In Defense of Uncle Bud

When people think of Bud Selig, they immediately have the image of an older man with an expression of complete and utter bewilderment. They think of someone who inherently seems as trustworthy as a used car salesman, which is ironic since Selig made his money through running an automotive leasing company. In general, they think of incompetence.

Part of that thought process is due to several situations that occurred during his tenure as acting commissioner and when he officially became the commissioner of baseball. First was the strike of 1994, and the cancellation of the World Series. That work stoppage effectively ruined baseball in Montreal, and it took years before the sport was able to get back to the level of popularity it had been at previously. This has been a huge black mark for Selig; yet since that point in time, baseball has had unprecedented labor peace. In fact, while the NFL and NBA are staging lockouts, the collective bargaining agreement for baseball is also up after this year, and there has been no talks of strikes or lockouts there. They are already working on the new CBA, which they hope to have done by the end of the year.

Selig also presided over the tied All-Star Game in 2002, which he takes an undo amount of flak for. While he could have created a way to determine the winner with some contest (home run hitting derby, skills competition, whatever), the managers were the ones that ran out all of the pitchers. Not Selig. This definitely could have been handled better, but that is not entirely his fault, as a lot of people seem to think.

Then there was the steroid era. Technically, steroids were being used in baseball as far back as the mid to late 1980's, when he was not even commissioner. In fact, the steroid era taints the reigns of at least four commissioners - Peter Ueberroth, A. Bartlett Giamatti, Fay Vincent, and Selig. Selig catches the most heat for the steroid era because he was the commissioner when it all came to a head in 2005. However, steroids helped the game of baseball get back into the national consciousness with the McGwire-Sosa home run chase. Also, other sports, notably football, have a far greater issue with steroids and PEDs, but no one cares. Selig is the victim of a double standard here.

Now, lets look at some of the positives of his tenure. First, baseball has had labor peace for almost 20 years at this point. The union and the owners, while not exactly friends, are no longer as adversarial has they had been in the past. Selig has a large part in this, as the face of the owners at the negotiating table. Also, the sport has had tremendous financial growth during his tenure, outpacing the United States GDP by almost 150%. From 2007 to 2008, baseball had an increase in revenue of over $400Million, despite selling 800,000 fewer tickets. This is partially due to the revenue sharing plan Selig instituted, which is helping smaller market teams invest money into their product, and also due to MLB embracing the internet and new media.

Selig also brought about radical realignment after the 1994 strike, and added the wild card. More teams now have a better chance to make the playoffs, which keeps fans interested. Without the wild card, the Florida Marlins would not have won either of their championships. It would have been 2007 until the Red Sox won a World Series. In total, nine wild card teams made the World Series, with four of them winning it. In fact, in 2002, both teams (the Giants and Angels) were wild cards.

Interleague play was another creation of Bud Selig. While there are issues in terms of the interleague schedule, there is no doubt that fans want to see it. Ticket sales increase during these games, and it creates fun situations where the Cubs played at Fenway for the first time since the 1918 World Series. Yes, people may want to see it eliminated, but it still draws attention to the game.

Selig has also made it where the American and National Leagues are controlled by the same office, the umpires are no longer split according to league, brought about the World Baseball Classic, helped create a stricter PED testing policy (and got the union to agree to it), and created Jackie Robinson Day. Is Selig perfect? Hell no. But everything he does is due to his true love of baseball, and his desire to help improve the sport. In the end, the good far outweighs the bad.

Bud Selig has been a good commissioner, and has been good for the game of baseball. He deserves a lot more credit than he gets.

The Saga of the Dodgers

Picture, if you will, a team with an enduring legacy. A team whose rich and vibrant history spans both coasts of the United States, and who can trace their beginnings back to the time of the Chester A. Arthur presidency. A team who many legends have called home. A team who has been indelibly etched into some of the most historic moments not only in their sport, but in all sports. A team of legends, of icons.

Now, picture this team being driven into the ground by an unscrupulous owner who regards it as his personal ATM. A husband and wife ownership that are too busy trying to determine whether or not to purchase a seventh mansion than to pay attention to their own franchise. Picture bathrooms covered in graffiti, concession stands that are criminally understaffed, and a stadium that is less than half full every night. Picture a place and team where a fan of the opposition was beaten bad enough that he remains in the hospital almost three months later. A team that is being declared bankrupt, and the commissioner of the league has to step in to keep the team functional.

The teams in the preceding paragraphs? The Los Angeles Dodgers.

What Frank McCourt and his wife Jamie have done to the Dodgers is criminal. They have taken a once proud franchise, a team that is not only royalty in their own sport but in all sports, and turned it into a laughing stock. They have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, due to their inability to meet their upcoming payroll. This was after McCourt attempted to negotiate a television deal that would permit him to pay his divorce settlement, but would severely handicap the Dodgers over the next seventeen years.

