Selig: Worst Commish ever?

[CoachMJ]

15 months and 30 million dollars later, Seligs investigation of steroids has gotten nowhere. He decided to turn a blind eye to steroids all through the 90's. Now hes grasping for straws by openly threatening Jason Giambi, in the media, to suspend him if he essentially does not name names. Selig fell asleep at the wheel and is now in a lot more trouble than anyone realizes.

[SteveNYY]

Id have to agree that he's the worst commish ever, if that's what you're saying.. the last episode of sopranos reminds me of Selig, the plot thickens and thickens and thickens and then he leaves you hanging/undecided with no answers

[Knick9]

Yes, he is the worst commish in MLB history. The things that he has done right are far overshadowed by the things that he has done wrong. I just can't stand Selig at all. He says this and that, and all he does is screw more things up. He is a puppet for the owners, so he has to please them or else he's outta there. (I blame the owners as well for picking this guy)

Let's just say that I could never see the past 3 MLB commissioners sinking this low...

[SteveNYY]

I can't think of something good he's done, honestly..

[SamtheBravesFan]

I can't think of something good he's done, honestly..

I think he's either referring to the wild card or interleague play.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

What specifically has Selig done bad?

[SteveNYY]

The way he's dealt with the steroid situation has been terrible, for one

[CoachMJ]

What specifically has Selig done bad?


Lets assume we all agree he knew about steroid use but never thought it would bite him in the ass. He was basking in the glory that the HR record was broken while he was in office, although it was broken by two monster steroid users in sosa and mcguire. The tied allstar game? What is this Japan? The strike in 1994. The list goes on and on. no hes spent 30 million on an investgation that has gone nowhere.

[Captain Cold Nose]

I can't think of something good he's done, honestly..

A lot of people have made a lot of money under his watch.

[SteveNYY]

A lot of people would make a lot of money if IIIIIII were the commish, or ANYONE for that matter.. hes the commish of the national pasttime for god's sake its a billion dollar industry lol how are you not gonna make money it has nothing to do with him

[Erik Bedard]

Nobody can touch William Eckert for worst commish ever.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Lets assume we all agree he knew about steroid use but never thought it would bite him in the ass. He was basking in the glory that the HR record was broken while he was in office, although it was broken by two monster steroid users in sosa and mcguire. The tied allstar game? What is this Japan? The strike in 1994. The list goes on and on. no hes spent 30 million on an investgation that has gone nowhere.
Why is the tied All-Star game Selig's fault? Blame the two managers. In 1994 the players walked went on strike and refused to return to work. This wasn't just the owners fault. It was the players as well. As for the investigation we don't know what they have uncovered yet. Do we know for sure that Selig had strong evidence that players were using PEDs back in the early 1990s? Sure, we can look back with hindsight and say it was obvious in early 1990s that they were but it was not obvioius at that time.

[SteveNYY]

If they'd uncovered anything there would have been action in response to that... and if not, even more reason to bash was selig's done

[KCGHOST]

Selig worse commissioner ever?? Don't think so. How about Peter Ueberroth, the author of the owners collaboration scheme in the 80's. Or the unknown soldier, William Eckert??

Selig doesn't do well in the P.R. sense, but he is exactly what his employers want. He is what the Union wants ( an owners' commissioner). During his reign baseball revenues have increased an incredible amount. This is good for both the owners and the Union. Not good for the "common" fan?? So what. The "common" fan sold out long ago.

An incredible number of new, wonderful stadiums have been built. Selig didn't force anybody to build them.

We are now in our 13th year of labor peace with several more years under contract. That's not bad.

Selig turned blind eye to steroids?? Selig's most ardent critics couldn't contend that. During the 90's he didn't have sufficient political backing (either by the owners or Congress) to get anything done against the obdurate Union leadership. The Union didn't cave until Congress explained to them how the cow ate the cabbage and, more importantly, the rank and file of the Union insisted on it.

You might not care for the the cost of the steroids investigation, but it has at least complished the very desired goal of keeping Congress out of the fray. You now have in place very real testing procedure that is actually identifying culprits (e.g. Rafael Palmeiro). Sorry it hasn't caught Barry Bonds, but that is how it goes.

