Baseball Commissioner
Encyclopedia
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball
and its associated minor leagues
. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring
crews, and negotiates marketing
, labor, and television contracts
. The commissioner is chosen by a vote of the owners of the teams.
The current commissioner is Bud Selig
, who has been in office since 1998. Selig acted as a de facto commissioner under title of "Chairman of the Executive Council" from 1992 to 1998, when the office of commissioner was vacant.
and the American League
(see History of baseball in the United States
). It consisted of three members: the two League presidents and a Commission chairman, whose primary responsibilities were to preside at meetings and to mediate disputes. Following the Black Sox Scandal
, team owners decided in 1920 to reform the National Commission with a membership of non-baseball men. However, their pick for chairman, former federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
, would only accept an appointment as sole commissioner. He also demanded unlimited authority over all aspects of organized baseball. The owners agreed, in order to combat the perception of the sport being controlled by gambling interests.
, an ardent baseball fan, was selected as chairman of a new National Commission of baseball. The owners decided to appoint a commission made up entirely of non-baseball men to restore confidence in the sport following the 1919 Black Sox Scandal
, perhaps the worst of a number of incidents that jeopardized the integrity of the game.
However, Landis declared that he would accept only an appointment as sole commissioner. He also demanded unlimited authority to act in the "best interests of baseball"--in essence, serving as an arbitrator whose decisions could not be appealed. The owners, still reeling from the perception that the sport was crooked, readily agreed.
and superstar Shoeless Joe Jackson
. However, Landis banned them all from baseball for life. He explained that even though the players had been acquitted in court, they couldn't be allowed back in the game if its image was to be restored with the public.
Over the years, he dealt harshly with others proven to have thrown individual games, consorted with gamblers or engaged in actions that he felt tarnished the image of the game. Among the others he banned were New York Giants
players Phil Douglas
and Jimmy O'Connell
, Philadelphia Phillies
pitcher Gene Paulette
, Giants coach Cozy Dolan, and (in 1943) Phillies owner William D. Cox. He also formalized the unofficial banishments of Hal Chase
and Heinie Zimmerman
. In 1921, he banned Giants center fielder Benny Kauff
even though he had been acquitted of involvement in a car theft ring. Nonetheless, Landis was convinced Kauff was guilty and argued that players of "undesirable reputation and character" had no place in baseball.
that had contributed to the players' discontent. He also personally approved broadcasters for the World Series.
Landis' only significant rival in the early years was longtime American League founder and president Ban Johnson
, who was as iron-willed as Landis. A clash between the two was inevitable, and it happened in the 1924 World Series
. When several Giants were implicated in a plan to bribe players on the moribund Phillies late in the season, Johnson demanded that the Series be canceled, and loudly criticized Landis' handling of the affair. Landis threatened to resign. The American League owners promised to throw Johnson out of office if he stepped out of line again. Two years later
, when Johnson criticized Landis' decision to give Ty Cobb
and Tris Speaker
an amnesty after it surfaced they had bet on a fixed game in 1919, Landis told the American League owners to choose between him and Johnson; the owners promptly sent Johnson on a sabbatical from which he never really returned.
and prolonged the segregation of organized baseball. His successor, Happy Chandler
, said, "For twenty-four years Judge Landis wouldn't let a black man play. I had his records, and I read them, and for twenty-four years Landis consistently blocked any attempts to put blacks and whites together on a big league field." Bill Veeck
claimed Landis prevented him from purchasing the Phillies when Landis learned of Veeck's plan to integrate the team. The signing of the first black ballplayer in the modern era, Jackie Robinson
, came less than a year after Landis's death on Chandler's watch and was engineered by one of Landis's old nemeses, Branch Rickey
. Eleven weeks after Robinson's debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers
, Veeck became the first American League
owner to break the color line.
farm systems by innovators such as Rickey, in the name of protecting the lower levels of professional ball. Landis argued that because a parent club could unilaterally call up players from teams which were involved in pennant races, the organization was unfairly interfering with the minor competitions. His position was that the championship of each minor league was of no less importance than the championships of the major leagues, and that minor league fans and supporters had the right to see their teams competing as best they could. Yet he also prevented the formation of a powerful third major league when he stopped Pants Rowland
from upgrading the Pacific Coast League
in the 1940s.
One of the schemes he fought was the effort by major-league teams to "cover up" players they were hiding in their farm systems. The term, not used in formal communications by league or team officials, referred to players clandestinely signed by a major-league team to a minor-league contract. Occasionally one team would serendipitously find such a player in the off-season draft, as in this occasion recorded in the book Dodger Daze and Knights:
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1944
, in a special election held one month after his death, and the Most Valuable Player Award
in each league is officially known as the Kenesaw Mountain Landis Award in his honor.
, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
, died in 1944, an official in the War Department
began campaigning for Happy Chandler
's election to the post. Despite being the last candidate put forth in the April 1945
meetings, he was elected by a unanimous vote of the team owners, and resigned his Senate seat in October of that year.
Chandler clashed with Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo "the Lip" Durocher
over Durocher's association with gambling figures and his marriage to actress Laraine Day
, which came amid allegations from Day's ex-husband that Durocher had stolen her away from him. Before the start of the 1947 season, Chandler suspended Durocher for the entire season, citing "conduct detrimental to baseball." The Dodgers went on to win the pennant that season under replacement manager Burt Shotton
.
Chandler became known as "the players' commissioner" for his work on their behalf. During his service, he presided over the establishment of a pension fund for players, but his most significant contribution was overseeing the initial steps toward integration
of the major leagues, beginning with the debut of Jackie Robinson
with the Brooklyn Dodgers
in 1947. This move was controversial with some team owners, who voted 15-1 against integrating the sport in a secret January 1947 meeting. The Dodgers' Branch Rickey
met with Chandler, who agreed to back the team's move. Chandler's stance was credited by many in the sports community with Chandler's failure to be selected for another term as Commissioner after the expiration of his first one in 1951
.
Chandler was fully aware that he was jeopardizing his own commissionership by stewarding the integration process. Chandler's attitude was a simple one, which he conveyed to Branch Rickey, and later recounted in his autobiography:
succeeded Happy Chandler
as commissioner of baseball. Frick's critics accused him of favoring the NL in his rulings, such as how the 1960s expansion teams would be stocked.
Frick's most highly criticized statement as commissioner was made in 1961, when several players were on a pace to break Babe Ruth
's single-season home run record. In a press conference, Frick stated that the single-season home run record should be separated into multiple lists, based on length of season. However, as MLB did not publish an official record book at the time, Frick had no control on how publishers presented MLB records, and within a few years after Roger Maris
broke Ruth's record, all record books gave Maris sole credit as the single-season home run record holder.
Later, it was revealed that Frick had served as a ghostwriter
for Ruth earlier in his career.
's retirement. The club owners initially were unable to decide if the next commissioner should come from the ranks of the game (e.g., the president of the American
or National League
s), or elsewhere. They finally decided that the new commissioner should have a strong business background to deal with the problems that were confronting the game at the time.
William Eckert
only became a serious candidate for the commissionership after fellow officer Curtis LeMay
gave Major League Baseball a recommendation for him. On November 17, 1965
, by a unanimous vote of the then, 20 major league club owners, William Eckert became the fourth Commissioner of Major League Baseball.
When he became commissioner, Eckert had not seen a game in person in over 10 years. He was a compromise choice for the job, previously being so obscure that sportswriters nicknamed him "the Unknown Soldier."
He incurred the public's ire by refusing to cancel games after the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy
and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
, and team owners' disdain because he refused to deal forcefully with substantive business issues. Anticipating a players' strike and having no ownership confidence in his ability to handle the situation, Eckert was forced to resign at the end of the 1968
season, although he still had three years on his contract.
In spite of his much publicized failures and shortcomings, William Eckert also developed more effective committee actions, streamlined business methods and helped stabilize franchises with bigger stadiums and long-term leases. In addition, Eckert worked hard toward promoting the game internationally, including a 1966
tour of Japan by the Los Angeles Dodgers
.
's tenure was marked by labor strikes
(most notably in 1981), owner disenchantment, and the end of baseball's reserve clause
, yet baseball enjoyed unprecedented attendance gains (from 23 million in to 45.5 million in ) and television contracts
during the same time frame.
Kuhn suspended numerous players for involvement with drugs and gambling, and took a strong stance against any activity that he perceived to be "not in the best interests of baseball."
In , he suspended star Detroit Tigers
pitcher Denny McLain
indefinitely (the suspension was later set at 3 months) due to McLain's involvement in a bookmaking operation, and later suspended McLain for the rest of the season for carrying a gun. He barred both Willie Mays
(in ) and Mickey Mantle
(in ) from the sport due to their involvement in casino
promotion; neither was directly involved in gambling, and both were reinstated by Kuhn's successor Peter Ueberroth
in .
Also in 1970, Kuhn described Jim Bouton
's Ball Four
as "detrimental to baseball" and demanded that Bouton retract it. The book has been republished several times and is now considered a classic.
On October 13, , the World Series
held a night game for the first time. Kuhn, who thought that baseball could attract a larger audience by featuring a prime time
telecast (as opposed to a mid-afternoon broadcast, when most fans either worked or attended school), pitched the idea to NBC. An estimated 61 million people watched Game 4 on NBC; TV ratings
for a World Series game during the daytime hours would not have approached such a record number. Kuhn's vision in this instance has been fulfilled, as all the World Series games are now shown in prime time.
traded Curt Flood
, catcher Tim McCarver
, outfielder Byron Browne
, and left-handed pitcher Joe Hoerner
to the Philadelphia Phillies
for first baseman Dick Allen
, second baseman Cookie Rojas
, and right-handed ace relief pitcher Jerry Johnson
.
