In Defense of Bud Selig

A Second Look at Selig

Former Commissioner Deserving of Induction

Last month, the Veteran's Committee announced that former Commissioner Bud Selig will be a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2017. Selig joins Atlanta Braves executive John Schuerholtz, who built the formidable Braves teams of the 1990s, including the teams that lost to the New York Yankees in both the 1996 and 1999 World Series.

While Schuerholtz's selection was met with near-universal praise, that of Selig was met with the opposite, with many fans blaming him for the steroid scandal that plagued Major League Baseball in the 1990s and 2000s and continues today, albeit to a lesser extent than in the past. 

Selig first rose to prominence in 1970, when he purchased the first-year Seattle Pilots franchise and moved them to Milwaukee. He would spend the next 22 years as owner. He then moved into a front office role, eventually being named acting Commissioner in 1992, before being officially elected to the office in 1998.

As Commissioner, Selig oversaw incredible revenue growth in Major League Baseball. He instituted re-alignment and the Wild Card rounds (both first and second), he created inter-league play 20 years ago, consolidated the offices of American and National League President into Major League Baseball in 2000, instituted instant replay, and created the World Baseball Classic. He also instituted the highly controversial Home Field Advantage rule for the winner of the All Star Game, which lasted for 13 years before being shelved this past winter as a condition of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Selig presided over 21 years of labor peace in baseball.

However, many criticized him fiercely for his role in the steroid era during his term. In addition, his refusal to act on a Mets ownership change in 2011 during Fred Wilpon's ponzi scheme financial problems  which decimated the club, while simultaneously forcing Frank McCourt to sell the Dodgers, gained him a fair amount of criticism from fans. His unprecedented 211 (later reduced to 162) game suspension for Alex Rodriguez's second steroid admission in 2013-14 had him fall out of favor with many fans. 

Despite his obvious shortcomings as Commissioner, Selig oversaw a period of great growth and success in Major League Baseball, and his Hall of Fame election, though rightfully controversial, is well-deserved.

Hall of Fame Weekend 2012

Today in Cooperstown the National Baseball Hall of Fame will hold it's annual induction ceremony.

Joining the hundreds of great players in the Hall will be Cincinnati Reds SS Barry Larkin. Larkin played from 1986 until 2004 solely for the Reds and posted a .295 average, 198 homers, and 960 RBIs, along with 2,340 career hits.

A 12 -time All Star, 3-time Gold Glove winner, and 9-time Silver Slugger winner, Larkin was a member of the Reds 1990 World Championship team and was the 1995 National League MVP. Larkin was a fantastic player in his day, and his stats speak volumes considering A) He spent his career on many a mediocre Reds team and B) He shared the spotlight with Ken Griffey, Jr. for a few years.

Larkin slides home in Game 1 of the 1990 World Series as Paul O'Neill looks on.

The second person inducted will be the late, great, Cubs 3B Ron Santo. Santo played for the Cubs from 1960 until 1973 before leaving for one year with the White Sox in 1974. During his career, he hit .277 with 342 homers and 1,331 RBIs, and 2,254 hits. A nine-time All Star and 5-time Gold Glove winner, Santo was awarded the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 1973. On September 28, 2003, the Cubs retired his number 10 jersey. Unfortunately, Santo passed away on December 3, 2010 of diabetes and bladder cancer and will not be around to witness the greatest honor a baseball player can have.

Santo in the on-deck circle at Shea Stadium in 1969. The famed Black Cat is shown in the background.

The third person inducted, as winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, will be longtime Canadian sportswriter Bob Elliott. Elliott has covered the Toronto Blue Jays since 1987. Prior to his work with the Jays, he covered the former Montreal Expos from 1978 until 1987.  He is currently employed by the Toronto Sun.

Elliot at the Baseball Hall of Fame

And finally, the fourth person inducted into the Hall of Fame, as winner of the Ford C. Frick Award, will be longtime broadcaster Tim McCarver. McCarver began is career calling Phillies games on WPHL-TV with Richie Ashburn and the late, great Harry Kalas, the Voice of the Phillies, in 1979. After briefly resurrecting his playing career in 1980, he returned to the booth, hosting HBO's Race For the Pennant and the Game of the Week for NBC, while also entering the booth for the Phillies. Following the 1983 season, he became a television broadcaster for the New York Mets, a position he held until 1998. After leaving NBC, he moved to ABC from 1984-1989, where he was on hand for the Loma Pieta earthquake in 1989. He then moved to CBS, where he called games with Jack Buck and Sean McDonough from 1990-1993. In 1994 he began calling games under The Baseball Network, the MLB's failed attempt at games rotating between major television networks such as Fox and ABC. In 1996, McCarver was hired by FOX Sports to call baseball alongside Joe Buck, the son of former broadcast partner Jack Buck, a position which he holds to this day.

McCarver in the Fox broadcast booth.

So once again, congratulations to Barry Larkin, Ron Santo, Tim McCarver, and Bob Elliot, the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2012!