Take a look at some of the major things Selig gets blamed for. Start with the 1994 cancellation of the WS. All he did was announce there wouldn't be one. Kind of hard to have one without teams. Remember the Union walked out and Ownership was intent on a confrontation. Also, the last Commissioner who defied the Owners was ceremoniously handed his hat by the Owners. Selig was confronted with two groups that were dying to duke it out. All he did was make an announcement. He was not the cause.

How about the great ASG fiasco when Brenly and Torre totally botched the management of pitchers in the game. Selig gets blamed for this yet, Brenly and Torre cause the problem.

The most damaging thing to Selig is the great Expos fiasco. It is not Bud's fault baseball failed in Montreal. But, he did orchestrate the ownership rotation that has actually ended up benefitting the game (not the fan necessarily). Boston ended up with a great owner with deep pockets. The BoSox faithful are thrilled. Don't like Jeff Loria in Florida?? Well who would, but he did deliver a WS champion (okay his involvement was coincidental) and to this date has an exciting young team on the field. An the Expos are now in D.C. under solid ownership. Yep, Expo fans took one in the ass, but no one ever stepped forward to be an owner for that team and commit to that city.

Selig is not a likable guy, particularly if you are under the delusion that the Commissioner is supposed to represent the average fan. If that is your only standard then he is the worst.

[Utter Chaos]

Selig worse commissioner ever?? Don't think so. How about Peter Ueberroth, the author of the owners collaboration scheme in the 80's. Or the unknown soldier, William Eckert??

Selig doesn't do well in the P.R. sense, but he is exactly what his employers want. He is what the Union wants ( an owners' commissioner). During his reign baseball revenues have increased an incredible amount. This is good for both the owners and the Union. Not good for the "common" fan?? So what. The "common" fan sold out long ago.

An incredible number of new, wonderful stadiums have been built. Selig didn't force anybody to build them.

We are now in our 13th year of labor peace with several more years under contract. That's not bad.

Selig turned blind eye to steroids?? Selig's most ardent critics couldn't contend that. During the 90's he didn't have sufficient political backing (either by the owners or Congress) to get anything done against the obdurate Union leadership. The Union didn't cave until Congress explained to them how the cow ate the cabbage and, more importantly, the rank and file of the Union insisted on it.

You might not care for the the cost of the steroids investigation, but it has at least complished the very desired goal of keeping Congress out of the fray. You now have in place very real testing procedure that is actually identifying culprits (e.g. Rafael Palmeiro). Sorry it hasn't caught Barry Bonds, but that is how it goes.

Take a look at some of the major things Selig gets blamed for. Start with the 1994 cancellation of the WS. All he did was announce there wouldn't be one. Kind of hard to have one without teams. Remember the Union walked out and Ownership was intent on a confrontation. Also, the last Commissioner who defied the Owners was ceremoniously handed his hat by the Owners. Selig was confronted with two groups that were dying to duke it out. All he did was make an announcement. He was not the cause.

How about the great ASG fiasco when Brenly and Torre totally botched the management of pitchers in the game. Selig gets blamed for this yet, Brenly and Torre cause the problem.

The most damaging thing to Selig is the great Expos fiasco. It is not Bud's fault baseball failed in Montreal. But, he did orchestrate the ownership rotation that has actually ended up benefitting the game (not the fan necessarily). Boston ended up with a great owner with deep pockets. The BoSox faithful are thrilled. Don't like Jeff Loria in Florida?? Well who would, but he did deliver a WS champion (okay his involvement was coincidental) and to this date has an exciting young team on the field. An the Expos are now in D.C. under solid ownership. Yep, Expo fans took one in the ass, but no one ever stepped forward to be an owner for that team and commit to that city.

Selig is not a likable guy, particularly if you are under the delusion that the Commissioner is supposed to represent the average fan. If that is your only standard then he is the worst. :applaud: Excellent post Ghost!

[Captain Cold Nose]

A lot of people would make a lot of money if IIIIIII were the commish, or ANYONE for that matter.. hes the commish of the national pasttime for god's sake its a billion dollar industry lol how are you not gonna make money it has nothing to do with him

I'd comment, but once again KCGHOST has done an excellent job with the actual reality of the situation. No need for me.