However, Flood refused to report to the moribund Phillies, citing the team's poor record and the fact that they played in dilapidated Connie Mack Stadium before belligerent and, Flood believed, racist
fans. Flood forfeited a relatively lucrative $
100,000 contract by his refusal to be traded to the Phillies.
In a letter to Kuhn, Flood demanded that the commissioner declare him a free agent
. Kuhn denied his request, citing the propriety of the reserve clause
, which was language in contracts that essentially prevented a player from playing with another team even after his contract expired. In response, Flood filed a lawsuit against Kuhn and Major League Baseball on January 16, , alleging that Major League Baseball had violated federal antitrust
laws. Even though Flood was making $90,000 at the time, he likened the reserve clause to slavery
. It was a controversial analogy, even among those who opposed the reserve clause.
The case, Flood v. Kuhn
(407 U.S. 258) eventually went to the Supreme Court
. Flood's attorney, former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg
, asserted that the reserve clause depressed wages and limited players to one team for life. Major League Baseball's counsel countered that Commissioner Kuhn acted under the way he did '"for the good of the game."
Ultimately, the Supreme Court, acting on stare decisis
"to stand by things decided", ruled 5-3 in favor of Major League Baseball, upholding a ruling in the case of Federal Baseball Club v. National League
, (259 U.S. 200.)
owner Charles O. Finley
. A major embarrassment for baseball resulted from Finley's actions during the 1973 World Series
. Finley forced player Mike Andrews
to sign a false affidavit
saying he was injured after the reserve infielder committed two consecutive errors
in the 12th inning of Oakland's Game 2 loss to the New York Mets
. Andrews' teammates as well as manager Dick Williams
rallied to his defense. Kuhn in return, forced Finley to reinstate Andrews. In , when Finley attempted to sell several players to the Boston Red Sox
and New York Yankees
for $3.5 million, Kuhn blocked the deals on the grounds that they would be bad for the game. Some believe that Kuhn's actions were simply a revenge tactic, aimed at Finley, after Finley attempted to force an owners vote to remove Kuhn as commissioner in .
. Kuhn was quick to punish players who used drugs with heavy fines and suspensions. Kansas City Royals
catcher Darrell Porter
told the Associated Press
that during the winter of - he became paranoid
, convinced that Kuhn knew about his drug abuse, was trying to sneak into his house, and planned to ban him from baseball for life. Porter found himself sitting up at night in the dark watching out the front window, waiting for Kuhn to approach, clutching billiard balls and a shotgun. Ironically, when Porter was named the most valuable player of the 1982 World Series
while playing for the Cardinals, Kuhn was on hand to congratulate him.
In , during the Iranian hostage crisis, Kuhn sat at a baseball game with Jeremiah Denton
, a Navy admiral and former POW
in Vietnam
who would be elected U.S. Senator later that year from the state of Alabama
. Recalling the event to The Washington Post
, Kuhn believed that "that afternoon...the idea of a lifetime baseball pass was discussed," and upon their return from Iran, each of the 52 hostages was given one of these unique passes.
In , four players from the Kansas City Royals
- Willie Wilson
, Jerry Martin
, Willie Mays Aikens
, and Vida Blue
- were found guilty of cocaine
use. In addition, such established stars as Ferguson Jenkins
, Keith Hernandez
, Dave Parker, and Dale Berra
admitted to having problems with drugs.
.
was elected to succeed Bowie Kuhn
on March 3, 1984 and took office on October 1 of that year. As a condition of his hiring, Ueberroth increased the commissioner’s fining ability from $
5,000 to $250,000. His salary was raised to a reported $450,000, nearly twice what Kuhn was paid.
Just as Ueberroth was taking office the Major League Umpires Union was threatening to strike
the postseason. Ueberroth managed to arbitrate the disagreement and had the umpires back to work before the League Championship Series
were over. The next summer, Ueberroth worked behind the scenes to limit a players' strike to one day before a new labor agreement was worked out with the Players Association
.
During the course of his stint as commissioner, Ueberroth reinstated Hall of Famers Willie Mays
and Mickey Mantle
, who had been banned from working for Major League Baseball by Kuhn because of their associations with gambling casinos. Also, Ueberroth suspended numerous players because of cocaine
use, negotiated a $1.2 billion television contract with CBS
, and initiated the investigation against Pete Rose
's betting habits
. In 1985
, Ueberroth's first full year in office, the League Championship Series expanded from a best-of-five series to a best-of-seven series. At his urging, the Chicago Cubs
chose to install lights at Wrigley Field
rather than reimburse the leagues for lost night-game revenues. Ueberroth then found a new source of income in the form of persuading large corporations to pay for the privilege of having their products endorsed by Major League Baseball.
However, Ueberroth, with the assistance of the owners, also facilitated collusion, an illegal violation of the league's collective bargaining agreement with the players, during the 1985-1987 off-seasons. Players entering free-agency were prevented from both signing equitable contracts and joining the teams of their choice during this period, a strategy that union leader Marvin Miller
later held was "tantamount to fixing, not just games, but entire pennant races, including all post-season series." The MLBPA
filed collusion charges
, arguing that Ueberroth and team owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement in the 1985
-1987
seasons. The MLBPA won each case, resulting in "second look" free agents, and over $280 million in owner fines. Fay Vincent
, who followed Ueberroth's successor in the commissioner's office, laid the crippling labor problems of the early 1990s directly at the feet of Ueberroth and the owners' collusion, holding that the collusion years constituted theft from the players.
Under Ueberroth, Major League Baseball enjoyed increased attendance (record attendance four straight seasons), greater awareness of crowd control and alcohol management within ballparks, a successful and vigilant anti-drug campaign, significant industry-wide improvement in the area of fair employment, and a significantly improved financial picture for the industry. When Ueberroth took office, 21 of the 26 clubs were losing money; in Ueberroth's last full season - 1988
- all clubs either broke even or finished in the black. In 1987
, for example, baseball as an industry showed a net profit of $21.3 million, its first profitable year since 1973
.
Nonetheless, following the announcement of the first of three large awards to the players following the collusion findings, Ueberroth stepped down as commissioner before the start of the 1989 regular season
; his contract was to have run through the end of the season. He was succeeded by National League
president A. Bartlett Giamatti
.
had a lifelong interest in baseball (he was a die-hard Boston Red Sox
fan). He became President of the National League
in , and later Commissioner of Baseball in . During his stint as National League president, Giamatti placed an emphasis on the need to improve the environment for the fan in the ballparks. He also decided to make umpires strictly enforce the balk
rule, and supported "social justice" as the only remedy for the lack of presence of minority managers, coaches, or executives at any level in Major League Baseball.
While still serving as National League president, Giamatti suspended Pete Rose
for 30 games after Rose shoved umpire Dave Pallone
on April 30, 1988. Later that year, Giamatti also suspended Los Angeles Dodgers
pitcher Jay Howell
, who was caught using pine tar
during the National League Championship Series
.
Giamatti, whose tough dealing with Yale's union favorably impressed Major League Baseball owners, was unanimously elected to succeed Peter Ueberroth
as commissioner on September 8, . Giamatti was commissioner on August 24, when Pete Rose voluntarily agreed to permanent ineligibility from baseball. As reflected in the agreement with Pete Rose, Giamatti was determined to maintain the integrity of the game during his brief commissionership.
While at his vacation home on Martha's Vineyard
, Giamatti, a heavy smoker
for many years, died suddenly of a massive heart attack
at the age of 51, just eight days after banishing Rose and 154 days into his tenure as commissioner. He became the second baseball commissioner to die in office, the first being Kenesaw Mountain Landis
. Baseball's owners soon selected Fay Vincent
, Giamatti's close friend and baseball's first-ever deputy commissioner, as the new commissioner.
accepted the position of deputy commissioner. He became the 8th commissioner of baseball following Giamatti's death on September 1, 1989, and presided over the 1989 World Series
, which was interrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake; the owners' lockout
during Spring Training
of the 1990
season; and the expulsion of George Steinbrenner
in his first year. Before accepting the job as Commissioner of Baseball, Vincent consulted with Bart Giamatti's widow, Toni, to make sure she thought it was appropriate for him to do so.
In 1990
, National League president Bill White was prepared to suspend umpire Joe West for slamming Philadelphia
pitcher Dennis Cook
to the field, but Vincent intervened and no discipline was imposed.
During his commissionership, Vincent made it known (e.g. while being interviewed by Pat O'Brien
during CBS' coverage of Game 4 of the 1991 World Series
) that if he had the chance, he would get rid of the designated hitter
rule.
Vincent has also been connected with Pete Rose
's lifetime banishment from baseball; however, Rose's banishment began while Giamatti was commissioner, not Vincent (although Vincent led the investigation and was involved in the negotiations). Vincent has publicly said he does not support Rose's reinstatement.
at San Francisco
's Candlestick Park. At 5:04 p.m., just prior to Game 3 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants
and Oakland Athletics
, the Loma Prieta earthquake
(which measured 7.1 on the Richter scale
) hit. At approximately 5:35 p.m., after coming to the conclusion that the power couldn't be restored before sunset, Vincent ordered the game to be postponed. According to Vincent, he had already made the decision to postpone Game 3 without telling anybody first. As a result, the umpires filed a form of protest of Vincent's decision. However, the game had to be postponed due to trouble with gas lines as well as the power issue.
