Bud Selig to get two year extension

[Invader3K]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/137027268.html

Bud Selig has maintained for some time that he will finally bow out as baseball Commissioner when his current contract expires after this season, but most people throughout baseball have had trouble believing it, mainly because they heard that before and it didn't happen.

ESPN.com's Buster Olney just tweeted that Selig will receive an extension of at least two years at owners meetings that will take place Wednesday and Thursday in Phoenix.

I think a lot of people saw this coming, but Selig's retirement plans had seemed more concrete recently. Thoughts?

[narwhalattack]

Well, it seems that he's gonna Favre it. And i believe he's gonna Favre it over and over again until he finally crumbles into dust.

[hawing]

I guess it's analogous to Favre in the sense of "I'm done." "No, I'm not." At least there isn't (likely to be) a hated rival baseball league to which Bud switches, thus permanently antagonizing half of his fan base.

[brettac1]

He gets paid $22 million a year. What an absolute joke.

[RockCoCougars]

I don't know about you guys and gals, but I'd ride that gravy train to the ground. If Bud keeps pulling that kind of salary, maybe Wendy and Laurel will have enough to buy the Brewers back with their inheritance.

[1992casey]

The difference between Selig and Favre is that Selig isn't making life difficult for a GM who has to decide how to draft and how to construct a team before the season starts.

[brains and braun]

Yeah, I don't get why him flip-flopping is a big deal. He is clearly wanted back. The game is in pretty great shape, and he obviously loves baseball and his job. Kudos to him. I'm envious. You can buy lots of Gilles with 22M/year.

[fondybrewfan]

I have liked him as commissioner; just for the love of god take the stupid All Start Game Homefield and burn it in hell. Other than that I really like what he has done.

[hawing]

He gets paid $22 million a year. What an absolute joke.

Dang. He'd better have self-funded the renovation of his (someday) UW-Madison office. I know the history department doesn't have that kind of coin.

[brettac1]

Well, judging from how he's operated as commish when it comes to funding stadiums, I imagine he'll push for public funding.

[RightFieldCoder]

He gets paid $22 million a year. What an absolute joke.

Another stupid CEO making more than his employees. It's outrageous that he runs a billions dollar operation, pulls down that salary, and pays his employees minimum wage. When are any of the players in MLB ever going to make more than $20M a year?

for the love of god take the stupid All Start Game Homefield and burn it in hell.

We really need to go back to the more fair even/odd year to designate home field.

Except for his cowering before Joe Torre and Bob Brenly, I think he's done a great job. He got a $4M raise, which is deserved the way baseball has grown. It's also nice that he cares about the game as a whole. I can guarantee that the next comish will favor the east coast the way ESPN fans want.

[dlk9s]

Well, it seems that he's gonna Favre it. And i believe he's gonna Favre it over and over again until he finally crumbles into dust.

Aaron Rodgers is handling this whole Bud Selig thing very well. What a pro.

[TheCrew]

Except for his cowering before Joe Torre and Bob Brenly, I think he's done a great job. He got a $4M raise, which is deserved the way baseball has grown. It's also nice that he cares about the game as a whole. I can guarantee that the next comish will favor the east coast the way ESPN fans want.

Caring and doing what's best for the game are 2 different things. Baseball has grown in spite of him - not because of him.

[brettac1]

Except for his cowering before Joe Torre and Bob Brenly, I think he's done a great job. He got a $4M raise, which is deserved the way baseball has grown. It's also nice that he cares about the game as a whole. I can guarantee that the next comish will favor the east coast the way ESPN fans want.

Caring and doing what's best for the game are 2 different things. Baseball has grown in spite of him - not because of him.

Seconded.

[Invader3K]

I really don't see how anyone can look at what Selig has done as a whole and not think he's been a great commissioner. Most of his failings (steroids/PEDs in general) are due to the player's union and not through his own policies.

[TheCrew]

I really don't see how anyone can look at what Selig has done as a whole and not think he's been a great commissioner. Most of his failings (steroids/PEDs in general) are due to the player's union and not through his own policies.

I look at him and don't see how anyone could even call his tenure anything close to remotely successful. He had FAR more failings than steriods/PED's (to try and pass that all on the players union is taking it far too easy on Selig - he has accepted zero responsibility, and it's a joke) - Astros sale, Brewers taxpayer screwjob, all star game, mlb strike/canx world series, the simple conflict of being commissioner and part owner of a team.........just to name a few........ could really put a long list together............. but I don't want to turn this into a Selig bashing thread. Let's just agree to disagree.

[cantball]

I really don't see how anyone can look at what Selig has done as a whole and not think he's been a great commissioner. Most of his failings (steroids/PEDs in general) are due to the player's union and not through his own policies.