[ChrisLDuncan]

Right now Selig may be the best commish in all of sports. Stern ruined the NBA finals, due to out dated rules, and bad decisions to suspend Amare but suspending Duncan even though they both did the same thing. Roger Goddell is acting tough on off the field condunct, but I personally don't care what players do off the field. Also the Vick situation may be bad because if he does suspend Vick he'll have racial problems, and if he doesn't...well he'll look like a huge hypocrite. Never thought I'd say this, but Selig looks like the best.

[CoachMJ]

Why is the tied All-Star game Selig's fault? Blame the two managers. In 1994 the players walked went on strike and refused to return to work. This wasn't just the owners fault. It was the players as well. As for the investigation we don't know what they have uncovered yet. Do we know for sure that Selig had strong evidence that players were using PEDs back in the early 1990s? Sure, we can look back with hindsight and say it was obvious in early 1990s that they were but it was not obvioius at that time.


You just like to get your argument on. hes the worst. Bulls**t, there were always rumblings about steroids. If i heard them in Connecticut, then he heard them in milwaukee. he chose to ignore it. werent obvious? every single person on the Oakland A's was a god damned monster of a man. wasnt obvious?

[CoachMJ]

Right now Selig may be the best commish in all of sports. Stern ruined the NBA finals, due to out dated rules, and bad decisions to suspend Amare but suspending Duncan even though they both did the same thing. Roger Goddell is acting tough on off the field condunct, but I personally don't care what players do off the field. Also the Vick situation may be bad because if he does suspend Vick he'll have racial problems, and if he doesn't...well he'll look like a huge hypocrite. Never thought I'd say this, but Selig looks like the best.


Whats the NBA? who cares.

[Erik Bedard]

Selig worse commissioner ever?? Don't think so. How about Peter Ueberroth, the author of the owners collaboration scheme in the 80's. Or the unknown soldier, William Eckert??

Selig doesn't do well in the P.R. sense, but he is exactly what his employers want. He is what the Union wants ( an owners' commissioner). During his reign baseball revenues have increased an incredible amount. This is good for both the owners and the Union. Not good for the "common" fan?? So what. The "common" fan sold out long ago.

An incredible number of new, wonderful stadiums have been built. Selig didn't force anybody to build them.

We are now in our 13th year of labor peace with several more years under contract. That's not bad.

Selig turned blind eye to steroids?? Selig's most ardent critics couldn't contend that. During the 90's he didn't have sufficient political backing (either by the owners or Congress) to get anything done against the obdurate Union leadership. The Union didn't cave until Congress explained to them how the cow ate the cabbage and, more importantly, the rank and file of the Union insisted on it.

You might not care for the the cost of the steroids investigation, but it has at least complished the very desired goal of keeping Congress out of the fray. You now have in place very real testing procedure that is actually identifying culprits (e.g. Rafael Palmeiro). Sorry it hasn't caught Barry Bonds, but that is how it goes.

Take a look at some of the major things Selig gets blamed for. Start with the 1994 cancellation of the WS. All he did was announce there wouldn't be one. Kind of hard to have one without teams. Remember the Union walked out and Ownership was intent on a confrontation. Also, the last Commissioner who defied the Owners was ceremoniously handed his hat by the Owners. Selig was confronted with two groups that were dying to duke it out. All he did was make an announcement. He was not the cause.

How about the great ASG fiasco when Brenly and Torre totally botched the management of pitchers in the game. Selig gets blamed for this yet, Brenly and Torre cause the problem.

The most damaging thing to Selig is the great Expos fiasco. It is not Bud's fault baseball failed in Montreal. But, he did orchestrate the ownership rotation that has actually ended up benefitting the game (not the fan necessarily). Boston ended up with a great owner with deep pockets. The BoSox faithful are thrilled. Don't like Jeff Loria in Florida?? Well who would, but he did deliver a WS champion (okay his involvement was coincidental) and to this date has an exciting young team on the field. An the Expos are now in D.C. under solid ownership. Yep, Expo fans took one in the ass, but no one ever stepped forward to be an owner for that team and commit to that city.

Selig is not a likable guy, particularly if you are under the delusion that the Commissioner is supposed to represent the average fan. If that is your only standard then he is the worst.

If there were post of the week, no, month, this would win. :clapping :clapping :clapping

[ChrisLDuncan]

Whats the NBA? who cares.

Well I'm just saying that as of now Selig is the best commish in sports.

[digglahhh]

People just want to whine, they want a face and a set of shoulder upon which to rest the blame.