The World Series ultimately resumed after a ten day postponement (and some initial conflict between Vincent and San Francisco mayor Art Agnos
, who felt that the World Series ought to have been delayed much longer) on October 27, 1989. While presenting the World Series Trophy
to the Athletics, who wound up winning the World Series in a four game sweep, Vincent summed up the 1989 World Series as a "Remarkable World Series in many respects."
Executive Director Donald Fehr
became afraid that the owners would institute a salary cap
. Fehr believed that a salary cap could possibly restrict the number of choices free agents could make and a pay-for-performance scale would eliminate multiyear contracts. The lockout, which was the seventh work stoppage in baseball since 1972
, lasted 32 games and wiped out all of spring training.
Vincent worked with both the owners and MLBPA, and on March 19, 1990, Vincent was able to announce a new Basic Agreement (which raised the minimum major league salary from $
68,000 to $100,000 and established a six-man study committee on revenue sharing). As a consequence for the lockout, Opening Day for the 1990
season was moved back a week to April 9, and the season was extended by three days to accommodate the normal 162-game schedule.
, Vincent banned New York Yankees
owner George Steinbrenner
from baseball for life after Steinbrenner paid Howie Spira, a small-time gambler, $40,000 for "dirt" on his outfielder Dave Winfield
after Winfield sued Steinbrenner for failing to pay his foundation the $300,000 guaranteed in his contract. Steinbrenner was eventually reinstated in 1993
(one year after Vincent left office).
, Vincent permanently suspended pitcher Steve Howe
for repeated drug offenses. Vincent was incensed when upper Yankee management (Buck Showalter
, Gene Michael, and Jack Lawn) agreed to testify on Howe's behalf, and threatened them with expulsion from the game:
Ironically, the three men were unaffected by Vincent's hyperbole, testified for Howe as promised, and remained active in baseball. Three months later, Vincent was removed from his job as commissioner. An arbitrator overturned Vincent's suspension of Howe on November 11, 1992.
, Vincent declared that the American League
would receive $
42 million of the National League
's $190 million in expansion revenue and that the AL would provide players in the National League expansion draft (involving the Colorado Rockies
and Florida Marlins
). In an attempt to win support in the American League and balance the vote, Vincent decreed that the AL owners were entitled to 22 percent of the $190 million take. This decision marked the first time in expansion history that leagues were required to share expansion revenue or provide players for another league's expansion draft. Vincent said the owners expanded to raise money to pay their collusion
debt.
and St. Louis Cardinals
to move from the Eastern Division
to the Western Division
. The Cincinnati Reds
and Atlanta Braves
, who had been a geographic mistake ever since Major League Baseball realigned in 1969
, would move to the Eastern Division. National League president Bill White warned Vincent that realigning without league approval would be in violation of the National League Constitution.
Many thought this plan would be beneficial to the league as a whole, especially by building a regional rivalry between the new franchise in Miami
and the Atlanta Braves. The Cubs, however, opposed the move, suggesting that fans in the Central Time Zone
would be forced to watch more games originating on the West Coast with later broadcast times (had the realignment included the use of a balanced schedule, the Cubs would have actually played more games against teams outside their division).
On July 17, 1992
, the Chicago Cubs sued Vincent and asked the U.S. District Court
in Chicago for a preliminary injunction
to prevent implementation, which was granted two weeks later. After Vincent's attorneys appealed, oral arguments were scheduled for August 30 of that year. Ultimately, Vincent resigned before the litigation was scheduled to resume, so as a result, the Cubs dropped their suit.
Although Vincent's vision never really came into fruition, Major League Baseball did in fact realign in 1994
, albeit in the form of three divisions in each league, and the addition of an expanded playoff format.
after the owners gave him an 18–9 no confidence vote. The owners were still angry at Vincent over his intervention during the 1990 lockout. The owners were also disappointed by dwindling television ratings
in light of a $
1.2 billion, four year deal with CBS
(which ultimately cost the network $500 million) beginning in 1990
(Vincent's first full season as commissioner) and upwardly spiraling salaries. (It is also important to note that CBS itself contributed to decreasing ratings thanks to the haphazard scheduling of Game of the Week
broadcasts during the regular season to the point that fans grew tired of tuning into no baseball on summer Saturdays.) They also accused him of acting in a high-handed manner, especially in the Howe affair.
The leaders in the movement to oust Vincent were members of what The Sporting News
later dubbed The Great Lakes
Gang:
In his farewell, Vincent said
He was replaced by Milwaukee Brewers
owner Bud Selig
, whose family continued to maintain ownership over the Brewers. Fay Vincent was never able to complete the five year term that he had inherited from Bart Giamatti. Vincent would later contend that Major League Baseball made a huge mistake by not appointing his deputy commissioner Steve Greenberg — the son of the Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg
— as the commissioner.
served as the Executive Council Chairman from 1992 to 1998, acting as the commissioner, and then was appointed as the official commissioner in 1998. Selig oversaw baseball through the 1994 strike, the introduction of the wild card, interleague play
, and the merging of the National and American leagues under the Office of the Commissioner. He was instrumental in organizing the World Baseball Classic
in 2006. Selig also introduced revenue sharing. He is credited for the financial turnaround of baseball during his tenure with a 400 percent increase in the revenue of MLB and annual record breaking attendance.
During Selig's term of service, the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs became a public issue. The Mitchell Report
, commissioned by Selig, concluded that the MLB commissioners, club officials, the Players Association, and the players all share "to some extent in the responsibility for the steroid era." Following the release of the Mitchell Report, Congressman Cliff Stearns
called publicly for Selig to step down as commissioner, citing his "glacial response" to the "growing stain on baseball." Selig has pledged on numerous occasions to rid baseball of performance enhancing drugs, and has overseen and instituted many rule changes and penalties to that end.
Bud Selig helped introduce the following changes to Major League Baseball:
During Selig's years of service, new stadiums have opened in Arizona
, Atlanta
, Cincinnati
, Cleveland
, Colorado
, Detroit
, Houston
, Milwaukee, Philadelphia
, Pittsburgh
, San Diego
, San Francisco
, Seattle
, Arlington, St. Louis
, Washington, D.C., Queens, The Bronx
, and Minneapolis
. A new stadium is scheduled to open in Miami for the 2012 season.
$5,000, he is quoted as saying, "In this [commissioner's] office he's just another ballplayer." Subsequent commissioners wielded varying degrees of power with varying degrees of success.
Tensions between commissioners and the baseball team owners who elected them, exacerbated by baseball's chronic labor conflicts with the Major League Baseball Players Association
beginning in the 1970s, came to a head in , when baseball owners voted no confidence
in Commissioner Fay Vincent
by a tally of 18–9. The owners had a number of grievances against Vincent, especially the perception that he had been too favorable to the players during the lockout of . Unlike the current commissioner, Vincent has stated that the owners colluded
against the players. Vincent put it this way: "The Union basically doesn’t trust the Ownership because collusion was a $280 million theft by Selig and Chicago White Sox
owner Jerry Reinsdorf
of that money from the players. I mean, they rigged the signing of free agents. They got caught. They paid $280 million to the players. And I think that's polluted labor relations in baseball ever since it happened. I think it's the reason union chief Donald Fehr
has no trust in Selig."
Vincent resigned on September 7, 1992. Selig, the longtime owner of the Milwaukee Brewers
, was appointed chairman of baseball's Executive Council, making him the de facto acting commissioner (among the potential candidates for a permanent commissioner discussed in the media were future President
George W. Bush
, who was the managing partner for the Texas Rangers
from 1989 to 1994, and George J. Mitchell
, then Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate
). While acting commissioner, Selig presided over Major League Baseball during the 1994 player's strike, which led to the cancellation of the World Series
.
Selig continued as acting commissioner until July 8, 1998, when the owners officially appointed him to the commissioner position.
Having been an owner for 30 years, Selig is seen as having closer ties to the MLB team owners than previous commissioners. Selig's administration has had many perceived successes, such as expansion and interleague play
, but many still see his lack of independence from the owners as a problem.
In May , Bud Selig
surpassed Bowie Kuhn
as the second longest-serving commissioner (including his time as "acting commissioner" from to mid-), behind Kenesaw Mountain Landis
, who died in office after 24 years of service.
Beginning in 2006, Selig repeatedly stated his intention to retire at the end of his contract in 2009.
However, on 17 January 2008, it was announced that Selig has accepted a 3-year extension through the 2012 season
wrote in the April 24, 2006, issue of Sports Illustrated
that with most of Barry Bonds
' official troubles being off the field, and with the strength of the players' union
, there is little Selig can do beyond appointing an investigating committee. Vincent said that Selig is largely "an observer of a forum beyond his reach."
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
and its associated minor leagues
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring
Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
crews, and negotiates marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
, labor, and television contracts
Major League Baseball television contracts
The following is a detailed description of the various television networks , rights fees, and announcers who have called Major League Baseball games throughout the years .-United States:...
. The commissioner is chosen by a vote of the owners of the teams.
The current commissioner is Bud Selig
Bud Selig
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig is the ninth and current Commissioner of Major League Baseball, having served in that capacity since 1992 as the acting commissioner, and as the official commissioner since 1998...
, who has been in office since 1998. Selig acted as a de facto commissioner under title of "Chairman of the Executive Council" from 1992 to 1998, when the office of commissioner was vacant.