Naturally, none of this is the fault of Frank McCourt. Just ask him. He blames Bud Selig for blocking the proposed television deal and for stepping in to take over the team, even though he still does not realize that the Dodgers are not his personal ATM. In response to McCourt's accusations, Selig issues a statement saying that "The Commissioner's Office has spent the better part of one year working with Mr. McCourt and his representatives on the financial situation of the Los Angeles Dodgers, which was caused by Mr. McCourt's excessive debt and his diversion of club assets for his own personal needs. We have consistently communicated to Mr. McCourt that any potential solution to his problems that contemplates mortgaging the future of the Dodgers franchise to the long-term detriment of the club, its loyal fans and the game of Baseball would not be acceptable. My goal from the outset has been to ensure that the Dodgers are being operated properly now and will be guided appropriately in the future for their millions of fans. To date, the ideas and proposals that I have been asked to consider have not been consistent with the best interests of Baseball. The action taken today by Mr. McCourt does nothing but inflict further harm to this historic franchise."

The Los Angeles Dodgers deserved better than Frank McCourt. They deserved better than to be facing the spectre of bankruptcy, and to be in such a terrible financial state where it may take up to a decade to recover. Above all, their fans deserved better than this.

It is always rough watching a team with such history go through a rough stretch. It is worse when the problems are entirely self-inflicted by an uncaring ownership that did not understand what owning a professional franchise entailed.

Major League Baseball - Model Sports Organization???

For years, Major League Baseball has been criticized, and rightly so, for it's inability to get out of it's own way. They have had a multitude of labor stoppages over the past 40 years (8, to be exact) - the most infamous being the one in 1994 that cancelled the World Series. Baseball took the brunt of the wrath spewed forth by opportunistic congressmen when the steroids scandal erupted thanks to Jose Canseco's book. There is the enduring image highlighting the general ineptitude of baseball, with Bud Selig looking confused as the All-Star Game ended in a tie.

And yet, suddenly baseball appears to be ahead of the other sports in terms of handling their issues. Since 2002, there has been labor peace. Even though their collective bargaining agreement is up after this year, there are no threats of a lockout, unlike the NFL and the NBA. In fact, both Selig and the player's union are optimistic that a new CBA will be agreed upon in the near future.

Despite the bad rap that the MLB gets for steroids and performance enhancing drugs, the truth is that baseball not only has the strictest penalties for using such substances, but they appear to have fewer players using them. It is not uncommon to hear that a football player got suspended for PEDs, yet no one really seems to care. Meanwhile, if a baseball player gets caught, it's a travesty and an affront to everything that society holds sacred. Little bit of a double standard there, and a completely undeserved one.

And now, the MLB finds itself on the forefront of the concussion issue. Although concussions are a much bigger problem in the NFL and NHL, baseball has created a new seven day disabled list strictly for players who have gotten a concussion. This way, rather than lose a player for 15 days when they could be ready to play in a week, the team can get that player back when he is healthy. With all the talk of the NFL trying to force an 18 game schedule down the player's throats, why has this concept not been brought up in their meetings? Why has the NHL not adopted something like this, so that players that will be gone for a game or two do not take up a roster spot?

Bud Selig and Major League Baseball make for easy targets when one looks to rip a sports organization for mismanagement. However, baseball actually has it's act together. Shocking, is it not?

The Barry Bonds Witch Hunt

Finally, after nine years of investigation, the trial against Barry Bonds for lying to a grand jury in regards to his usage of steroids has begun. This witch hunt, perpetuated in part due to his standing on the all time home run list, has been going on for far too long.

Bud Selig, in sanctioning the Mitchell Report and subsequent steroid investigations, did so with the possibility of keeping Bonds from surpassing Hank Aaron as the all time home run leader. Aaron is an ambassador for the game of baseball, likable and affable. Bonds, meanwhile, is rather unlikeable, surly, and arrogant. Yet, for all of the effort put into the report, nothing specifically stated that Bonds knowingly took steroids. In fact, Harvey Shields, Bonds personal trainer from 2000 to 2004, stated that "Greg Anderson provided Bonds with a cream to use on his elbow, which Shields said he believed was an over-the-counter 'arthritis cream.'" In addition, in regards to a clear liquid that Bonds was ingesting which he believed was flaxseed oil, Shields said "(I) believed the clear liquid was flaxseed oil. (Shields) claimed to have taken the clear liquid himself, and he said that it tasted like flaxseed oil he had obtained from health food stores in the past."

The crux of the indictment is that Bonds intentionally lied to the grand jury when he said that he never knowingly took steroids. Greg Anderson, the man who the government is claiming provided him with the steroids, refuses to testify against Bonds, to the point of being imprisoned four times for his refusal to co-operate. Yes, Anderson has been friends with Bonds since childhood, but keep in mind that this works both ways. If your trainer that you have known since childhood provided you with substances that he stated were flaxseed oil and arthritis cream, would you have any cause to doubt him? People can claim that Bonds should know everything that he ingested or took, but where is the rationale for this?

The main witnesses for the prosecution have major character flaws as well. Kimberly Bell, Bonds' ex-mistress, used her fifteen minutes of fame to pose naked for Playboy. Steve Hoskins, a former partner of Bonds in the autographed memorabilia business, was fired by Bonds after Hoskins stole money from the business and forged his signature to several items. In fact, Bonds assisted the government in 2003 in their prosecution of Hoskins for forgery. The third witness is Kathy Hoskins, Bonds former personal shopper, who just so happens to be the sister of Steve Hoskins. Not exactly the most credible of witnesses.

In the end, Bonds will end up being vindicated, despite all of the circumstantial evidence supporting steroid use. Yes, his dome may have increased in size to be of Sputnik proportions, but that is not evidence enough to convict him. Bonds may just become the first athlete officially found to be not guilty of steroid use.