Ask most of those who complain about Selig being the worst Commish to name past Commissioners and (if they complete that part) give a quick summary of why they were so good. Plus, most Commissioners are at least somewhat polarizing in legacy. Selig hasn't been great, but he has also been handcuffed. Of course, one could argue that his actions and principles tightened those cuffs.

Great post, Ghost. Unfortunately most people who start these discussions are only looking for a "yeah, he sucks!"

[CoachMJ]

Of course, one could argue that his actions and principles tightened those cuffs.

yes one could. theres no statistics in this argument but i feel he turned a blind eye to steroids and now hes reaching. hes basically threatening giambi. who is the only player who had balls enough to admit that he himself used steroids. and what does selig say " rat on your friends and well take it easy on you."

[Mission27]

Well I'm just saying that as of now Selig is the best commish in sports.

Goodell of the NFL is the best commish in sports.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Goodell of the NFL is the best commish in sports.
He's been in office how long? Let's give him a fews years to do something before we annoint Goodell the best.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

You just like to get your argument on. hes the worst. Bulls**t, there were always rumblings about steroids. If i heard them in Connecticut, then he heard them in milwaukee. he chose to ignore it. werent obvious? every single person on the Oakland A's was a god damned monster of a man. wasnt obvious?

You make an argument WITHOUT any evidence. Please produce evidence from say 1994 not just third party hearsay. Rumblings and actually having solid evidence are two different things. It's kind of lame to declare today after the fact that it was obvious way back in 1994. It was not. Every member of the A's was a monster? Yeah, Walt Wiess was just so huge.

[Mission27]

I think he's done a lot.. for example this whole strict off-field behavior policy is gonna do a lot. It seems like nfl players, for reasons inappropriate to speak of here, find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time more than anyone..... this is gonna change significantly with these new policies. Players aren't gonna risk their paychecks like they have in the past

He's got a perfect record so far, imo, and i like that he seems to rule with the iron fist...

[ChrisLDuncan]

I think he's done a lot.. for example this whole strict off-field behavior policy is gonna do a lot. It seems like nfl players, for reasons inappropriate to speak of here, find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time more than anyone..... this is gonna change significantly with these new policies. Players aren't gonna risk their paychecks like they have in the past

He's got a perfect record so far, imo, and i like that he seems to rule with the iron fist...


Well I don't care what a man does in his spare time...however if he suspends Vick, I feel that he will get a full court press from racial groups saying that he is too hard on black atheletes. Also the NFL is the worst league for players the players union has ZERO spine and finally a guy like Mike Ditka is standing up for players after retirement. I think Selig is the best right now, players are happy, the owners are happy, and I suppose that's all that matters for now. I liked Tags...but it looks like Goddell will screw something up by either adding another game or giving LA another franchise that will fail.

[CoachMJ]

You make an argument WITHOUT any evidence. Please produce evidence from say 1994 not just third party hearsay. Rumblings and actually having solid evidence are two different things. It's kind of lame to declare today after the fact that it was obvious way back in 1994. It was not. Every member of the A's was amonster. Yeah, Walt Wiess was just so huge.

without evidence? just like seligs investigation. i dont know how you can be a fan of selig. it wasnt obvious? are you serious? it was obvious, but the comissioner DIDNT CARE!!!! he was geting asses in the seats. brady whats his face foirm the orioles? everyone knew in 96 but it wsa brushed under the carpet. jose canseco was a god dmaned body builder. mcguire doubles in size and is covered in acne. nah it wasnt obvious youre right.

[Mission27]

Well I don't think giving them another game would be bad, I think it'd be great actually.. altho making it overseas would be a tragic mistake.. and nothing I said has anything to do with his spare time

[Dalkowski110]

Whoever thinks Selig was the worst commish ever has never heard of Spike Eckert...hell, Richard Nixon (who was actually getting serious consideration) would've made a better commissioner! In fact, Tricky Dick was a lot closer than most people think. He probably ruined his chances when he said that he might at one point be forced to back out once in office due to prior political commitments, and baseball was very much looking for a long-term commissioner at that point.