Origin of the office
The title "commissioner", which is a title now applied to the heads of several other major sports leagues as well as baseball, derives from its predecessor office, the National Commission. The National Commission was the ruling body of professional baseball starting with the National Agreement of 1903, which made peace between the National LeagueNational League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
and the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
(see History of baseball in the United States
History of baseball in the United States
The history of baseball in the United States can be traced to the 18th century, when amateurs played a baseball-like game by their own informal rules using improvised equipment...
). It consisted of three members: the two League presidents and a Commission chairman, whose primary responsibilities were to preside at meetings and to mediate disputes. Following the Black Sox Scandal
Black Sox Scandal
The Black Sox Scandal took place around and during the play of the American baseball 1919 World Series. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were banned for life from baseball for intentionally losing games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series...
, team owners decided in 1920 to reform the National Commission with a membership of non-baseball men. However, their pick for chairman, former federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
, would only accept an appointment as sole commissioner. He also demanded unlimited authority over all aspects of organized baseball. The owners agreed, in order to combat the perception of the sport being controlled by gambling interests.
Kenesaw Mountain Landis (1920–1944)
While serving as a Federal judge, Kenesaw Mountain LandisKenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
, an ardent baseball fan, was selected as chairman of a new National Commission of baseball. The owners decided to appoint a commission made up entirely of non-baseball men to restore confidence in the sport following the 1919 Black Sox Scandal
Black Sox Scandal
The Black Sox Scandal took place around and during the play of the American baseball 1919 World Series. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were banned for life from baseball for intentionally losing games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series...
, perhaps the worst of a number of incidents that jeopardized the integrity of the game.
However, Landis declared that he would accept only an appointment as sole commissioner. He also demanded unlimited authority to act in the "best interests of baseball"--in essence, serving as an arbitrator whose decisions could not be appealed. The owners, still reeling from the perception that the sport was crooked, readily agreed.
Gambling
Landis' first act was to deal with the Black Sox scandal. The eight players suspected of involvement in the fix had been acquitted, including Buck WeaverBuck Weaver
George Daniel "Buck" Weaver was an American shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox...
and superstar Shoeless Joe Jackson
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Joseph Jefferson Jackson , nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the early part of the 20th century...
. However, Landis banned them all from baseball for life. He explained that even though the players had been acquitted in court, they couldn't be allowed back in the game if its image was to be restored with the public.
Over the years, he dealt harshly with others proven to have thrown individual games, consorted with gamblers or engaged in actions that he felt tarnished the image of the game. Among the others he banned were New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
players Phil Douglas
Phil Douglas
Phillip Brooks Douglas was an American baseball player.Douglas originally signed with the Chicago White Sox in 1912, but soon landed with the Cincinnati Reds. In 1915, he was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers, then to the Chicago Cubs.In 1919, he was signed by the New York Giants. John McGraw had...
and Jimmy O'Connell
Jimmy O'Connell
James Joseph O'Connell was an outfielder in Major League Baseball.-Biography:O'Connell was born in Sacramento, California. He started his professional baseball career in the Pacific Coast League at the age of 18...
, Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
pitcher Gene Paulette
Gene Paulette
Eugene Edward Paulette was a Major League Baseball infielder from 1911 to 1920....
, Giants coach Cozy Dolan, and (in 1943) Phillies owner William D. Cox. He also formalized the unofficial banishments of Hal Chase
Hal Chase
Harold Homer Chase , nicknamed "Prince Hal", was a first baseman in Major League Baseball, widely viewed as the best fielder at his position...
and Heinie Zimmerman
Heinie Zimmerman
Henry Zimmerman , known as "Heinie" or "The Great Zim," was a Major League Baseball player in the early 20th century. Zimmerman played for the Chicago Cubs and New York Giants...
. In 1921, he banned Giants center fielder Benny Kauff
Benny Kauff
Benjamin Michael Kauff was a professional baseball player, who played centerfield and batted and threw left-handed. Kauff was known as the “Ty Cobb of the Feds.” He is the only player to be permanently banned from baseball for reasons other than gambling...
even though he had been acquitted of involvement in a car theft ring. Nonetheless, Landis was convinced Kauff was guilty and argued that players of "undesirable reputation and character" had no place in baseball.
A fiercely independent Commissioner's Office
The owners had hoped he would then settle into a comfortable retirement as the titular head of baseball. Instead, Landis ruled baseball with an iron hand for the next 25 years. He established a fiercely independent Commissioner's Office that would go on to often make both players and owners miserable with decisions that have been seen in hindsight as being in the best interests of the game. He worked to clean up the hooliganism that was tarnishing the reputation of players in the 1920s, and inserted his office into negotiations with players, where he deemed appropriate, to end a few of the labor practices of owners like Charles ComiskeyCharles Comiskey
Charles Albert "The Old Roman" Comiskey was a Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League and later owned the Chicago White Sox...
that had contributed to the players' discontent. He also personally approved broadcasters for the World Series.
Landis' only significant rival in the early years was longtime American League founder and president Ban Johnson
Ban Johnson
Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson , was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League ....
, who was as iron-willed as Landis. A clash between the two was inevitable, and it happened in the 1924 World Series
1924 World Series
In the 1924 World Series, the Washington Senators beat the New York Giants in seven games. The Giants became the first team to play in four consecutive World Series, winning in 1921–1922 and losing in 1923–1924. Their long-time manager, John McGraw, made his ninth and final World Series appearance...
. When several Giants were implicated in a plan to bribe players on the moribund Phillies late in the season, Johnson demanded that the Series be canceled, and loudly criticized Landis' handling of the affair. Landis threatened to resign. The American League owners promised to throw Johnson out of office if he stepped out of line again. Two years later
1926 in baseball
-Champions:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees *Negro League World Series: Chicago American Giants over Bacharach Giants -Awards and honors:*League Award**George Burns, Cleveland Indians, 1B**Bob O'Farrell, St...
, when Johnson criticized Landis' decision to give Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...
and Tris Speaker
Tris Speaker
Tristram E. Speaker , nicknamed "Spoke" and "The Grey Eagle", was an American baseball player. Considered one of the best offensive and defensive center fielders in the history of Major League Baseball, he compiled a career batting average of .345 , and still holds the record of 792 career doubles...
an amnesty after it surfaced they had bet on a fixed game in 1919, Landis told the American League owners to choose between him and Johnson; the owners promptly sent Johnson on a sabbatical from which he never really returned.
The baseball color line
Landis perpetuated the color lineBaseball color line
The color line in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Organized Baseball, or the major leagues and affiliated minor leagues, until Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for the 1946 season...
and prolonged the segregation of organized baseball. His successor, Happy Chandler
Happy Chandler
Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler, Sr. was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. He represented the state in the U.S. Senate and served as its 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his political positions, he also served as the second Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1951 and...
, said, "For twenty-four years Judge Landis wouldn't let a black man play. I had his records, and I read them, and for twenty-four years Landis consistently blocked any attempts to put blacks and whites together on a big league field." Bill Veeck
Bill Veeck
William Louis Veeck, Jr. , also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a franchise owner and promoter in Major League Baseball. He was best known for his publicity stunts to raise attendance. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis...
claimed Landis prevented him from purchasing the Phillies when Landis learned of Veeck's plan to integrate the team. The signing of the first black ballplayer in the modern era, Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
, came less than a year after Landis's death on Chandler's watch and was engineered by one of Landis's old nemeses, Branch Rickey
Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball executive elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967...
. Eleven weeks after Robinson's debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
, Veeck became the first American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
owner to break the color line.
Curbing the growth of minor league farm systems
Landis tried to curb the growth of minor leagueMinor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
farm systems by innovators such as Rickey, in the name of protecting the lower levels of professional ball. Landis argued that because a parent club could unilaterally call up players from teams which were involved in pennant races, the organization was unfairly interfering with the minor competitions. His position was that the championship of each minor league was of no less importance than the championships of the major leagues, and that minor league fans and supporters had the right to see their teams competing as best they could. Yet he also prevented the formation of a powerful third major league when he stopped Pants Rowland
Pants Rowland
Clarence Henry "Pants" Rowland was a Major League Baseball manager for the Chicago White Sox from 1915 through 1918 who went on to become a major figure in minor league baseball. He was born in Platteville, Wisconsin...
from upgrading the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
in the 1940s.
One of the schemes he fought was the effort by major-league teams to "cover up" players they were hiding in their farm systems. The term, not used in formal communications by league or team officials, referred to players clandestinely signed by a major-league team to a minor-league contract. Occasionally one team would serendipitously find such a player in the off-season draft, as in this occasion recorded in the book Dodger Daze and Knights:
All the clubowners and managers, and Commissioner Landis, were assembled to conduct the draft. One team representative said he "claim[s] Player [Paul] RichardsPaul Richards (baseball)Paul Rapier Richards was an American professional baseball player, manager, scout and executive in Major League Baseball. During his playing career, he was a catcher and right-handed batter with the Brooklyn Dodgers , New York Giants , Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers...
of Brooklyn."
"You can't do that!" barked a surprised Wilbert Robinson
Wilbert RobinsonWilbert Robinson , nicknamed "Uncle Robbie", was an American catcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball...
, manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
"Why not?" asked Landis.
"Because Brooklyn has him covered up," sputtered Robbie.
Most of the others broke down laughing. Even Landis smirked.
