to the consumer to decide which way it will be. And that is true for virtually anything one wants to do. Taking a family out to dinner can be cheap or it can be expensive. Taking your family on vacation can be cheap or expensive. You can take a family of 4 to a game and have cost less then 20 dollars a person if you want or you could have it cost 100 dollars a person. It is your choice.

I take my Dad to baseball games all the time. It costs me about 30 to 40 dollars extra (gas, parking, food, beverages) besides the tickets to do that. Could it cost me less then that and still have a wonderful time? You bet, I could very easily cut that in half or even make it a third of its total, but I choose not to for convenience purposes. Now then I spend about 60 to 70 dollars on tickets. Do I have to spend 60-70 dollars on tickets? No, I could spend about 25 to 35 dollars on tickets and in enjoy the game just as much. Again I choose not to because I don't have to.

As for being perceived as dishonest, perception is in the eye of the beholder. How one perceives something is not totally reliant on how others perceive the product.

[Knick9]

That's what confuses the hell out of me. Baseball is perceived as dishonest, you're charged both arms and legs for a family outing at a stadium, and yet still people go to the games willingly! :eek:

Talk about our economy being bad... :crazy

[Elvis]

No because it really isn't true. Going to a baseball can be cheap or it can be expensive. It is up to the consumer to decide which way it will be. And that is true for virtually anything one wants to do. Taking a family out to dinner can be cheap or it can be expensive. Taking your family on vacation can be cheap or expensive. You can take a family of 4 to a game and have cost less then 20 dollars a person if you want or you could have it cost 100 dollars a person. It is your choice.


Absolutely true. In fact here in LA it can be much cheaper than even $20 per.

Dodger Family Pack:
4 reserved tickets between the bases
4 Dodger Dogs
4 Cokes
$52

Add the cost of parking and that's about $15 a head. $13 if you park outside for free and walk in like I usually do.

And even better deal: Buy 4 Top Deck seats, park outside and bring in all your food, snacks and drinks. Total ballpark cost per person: $6! How can you beat that?

It's all up to you how much you spend.

[SamtheBravesFan]

Absolutely true. In fact here in LA it can be much cheaper than even $20 per.

Dodger Family Pack:
4 reserved tickets between the bases
4 Dodger Dogs
4 Cokes
$52

Add the cost of parking and that's about $15 a head. $13 if you park outside for free and walk in like I usually do.

And even better deal: Buy 4 Top Deck seats, park outside and bring in all your food, snacks and drinks. Total ballpark cost per person: $6! How can you beat that?

It's all up to you how much you spend.

Great point. :waving I almost forgot about that. :)