I look at him and don't see how anyone could even call his tenure anything close to remotely successful. He had FAR more failings than steriods/PED's (to try and pass that all on the players union is taking it far too easy on Selig - he has accepted zero responsibility, and it's a joke) - Astros sale, Brewers taxpayer screwjob, all star game, mlb strike/canx world series, the simple conflict of being commissioner and part owner of a team.........just to name a few........ could really put a long list together............. but I don't want to turn this into a Selig bashing thread. Let's just agree to disagree.

I'm sorry,but Brewers tax-payer screwjob? At best,most of what you count as his failings can be credited to him maybe 50%.He also just had a labor deal put in place that is going to protect the game for another,what 5 years?And teams are financially healthier than they've ever been?

Compared to every other sports commissioner he's doing a great job.

 

[TheCrew]

Compared to every other sports commissioner he's doing a great job.

Alright, I know I said I wasn't going to get in a back and forth..... but seriously? He is so far behind the NFL it's not even remotely close. You want to give him full credit for 5 years of labor peace, but only place half the blame on him when it comes to other stuff........ and yes, he screwed over tax payers but he's done this before with other teams/owners. Look no further than the giant screw job in Montreal, I guess Milwaukee should be happy the Brewers stuck around at least.

 

Also, the profability of the teams shouldn't matter in this discussion at all - that benefits the owners, not the fans....... fans seem to confuse profit for owners with success for the sport and really, an avg ticket price is $27 now, up from around $10 in the mid 1990's..... cripes, LCS games aren't even on network TV anymore. Only one group is benefiting and it's the owners. Selig has done nothing, I repeat NOTHING for the fans - he's 100% an owners commissioner. He's simply a puppet for the owners and runs the league like a used car salesman......... probably because he used to be one.

[dlk9s]

What was the Milwaukee tax payer screwjob? That there was a 1/10 percent sales tax in a few counties?

[TheCrew]

What was the Milwaukee tax payer screwjob? That there was a 1/10 percent sales tax in a few counties?

Did people forget what a mess the financing was for Miller Park?

 

The Brewers were a complete mess and Selig basically bullied taxpayers into paying for a new stadium (let's not forget his threats about how 2 teams might need to close up shop because baseball expanded too fast in the 90's, under his watch of course) then went and reaped the benefits of a team with a new stadium by selling. Let's just ignore the entire conflict of interest thing too.

 

As for growth, one could even argue about that since the global growth has been pretty pathetic under Selig compared to the other major US sports - I honestly struggle to think of one single thing that he has done for the fans best interest or even for the long term health of baseball.

[TooLiveBrew]

From Wikipedia's Miller Park page:

Miller Park is one of the largest construction projects in Wisconsin history. It was built with $290 million of public funds from a 0.1% sales tax that began January 1, 1996, and is scheduled for retirement upon completion, sometime around 2017.

The total construction cost is estimated at $400M (details inset), with a specific number of $392M referenced within the entry itself. What other tax payer money are you referring to beyond the 0.1% sales tax?

[monty57]

Only one group is benefiting and it's the owners.

 

Albert Pujols and some other players are doing okay.

 

I get your point about the tax-payer funded stadium, but if the populace was really upset, they wouldn't be supporting the team the way they are.

[TheCrew]

From Wikipedia's Miller Park page:

Miller Park is one of the largest construction projects in Wisconsin history. It was built with $290 million of public funds from a 0.1% sales tax that began January 1, 1996, and is scheduled for retirement upon completion, sometime around 2017.

The total construction cost is estimated at $400M (details inset), with a specific number of $392M referenced within the entry itself. What other tax payer money are you referring to beyond the 0.1% sales tax?

Roughly 75% isn't enough? I believe I remember another $50 million being tacked on there simply because the Brewers didn't have the funds or assets to insure....... or something to that effect - but that figure could be included in the $290 million you posted.

[TheCrew]

Only one group is benefiting and it's the owners.

 

Albert Pujols and some other players are doing okay.

 

I get your point about the tax-payer funded stadium, but if the populace was really upset, they wouldn't be supporting the team the way they are.

Fair enough - but at the same token, one could argue Selig really could care less about the athletes since he has let substances run rampant through the sport....... ironically, a current Brewer may prove that the current testing system is a complete farce and that Selig still has not properly addressed the issue, but we'll have to let that one play out yet.

[tomwopat]

A few years earlier I might have had a different opinion, but it's hard for me to argue with the continued growth of the sport and the manner in which he (finally) divested his family's interest in the team.

 

He's maintained some semblance of competitive balance without resorting to a hard salary cap, of which it's hard to envision the union accepting without high amounts of squabbling. Can't think of anyone else that has a good enough rapport with the owners that could have pulled this all off.