Legacy and honors
Whether his decisions were praised or criticized, he was satisfied with being respected and feared. Dubbed "the baseball tyrant" by journalists of the day, his rule was absolute. In the context of ensuring the integrity of the game itself, baseball historians generally regard him as the right man at the right time when appointed, but also as a man who perhaps held office too long.He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1944
Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1944
There was no regular election in 1944 to select inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame; in 1939 the Baseball Writers Association of America had moved to hold elections every three years rather than annually, and the next scheduled election was to be in 1945...
, in a special election held one month after his death, and the Most Valuable Player Award
MLB Most Valuable Player Award
The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...
in each league is officially known as the Kenesaw Mountain Landis Award in his honor.
Happy Chandler (1945-1951)
When baseball's first commissionerBaseball Commissioner
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...
, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
, died in 1944, an official in the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
began campaigning for Happy Chandler
Happy Chandler
Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler, Sr. was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. He represented the state in the U.S. Senate and served as its 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his political positions, he also served as the second Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1951 and...
's election to the post. Despite being the last candidate put forth in the April 1945
1945 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Detroit Tigers over Chicago Cubs *All-Star Game cancelled due to flight restrictions. However, inter-league games were played during the All-Star break.-Other champions:...
meetings, he was elected by a unanimous vote of the team owners, and resigned his Senate seat in October of that year.
Chandler clashed with Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo "the Lip" Durocher
Leo Durocher
Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...
over Durocher's association with gambling figures and his marriage to actress Laraine Day
Laraine Day
Laraine Day was an American actress and a former MGM contract star.-Career:Born La Raine Johnson in Roosevelt, Utah, to an affluent Mormon family, she later moved to California where she began her acting career with the Long Beach Players...
, which came amid allegations from Day's ex-husband that Durocher had stolen her away from him. Before the start of the 1947 season, Chandler suspended Durocher for the entire season, citing "conduct detrimental to baseball." The Dodgers went on to win the pennant that season under replacement manager Burt Shotton
Burt Shotton
Burton Edwin Shotton was an American player, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball. As manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers , he won two National League pennants and served as Jackie Robinson's first permanent major league manager.-Playing career: Fleet-of-foot outfielder:Shotton was born...
.
Chandler became known as "the players' commissioner" for his work on their behalf. During his service, he presided over the establishment of a pension fund for players, but his most significant contribution was overseeing the initial steps toward integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
of the major leagues, beginning with the debut of Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
with the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
in 1947. This move was controversial with some team owners, who voted 15-1 against integrating the sport in a secret January 1947 meeting. The Dodgers' Branch Rickey
Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball executive elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967...
met with Chandler, who agreed to back the team's move. Chandler's stance was credited by many in the sports community with Chandler's failure to be selected for another term as Commissioner after the expiration of his first one in 1951
1951 in baseball
-Headline Event of the Year:Baseball's Shot Heard 'Round the World gives the New York Giants the National League Pennant in the third game of a best-of-three-games tiebreaker series over the Brooklyn Dodgers.-Major League Baseball:...
.
Chandler was fully aware that he was jeopardizing his own commissionership by stewarding the integration process. Chandler's attitude was a simple one, which he conveyed to Branch Rickey, and later recounted in his autobiography:
- "I've already done a lot of thinking about this whole racial situation in our country. As a member of the Senate Military Affairs Committee, I got to know a lot about our casualties during the war. Plenty of Negro boys were willing to go out and fight and die for this country. Is it right when they came back to tell them they can't play the national pastime? You know, Branch, I'm going to have to meet my Maker some day. And if He asks me why I didn't let this boy play, and I say it's because he's black, that might not be a satisfactory answer.
- If the Lord made some people black, and some white, and some red or yellow, he must have had a pretty good reason. It isn't my job to decide which colors can play big league baseball. It is my job to see that the game is fairly played and that everybody has an equal chance. I think if I do that, I can face my Maker with a clear conscience."
Ford Frick (1951-1965)
In , Ford FrickFord Frick
Ford Christopher Frick was an American sportswriter and executive who served as president of the National League from to and as the third Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1951 to . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970...
succeeded Happy Chandler
Happy Chandler
Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler, Sr. was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. He represented the state in the U.S. Senate and served as its 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his political positions, he also served as the second Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1951 and...
as commissioner of baseball. Frick's critics accused him of favoring the NL in his rulings, such as how the 1960s expansion teams would be stocked.
Frick's most highly criticized statement as commissioner was made in 1961, when several players were on a pace to break Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
's single-season home run record. In a press conference, Frick stated that the single-season home run record should be separated into multiple lists, based on length of season. However, as MLB did not publish an official record book at the time, Frick had no control on how publishers presented MLB records, and within a few years after Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
broke Ruth's record, all record books gave Maris sole credit as the single-season home run record holder.
Later, it was revealed that Frick had served as a ghostwriter
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
for Ruth earlier in his career.
William Eckert (1965-1968)
More than 150 names appeared on the original list of nominees for the commissionership following Ford FrickFord Frick
Ford Christopher Frick was an American sportswriter and executive who served as president of the National League from to and as the third Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1951 to . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970...
's retirement. The club owners initially were unable to decide if the next commissioner should come from the ranks of the game (e.g., the president of the American
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
or National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
s), or elsewhere. They finally decided that the new commissioner should have a strong business background to deal with the problems that were confronting the game at the time.
William Eckert
William Eckert
William Dole "Spike" Eckert was a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force, and later the fourth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1968.-Before baseball:...
only became a serious candidate for the commissionership after fellow officer Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay
Curtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
gave Major League Baseball a recommendation for him. On November 17, 1965
1965 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Minnesota Twins ; Sandy Koufax, MVP*All-Star Game, July 13 at Metropolitan Stadium: National League, 6-5; Juan Marichal, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Arizona State...
, by a unanimous vote of the then, 20 major league club owners, William Eckert became the fourth Commissioner of Major League Baseball.
When he became commissioner, Eckert had not seen a game in person in over 10 years. He was a compromise choice for the job, previously being so obscure that sportswriters nicknamed him "the Unknown Soldier."
He incurred the public's ire by refusing to cancel games after the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, and team owners' disdain because he refused to deal forcefully with substantive business issues. Anticipating a players' strike and having no ownership confidence in his ability to handle the situation, Eckert was forced to resign at the end of the 1968
1968 in baseball
-The Year of the Pitcher:In Major League Baseball, the trend throughout the 1960s was of increased pitching dominance, caused by enforcing a larger strike zone beginning in 1963...
season, although he still had three years on his contract.
In spite of his much publicized failures and shortcomings, William Eckert also developed more effective committee actions, streamlined business methods and helped stabilize franchises with bigger stadiums and long-term leases. In addition, Eckert worked hard toward promoting the game internationally, including a 1966
1966 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Los Angeles Dodgers ; Frank Robinson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 12 at Busch Stadium: National League, 2–1 ; Brooks Robinson, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Ohio State...
tour of Japan by the Los Angeles Dodgers
1966 Los Angeles Dodgers season
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League championship with a 95–67 record , but lost to the Baltimore Orioles in four games in the World Series.-Regular season:...
.
Bowie Kuhn (1969-1984)
Bowie KuhnBowie Kuhn
Bowie Kent Kuhn was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, , to September 30,...
's tenure was marked by labor strikes
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
(most notably in 1981), owner disenchantment, and the end of baseball's reserve clause
Reserve clause
The reserve clause is a term formerly employed in North American professional sports contracts. The reserve clause, contained in all standard player contracts, stated that, upon the contract's expiration the rights to the player were to be retained by the team to which he had been signed...
, yet baseball enjoyed unprecedented attendance gains (from 23 million in to 45.5 million in ) and television contracts
Major League Baseball television contracts
The following is a detailed description of the various television networks , rights fees, and announcers who have called Major League Baseball games throughout the years .-United States:...
during the same time frame.
Kuhn suspended numerous players for involvement with drugs and gambling, and took a strong stance against any activity that he perceived to be "not in the best interests of baseball."
In , he suspended star Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
pitcher Denny McLain
Denny McLain
Dennis Dale "Denny" McLain is a former American professional baseball player, and the last major league pitcher to win 30 or more games during a season —a feat accomplished by only thirteen players in the 20th century....
indefinitely (the suspension was later set at 3 months) due to McLain's involvement in a bookmaking operation, and later suspended McLain for the rest of the season for carrying a gun. He barred both Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
(in ) and Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
(in ) from the sport due to their involvement in casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
promotion; neither was directly involved in gambling, and both were reinstated by Kuhn's successor Peter Ueberroth
Peter Ueberroth
Peter Victor Ueberroth is an American executive. He served as the sixth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1989. He was recently the chairman of the United States Olympic Committee; he was replaced by Larry Probst in October 2008....
in .
Also in 1970, Kuhn described Jim Bouton
Jim Bouton
James Alan "Jim" Bouton is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. He is also the author of the controversial baseball book Ball Four, which was a combination diary of his season and memoir of his years with the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, and Houston Astros.-Amateur and college...
's Ball Four
Ball Four
Ball Four is a book written by former Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Bouton in . The book is a diary of Bouton's 1969 season, spent with the Seattle Pilots and then the Houston Astros following a late-season trade. In it Bouton also recounts much of his baseball career, spent mainly with the...
as "detrimental to baseball" and demanded that Bouton retract it. The book has been republished several times and is now considered a classic.