[ChrisLDuncan]

Well I don't think giving them another game would be bad, I think it'd be great actually.. altho making it overseas would be a tragic mistake.. and nothing I said has anything to do with his spare time

Well, the thing about another game is that they have 32 teams and sixteen games, that's the perfect number of teams and the perfect number of games...Goddell doesn't need to do anything to be a success. He has a TV deal in place, the most popular and marketable sport...he just has to sit back and let the pieces fall into place. Whereas Selig had an uphill battle to fight, and so far I'd say he's doing a good job.

[Mission27]

It doesn't matter if theres 16 or 17 games if there's 32 teams.. its another 16 games (16x2=32 in case you were wondering lol)

And yea, ill give you that, everything's in place he needs to just not F it up.. but the NFL does present a lot of things such as players getting in trouble and many issues during the season.. im interested to see how this iron fist stuff will work out once the season starts, i think its gonna be good

[digglahhh]

Whoever thinks Selig was the worst commish ever has never heard of Spike Eckert...hell, Richard Nixon (who was actually getting serious consideration) would've made a better commissioner! In fact, Tricky Dick was a lot closer than most people think. He probably ruined his chances when he said that he might at one point be forced to back out once in office due to prior political commitments, and baseball was very much looking for a long-term commissioner at that point.

Tricky Dick was pretty close. He was real tight with The Boss, so tight that Steinbrenner's first suspension had to do with illegal campaign contributions to Nixon's slush funds.

[Sean Casey]

I won't go so far as to say he's the worst commissioner ever, since he's the only one that I remember baseball having, and I don't know much about the others. However, with that said, I definitely do not like him as a commissioner.

For the majority of the time that he was commissioner, his family owned the Milwaukee Brewers, which to most people would look like quite a conflict of interest. Imagine if Steinbrenner became commissioner, but handed over ownership of the Yankees to his family? I also find it hard to believe that it's just coincidental that one of the teams that Selig was suggesting to contract (i.e. eliminate) happened to be one of the closest geographic competitors of the Brewers (the Twins). Correct me if I'm wrong, but has any other commissioner given serious thought to contracting teams?

Although I don't mind the Wild Card, i certainly have a problem with interleague play. I hardly consider myself to be a baseball purist, but I don't liket he fact that interleague creates easier schedules for some teams and harder ones for others. For instance, both the Cardinals and Cubs are competing for the NL Central. However, thanks to the "natural rivalries" scheme, the Cardinals play a number of games against the Royals, while the Cubs find themselves playing the White Sox.

As for the 2002 All-Star Game, I think a lot of people make it a bigger deal than it should be. After all, it was a meaningless exhibition game, and both teams ran out of pitchers. Not much else you can do about that. Also, some people have taken issue to having the All-Star Game decide the home field advantage of the World Series. Once again, I don't see this as an issue. I think most of the opposition probably comes from NL fans, who are tired of seeing their league lose every year :D

[Honus Wagner Rules]

without evidence? just like seligs investigation. i dont know how you can be a fan of selig. it wasnt obvious? are you serious? it was obvious, but the comissioner DIDNT CARE!!!! he was geting asses in the seats. brady whats his face foirm the orioles? everyone knew in 96 but it wsa brushed under the carpet. jose canseco was a god dmaned body builder. mcguire doubles in size and is covered in acne. nah it wasnt obvious youre right.

When did I say I was a fan of Selig? If "everyone" new in '96 about Anderson then please, by all means post THE EVIDENCE. Making assertions is not evidence.

[Ubiquitous]

Why is the tied All-Star game Selig's fault? Blame the two managers. In 1994 the players walked went on strike and refused to return to work. This wasn't just the owners fault. It was the players as well. As for the investigation we don't know what they have uncovered yet. Do we know for sure that Selig had strong evidence that players were using PEDs back in the early 1990s? Sure, we can look back with hindsight and say it was obvious in early 1990s that they were but it was not obvioius at that time.

Can't really blame the players for 1994. The owners were playing dirty and when it came time for arbitration the federal arbiter sided with the players. The owners wanted to crush the players and they decided to basically agree or compromise to anything other than exactly what they want no matter what. When they didn't get that they would declare that they were at an impasse and then make up their own rules. They did exactly that, which is why Sammy Sosa was a free agent and signed with Boston. The players took them to court and won the case which basically collapsed the owners position. That season wasn't going to finish because the owners were not going to let it happen.

If Selig and the commissioners office didn't know about drug use then what about the memo? Why did Selig in the mid-90's re-issue that memo?