Bud Selig announces future retirement plans
Long-serving MLB commissioner retires in January 2015, leaving a legacy that could be seen as both good and bad for the sport
Bud Selig took over a sport with US$1.7 billion in revenue, four teams in each year’s postseason, economic disparity among the clubs and a fixation on sticking with traditions that dated to the 19th century.
After a decade of maintaining his departure was imminent, the 79-year-old baseball commissioner put his exit plans in writing Thursday and said in a statement he will retire in January 2015 after 22 years - the second-longest term behind Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
His revolutionary reign produced an US$8 billion industry, interleague play, an expanded postseason and two decades of labour peace. But, he also presided over a cancelled World Series and long-running drug scandal.
“He’s been the voice of baseball. Some people liked his voice. Some people didn’t,” Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “I have a lot of respect for the guy.”
Selig has been a bit of the Boy Who Cried Wolf in the past when it came to his retirement. He said in 2003 that he would step down at the end of 2006 but has repeatedly accepted new contracts.
Some owners - even his wife - had been sceptical in the past that he really would quit, but this marked the first time he issued a formal statement that he will give up the sport’s top job. He even gave an exact date: January 24, 2015.