On October 13, , the World Series
1971 World Series
The 1971 World Series matched the defending champion Baltimore Orioles against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the Pirates winning in seven games. Game 4, played in Pittsburgh, was the first-ever World Series game scheduled to be played at night....
held a night game for the first time. Kuhn, who thought that baseball could attract a larger audience by featuring a prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
telecast (as opposed to a mid-afternoon broadcast, when most fans either worked or attended school), pitched the idea to NBC. An estimated 61 million people watched Game 4 on NBC; TV ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
for a World Series game during the daytime hours would not have approached such a record number. Kuhn's vision in this instance has been fulfilled, as all the World Series games are now shown in prime time.
Curt Flood
On October 7, , the St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
traded Curt Flood
Curt Flood
Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons...
, catcher Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
, outfielder Byron Browne
Byron Browne
Byron Ellis Browne is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Browne was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1963. In his first Major League at-bat, Browne lined out in the second inning of Sandy Koufax's 1965 perfect game. Browne had the dubious distinction of...
, and left-handed pitcher Joe Hoerner
Joe Hoerner
Joseph Walter Hoerner was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher. A native of Dubuque, Iowa, the left-hander was signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before the 1957 season. He played for the Houston Colt .45s , St...
to the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
for first baseman Dick Allen
Dick Allen
Richard Anthony Allen is a former Major League Baseball player and R&B singer. He played first and third base and outfield in Major League Baseball and ranked among his sport's top offensive producers of the 1960s and early 1970s...
, second baseman Cookie Rojas
Cookie Rojas
Octavio Victor Rojas Rivas , better known as Cookie Rojas, is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and outfielder who played for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Kansas City Royals. After retiring as a player he went on to both coach and manage in the...
, and right-handed ace relief pitcher Jerry Johnson
Jerry Johnson (baseball)
Jerry Michael Johnson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher from through . He batted and threw right-handed.-Third baseman:Johnson was signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent third baseman in...
.
However, Flood refused to report to the moribund Phillies, citing the team's poor record and the fact that they played in dilapidated Connie Mack Stadium before belligerent and, Flood believed, racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
fans. Flood forfeited a relatively lucrative $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
100,000 contract by his refusal to be traded to the Phillies.
In a letter to Kuhn, Flood demanded that the commissioner declare him a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. Kuhn denied his request, citing the propriety of the reserve clause
Reserve clause
The reserve clause is a term formerly employed in North American professional sports contracts. The reserve clause, contained in all standard player contracts, stated that, upon the contract's expiration the rights to the player were to be retained by the team to which he had been signed...
, which was language in contracts that essentially prevented a player from playing with another team even after his contract expired. In response, Flood filed a lawsuit against Kuhn and Major League Baseball on January 16, , alleging that Major League Baseball had violated federal antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
laws. Even though Flood was making $90,000 at the time, he likened the reserve clause to slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. It was a controversial analogy, even among those who opposed the reserve clause.
The case, Flood v. Kuhn
Flood v. Kuhn
Flood v. Kuhn was a 1972 United States Supreme Court decision upholding, by a 5–3 margin, the antitrust exemption first granted to Major League Baseball in Federal Baseball Club v. National League. It arose from a challenge by St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder Curt Flood when he refused to be...
(407 U.S. 258) eventually went to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. Flood's attorney, former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg was an American statesman and jurist who served as the U.S. Secretary of Labor, Supreme Court Justice and Ambassador to the United Nations.-Early life:...
, asserted that the reserve clause depressed wages and limited players to one team for life. Major League Baseball's counsel countered that Commissioner Kuhn acted under the way he did '"for the good of the game."
Ultimately, the Supreme Court, acting on stare decisis
Stare decisis
Stare decisis is a legal principle by which judges are obliged to respect the precedents established by prior decisions...
"to stand by things decided", ruled 5-3 in favor of Major League Baseball, upholding a ruling in the case of Federal Baseball Club v. National League
Federal Baseball Club v. National League
Federal Baseball Club v. National League, , is a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Sherman Antitrust Act did not apply to Major League Baseball.-Background:...
, (259 U.S. 200.)
Charles O. Finley
Though he had a reputation as an owners' commissioner, Kuhn did not avoid confronting owners when he deemed it necessary. For example, he was a major adversary of Oakland AthleticsOakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
owner Charles O. Finley
Charles O. Finley
Charles Oscar Finley , nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who is best remembered for his tenure as the owner of the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas City, moving it to Oakland in 1968...
. A major embarrassment for baseball resulted from Finley's actions during the 1973 World Series
1973 World Series
The 1973 World Series matched the defending champion Oakland Athletics against the New York Mets, with the A's winning in seven games to repeat as World Champions....
. Finley forced player Mike Andrews
Mike Andrews
Michael Jay Andrews is a retired American Major League Baseball infielder who played for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. He is currently the chairman of The Jimmy Fund, an event fundraising organization affiliated with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston,...
to sign a false affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
saying he was injured after the reserve infielder committed two consecutive errors
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
in the 12th inning of Oakland's Game 2 loss to the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
. Andrews' teammates as well as manager Dick Williams
Dick Williams
Richard Hirschfeld "Dick" Williams was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967–69 and 1971–88, he led teams to three American League pennants, one National...
rallied to his defense. Kuhn in return, forced Finley to reinstate Andrews. In , when Finley attempted to sell several players to the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
and New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
for $3.5 million, Kuhn blocked the deals on the grounds that they would be bad for the game. Some believe that Kuhn's actions were simply a revenge tactic, aimed at Finley, after Finley attempted to force an owners vote to remove Kuhn as commissioner in .
Kuhn's war on drugs
After being in office for over ten years, Kuhn had grown a strong reputation for being hard on players who abused drugsDrug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
. Kuhn was quick to punish players who used drugs with heavy fines and suspensions. Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
catcher Darrell Porter
Darrell Porter
Darrell Ray Porter was a former American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers. He was known for his excellent defensive skills and power hitting...
told the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
that during the winter of - he became paranoid
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
, convinced that Kuhn knew about his drug abuse, was trying to sneak into his house, and planned to ban him from baseball for life. Porter found himself sitting up at night in the dark watching out the front window, waiting for Kuhn to approach, clutching billiard balls and a shotgun. Ironically, when Porter was named the most valuable player of the 1982 World Series
1982 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 12, 1982 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MissouriThe Brewers' left-hander Mike Caldwell pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits. The Brewers' offense was led by Paul Molitor, who had a World Series-record five hits and two RBIs...
while playing for the Cardinals, Kuhn was on hand to congratulate him.
In , during the Iranian hostage crisis, Kuhn sat at a baseball game with Jeremiah Denton
Jeremiah Denton
Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. is a retired United States Navy rear admiral, naval aviator and a former Republican U.S. senator, for the state of Alabama...
, a Navy admiral and former POW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
who would be elected U.S. Senator later that year from the state of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. Recalling the event to The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, Kuhn believed that "that afternoon...the idea of a lifetime baseball pass was discussed," and upon their return from Iran, each of the 52 hostages was given one of these unique passes.
In , four players from the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
- Willie Wilson
Willie Wilson (baseball player)
Willie James Wilson is a former Major League Baseball player for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, and Chicago Cubs. He was an outfielder known for his speed and ability as an effective leadoff hitter....
, Jerry Martin
Jerry Martin
Jerry Lindsey Martin is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is the son of major league pitcher Barney Martin....
, Willie Mays Aikens
Willie Aikens
Willie Mays Aikens is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He had established himself as one of the top sluggers in the game before drugs derailed his career. In , Aikens was sentenced to twenty years in prison on four counts of crack cocaine distribution and one count of use of a firearm...
, and Vida Blue
Vida Blue
Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 17-year career, he pitched for the Oakland Athletics , San Francisco Giants , and Kansas City Royals He won the American League Cy Young award and Most Valuable Player Award in 1971...
- were found guilty of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
use. In addition, such established stars as Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins, CM, is a Canadian former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was a three-time All-Star and the 1971 NL Cy Young Award winner. In 1991, Jenkins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 19-year career, he pitched for four different teams,...
, Keith Hernandez
Keith Hernandez
Keith Barlow Hernandez is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He is currently a baseball analyst working for the New York Mets, for whom he played from –, on SportsNet New York and WPIX television broadcasts...
, Dave Parker, and Dale Berra
Dale Berra
Dale Anthony Berra , is a former Major League Baseball player who primarily played as an infielder from through . He is the son of Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra.-Early years:...
admitted to having problems with drugs.
Leaving office
Kuhn was both praised and attacked for the firm stand that he levied against offenders. In , some of the owners organized a move to push him out of office. In , Kuhn and his supporters made a last-ditch effort to renew his contract but ultimately failed. Kuhn, though, was allowed to stay for the regular season before being replaced by Peter UeberrothPeter Ueberroth
Peter Victor Ueberroth is an American executive. He served as the sixth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1989. He was recently the chairman of the United States Olympic Committee; he was replaced by Larry Probst in October 2008....
.
Peter Ueberroth (1984-1989)
Peter UeberrothPeter Ueberroth
Peter Victor Ueberroth is an American executive. He served as the sixth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1989. He was recently the chairman of the United States Olympic Committee; he was replaced by Larry Probst in October 2008....
was elected to succeed Bowie Kuhn
Bowie Kuhn
Bowie Kent Kuhn was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, , to September 30,...
on March 3, 1984 and took office on October 1 of that year. As a condition of his hiring, Ueberroth increased the commissioner’s fining ability from $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5,000 to $250,000. His salary was raised to a reported $450,000, nearly twice what Kuhn was paid.
Just as Ueberroth was taking office the Major League Umpires Union was threatening to strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
the postseason. Ueberroth managed to arbitrate the disagreement and had the umpires back to work before the League Championship Series
League Championship Series
The League Championship Series is the official name for a round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969...
were over. The next summer, Ueberroth worked behind the scenes to limit a players' strike to one day before a new labor agreement was worked out with the Players Association
Major League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association is the union of professional major-league baseball players.-History of MLBPA:The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players...
.
During the course of his stint as commissioner, Ueberroth reinstated Hall of Famers Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
and Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
, who had been banned from working for Major League Baseball by Kuhn because of their associations with gambling casinos. Also, Ueberroth suspended numerous players because of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
use, negotiated a $1.2 billion television contract with CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, and initiated the investigation against Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
's betting habits
Dowd Report
The Dowd Report is the document describing the transgressions of baseball player Pete Rose in betting on baseball, which precipitated his agreement to a lifetime suspension from the sport in the United States. The 225-page report was prepared by Special Counsel to the Commissioner, John M. Dowd,...
. In 1985
1985 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals ; Bret Saberhagen, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: George Brett*National League Championship Series MVP: Ozzie Smith...
, Ueberroth's first full year in office, the League Championship Series expanded from a best-of-five series to a best-of-seven series. At his urging, the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
chose to install lights at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
rather than reimburse the leagues for lost night-game revenues. Ueberroth then found a new source of income in the form of persuading large corporations to pay for the privilege of having their products endorsed by Major League Baseball.
However, Ueberroth, with the assistance of the owners, also facilitated collusion, an illegal violation of the league's collective bargaining agreement with the players, during the 1985-1987 off-seasons. Players entering free-agency were prevented from both signing equitable contracts and joining the teams of their choice during this period, a strategy that union leader Marvin Miller
Marvin Miller
Marvin Julian Miller is a former executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association , from 1966 to 1982. Under Miller's direction, the players' union was transformed into one of the strongest unions in the United States...
later held was "tantamount to fixing, not just games, but entire pennant races, including all post-season series." The MLBPA
Major League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association is the union of professional major-league baseball players.-History of MLBPA:The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players...
filed collusion charges
Baseball collusion
Baseball collusion refers to owners working together to avoid competitive bidding for player services or players jointly negotiating with team owners....
, arguing that Ueberroth and team owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement in the 1985
1985 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals ; Bret Saberhagen, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: George Brett*National League Championship Series MVP: Ozzie Smith...
-1987
1987 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Minnesota Twins over St. Louis Cardinals ; Frank Viola, MVP**American League Championship Series: Gary Gaetti, MVP**National League Championship Series: Jeff Leonard, MVP...
seasons. The MLBPA won each case, resulting in "second look" free agents, and over $280 million in owner fines. Fay Vincent
Fay Vincent
Francis Thomas "Fay" Vincent, Jr. is a former entertainment lawyer and sports executive who served as the eighth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from September 13, 1989 to September 7, 1992.-Early life and career:...
, who followed Ueberroth's successor in the commissioner's office, laid the crippling labor problems of the early 1990s directly at the feet of Ueberroth and the owners' collusion, holding that the collusion years constituted theft from the players.
Under Ueberroth, Major League Baseball enjoyed increased attendance (record attendance four straight seasons), greater awareness of crowd control and alcohol management within ballparks, a successful and vigilant anti-drug campaign, significant industry-wide improvement in the area of fair employment, and a significantly improved financial picture for the industry. When Ueberroth took office, 21 of the 26 clubs were losing money; in Ueberroth's last full season - 1988
1988 in baseball
See also: 1988 Major League Baseball season-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Oakland Athletics ; Orel Hershiser, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Dennis Eckersley...
- all clubs either broke even or finished in the black. In 1987
1987 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Minnesota Twins over St. Louis Cardinals ; Frank Viola, MVP**American League Championship Series: Gary Gaetti, MVP**National League Championship Series: Jeff Leonard, MVP...
, for example, baseball as an industry showed a net profit of $21.3 million, its first profitable year since 1973
1973 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Oakland Athletics over New York Mets ; Reggie Jackson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 24 at Royals Stadium: National League, 7–1; Bobby Bonds, MVP-Other champions:...
.
Nonetheless, following the announcement of the first of three large awards to the players following the collusion findings, Ueberroth stepped down as commissioner before the start of the 1989 regular season
1989 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Oakland Athletics over San Francisco Giants ; Dave Stewart, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Rickey Henderson*National League Championship Series MVP: Will Clark...
; his contract was to have run through the end of the season. He was succeeded by National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
president A. Bartlett Giamatti
A. Bartlett Giamatti
Angelo Bartlett "Bart" Giamatti was the president of Yale University and later the seventh Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Giamatti negotiated the agreement that terminated the Pete Rose betting scandal by permitting Rose to voluntarily withdraw from the sport, avoiding further...
.
A. Bartlett Giamatti (1989)
A. Bartlett GiamattiA. Bartlett Giamatti
Angelo Bartlett "Bart" Giamatti was the president of Yale University and later the seventh Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Giamatti negotiated the agreement that terminated the Pete Rose betting scandal by permitting Rose to voluntarily withdraw from the sport, avoiding further...
had a lifelong interest in baseball (he was a die-hard Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
fan). He became President of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
in , and later Commissioner of Baseball in . During his stint as National League president, Giamatti placed an emphasis on the need to improve the environment for the fan in the ballparks. He also decided to make umpires strictly enforce the balk
Balk
In baseball, a pitcher can commit a number of illegal motions or actions that constitute a balk. In games played under the Official Baseball Rules, a balk results in a dead ball or delayed dead ball. In certain other circumstances, a balk may be wholly or partially disregarded...
rule, and supported "social justice" as the only remedy for the lack of presence of minority managers, coaches, or executives at any level in Major League Baseball.
While still serving as National League president, Giamatti suspended Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
for 30 games after Rose shoved umpire Dave Pallone
Dave Pallone
David Michael Pallone is a former Major League Baseball umpire who worked in the National League from to . During Pallone's career, he wore uniform number 26.-Umpiring career:...
on April 30, 1988. Later that year, Giamatti also suspended Los Angeles Dodgers
1988 Los Angeles Dodgers season
The 1988 season was a memorable one for the Dodgers as a squad that was picked to finish fourth wound up winning the World Series, beating the heavily favored New York Mets and Oakland Athletics on the way. Kirk Gibson carried the Dodger offense, winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award...
pitcher Jay Howell
Jay Howell
Jay Canfield Howell is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds , Chicago Cubs , New York Yankees , Oakland Athletics , Los Angeles Dodgers , Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers .Howell was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers when they won the 1988 World Series...
, who was caught using pine tar
Pine tar
Pine tar is a sticky material produced by the high temperature carbonization of pine wood in anoxic conditions . The wood is rapidly decomposed by applying heat and pressure in a closed container; the primary resulting products are charcoal and pine tar.Pine tar consists primarily of aromatic...
during the National League Championship Series
1988 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 4, 1988 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaThe series opened with a classic pitching matchup, pitting the Dodgers' Orel Hershiser, who had won 23 games during the regular season and carried a Major League record 59 consecutive scoreless innings into the game,...
.
Giamatti, whose tough dealing with Yale's union favorably impressed Major League Baseball owners, was unanimously elected to succeed Peter Ueberroth
Peter Ueberroth
Peter Victor Ueberroth is an American executive. He served as the sixth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1989. He was recently the chairman of the United States Olympic Committee; he was replaced by Larry Probst in October 2008....
as commissioner on September 8, . Giamatti was commissioner on August 24, when Pete Rose voluntarily agreed to permanent ineligibility from baseball. As reflected in the agreement with Pete Rose, Giamatti was determined to maintain the integrity of the game during his brief commissionership.
While at his vacation home on Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
, Giamatti, a heavy smoker
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
for many years, died suddenly of a massive heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at the age of 51, just eight days after banishing Rose and 154 days into his tenure as commissioner. He became the second baseball commissioner to die in office, the first being Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
. Baseball's owners soon selected Fay Vincent
Fay Vincent
Francis Thomas "Fay" Vincent, Jr. is a former entertainment lawyer and sports executive who served as the eighth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from September 13, 1989 to September 7, 1992.-Early life and career:...
, Giamatti's close friend and baseball's first-ever deputy commissioner, as the new commissioner.
Fay Vincent (1989-1992)
At his longtime friend incoming commissioner Bart Giamatti’s behest, Fay VincentFay Vincent
Francis Thomas "Fay" Vincent, Jr. is a former entertainment lawyer and sports executive who served as the eighth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from September 13, 1989 to September 7, 1992.-Early life and career:...
accepted the position of deputy commissioner. He became the 8th commissioner of baseball following Giamatti's death on September 1, 1989, and presided over the 1989 World Series
1989 World Series
†: Game 3 was originally slated for October 17 at 5:35 pm; however, it was postponed when an earthquake occurred at 5:04 pm.-Game 1:Saturday, October 14, 1989 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California...
, which was interrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake; the owners' lockout
1990 Major League Baseball lockout
The 1990 Major League Baseball lockout was the seventh work stoppage in baseball since 1972. Beginning in February, it lasted 32 days and as a result, virtually wiped out all of spring training. Also because of the lockout, Opening Day was moved back a week to April 9...
during Spring Training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
of the 1990
1990 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics ; José Rijo, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series co-MVPs: Rob Dibble and Randy Myers...
season; and the expulsion of George Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
in his first year. Before accepting the job as Commissioner of Baseball, Vincent consulted with Bart Giamatti's widow, Toni, to make sure she thought it was appropriate for him to do so.
In 1990
1990 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics ; José Rijo, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series co-MVPs: Rob Dibble and Randy Myers...
, National League president Bill White was prepared to suspend umpire Joe West for slamming Philadelphia
1990 Philadelphia Phillies season
-Offseason:* October 11, 1989: Steve Stanicek was released by the Phillies.* December 4, 1989: Rule 5 draft**Sil Campusano was drafted by the Phillies from the Toronto Blue Jays in the .**Gordon Dillard was drafted from the Phillies by the Pittsburgh Pirates....
pitcher Dennis Cook
Dennis Cook
Dennis Bryan Cook is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball with nine teams from 1988 to 2002: the San Francisco Giants , Philadelphia Phillies , Los Angeles Dodgers , Cleveland Indians , Chicago White Sox , Texas Rangers ,...
to the field, but Vincent intervened and no discipline was imposed.
During his commissionership, Vincent made it known (e.g. while being interviewed by Pat O'Brien
Pat O'Brien (television)
Pat O'Brien is currently a radio host with Fox Sports Radio as well as an author. He is best known for his time as a sportscaster with CBS Sports and as anchor/host of Access Hollywood and The Insider .O'Brien covered five Olympic Games, two for CBS...
during CBS' coverage of Game 4 of the 1991 World Series
1991 World Series
The 1991 World Series pitted the Minnesota Twins of the American League against the Atlanta Braves of the National League. The series was played from Saturday, October 19 to Sunday, October 27....
) that if he had the chance, he would get rid of the designated hitter
Designated hitter
In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
rule.
Vincent has also been connected with Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
's lifetime banishment from baseball; however, Rose's banishment began while Giamatti was commissioner, not Vincent (although Vincent led the investigation and was involved in the negotiations). Vincent has publicly said he does not support Rose's reinstatement.
1989 World Series
On October 17, 1989, Vincent sat in a field box behind the left dugoutDugout (baseball)
In baseball, the dugout is a team's bench area and is located in foul territory between home plate and either first or third base. There are two dugouts, one for the home team and one for the visiting team. In general, the dugout is occupied by all players not prescribed to be on the field at that...
at San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
's Candlestick Park. At 5:04 p.m., just prior to Game 3 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants
1989 San Francisco Giants season
The 1989 San Francisco Giants season saw the Giants finish in first place in the National League West with a record of 92 wins and 70 losses. It was their second division title in three years. The Giants defeated the Chicago Cubs in five games in the National League Championship Series...
and Oakland Athletics
1989 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics season saw the A's finish in first place in the American League West division, with a record of 99 wins and 63 losses, seven games in front of the Kansas City Royals. It was their second consecutive AL West title, as well as the second straight year in which they finished...
, the Loma Prieta earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...
(which measured 7.1 on the Richter scale
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
) hit. At approximately 5:35 p.m., after coming to the conclusion that the power couldn't be restored before sunset, Vincent ordered the game to be postponed. According to Vincent, he had already made the decision to postpone Game 3 without telling anybody first. As a result, the umpires filed a form of protest of Vincent's decision. However, the game had to be postponed due to trouble with gas lines as well as the power issue.
The World Series ultimately resumed after a ten day postponement (and some initial conflict between Vincent and San Francisco mayor Art Agnos
Arthur Christ Agnos
Arthur Christ Agnos is an American politician. He served as the 39th mayor of San Francisco, California from 1988 to 1992, and the Regional Head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1993 – 2001....
, who felt that the World Series ought to have been delayed much longer) on October 27, 1989. While presenting the World Series Trophy
World Series Trophy
The Commissioner's Trophy is presented each year by the Commissioner of Baseball to the Major League Baseball team that wins the World Series. Recent trophy designs contain flags representing each team in North America's top two leagues, the National League and the American League...
to the Athletics, who wound up winning the World Series in a four game sweep, Vincent summed up the 1989 World Series as a "Remarkable World Series in many respects."
1990 lockout
In February 1990, owners announced that spring training would not be starting as scheduled. This occurred after MLBPAMajor League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association is the union of professional major-league baseball players.-History of MLBPA:The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players...
Executive Director Donald Fehr
Donald Fehr
Donald M. Fehr is the executive director of the National Hockey League Players Association. He previously served as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1986-2009....
became afraid that the owners would institute a salary cap
Salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
. Fehr believed that a salary cap could possibly restrict the number of choices free agents could make and a pay-for-performance scale would eliminate multiyear contracts. The lockout, which was the seventh work stoppage in baseball since 1972
1972 in baseball
-Labor strife and more moving:1972 was tainted by a players' strike over pension and salary arbitration. The strike erased the first week and a half of the season, and the Leagues decided to just excise the lost portion of the season with no makeups. As a result, an uneven number of games were...
, lasted 32 games and wiped out all of spring training.
Vincent worked with both the owners and MLBPA, and on March 19, 1990, Vincent was able to announce a new Basic Agreement (which raised the minimum major league salary from $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
68,000 to $100,000 and established a six-man study committee on revenue sharing). As a consequence for the lockout, Opening Day for the 1990
1990 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics ; José Rijo, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series co-MVPs: Rob Dibble and Randy Myers...
season was moved back a week to April 9, and the season was extended by three days to accommodate the normal 162-game schedule.
George Steinbrenner
On July 30, 19901990 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics ; José Rijo, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series co-MVPs: Rob Dibble and Randy Myers...
, Vincent banned New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
owner George Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
from baseball for life after Steinbrenner paid Howie Spira, a small-time gambler, $40,000 for "dirt" on his outfielder Dave Winfield
Dave Winfield
David Mark Winfield is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is currently Executive Vice President/Senior Advisor of the San Diego Padres and an analyst for the ESPN program Baseball Tonight...
after Winfield sued Steinbrenner for failing to pay his foundation the $300,000 guaranteed in his contract. Steinbrenner was eventually reinstated in 1993
1993 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies ; Paul Molitor, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series MVP: Curt Schilling...
(one year after Vincent left office).
Steve Howe
On June 24, 19921992 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Atlanta Braves ; Pat Borders, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Roberto Alomar*National League Championship Series MVP: John Smoltz...
, Vincent permanently suspended pitcher Steve Howe
Steve Howe (baseball player)
Steven Roy Howe was an American left-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees....
for repeated drug offenses. Vincent was incensed when upper Yankee management (Buck Showalter
Buck Showalter
William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III is an American Major League Baseball manager for the Baltimore Orioles. He has previously served in a similar capacity with the New York Yankees , Arizona Diamondbacks , and Texas Rangers...
, Gene Michael, and Jack Lawn) agreed to testify on Howe's behalf, and threatened them with expulsion from the game:
Ironically, the three men were unaffected by Vincent's hyperbole, testified for Howe as promised, and remained active in baseball. Three months later, Vincent was removed from his job as commissioner. An arbitrator overturned Vincent's suspension of Howe on November 11, 1992.
1993 expansion
In June 19911991 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Minnesota Twins over Atlanta Braves ; Jack Morris, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Kirby Puckett*National League Championship Series MVP: Steve Avery...
, Vincent declared that the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
would receive $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
42 million of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
's $190 million in expansion revenue and that the AL would provide players in the National League expansion draft (involving the Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...
and Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
). In an attempt to win support in the American League and balance the vote, Vincent decreed that the AL owners were entitled to 22 percent of the $190 million take. This decision marked the first time in expansion history that leagues were required to share expansion revenue or provide players for another league's expansion draft. Vincent said the owners expanded to raise money to pay their collusion
Baseball collusion
Baseball collusion refers to owners working together to avoid competitive bidding for player services or players jointly negotiating with team owners....
debt.
Realignment
Just prior to leaving office, Vincent had plans to realign the National League. Vincent wanted the Chicago CubsChicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
and St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
to move from the Eastern Division
National League East
The National League East Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies are tied for the most National League East Division titles . All of Atlanta's NL East titles came during a record stretch of 14 consecutive division titles...
to the Western Division
National League West
The National League Western Division, or NL West, is one of the three divisions of Major League Baseball's National League. It was created in 1969 when the previously undivided National League expanded its membership to twelve teams, positioning half of them in an Eastern division and the other...
. The Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
and Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
, who had been a geographic mistake ever since Major League Baseball realigned in 1969
1969 in baseball
-Expansion:Four expansion teams joined Major League Baseball for this season: the San Diego Padres, the Kansas City Royals, the Seattle Pilots, and the first MLB team in Canada, the Montreal Expos. To accommodate the additional teams, the two leagues were split into two divisions of East and West...
, would move to the Eastern Division. National League president Bill White warned Vincent that realigning without league approval would be in violation of the National League Constitution.
Many thought this plan would be beneficial to the league as a whole, especially by building a regional rivalry between the new franchise in Miami
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
and the Atlanta Braves. The Cubs, however, opposed the move, suggesting that fans in the Central Time Zone
Central Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...
would be forced to watch more games originating on the West Coast with later broadcast times (had the realignment included the use of a balanced schedule, the Cubs would have actually played more games against teams outside their division).
On July 17, 1992
1992 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Atlanta Braves ; Pat Borders, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Roberto Alomar*National League Championship Series MVP: John Smoltz...
, the Chicago Cubs sued Vincent and asked the U.S. District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
in Chicago for a preliminary injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
to prevent implementation, which was granted two weeks later. After Vincent's attorneys appealed, oral arguments were scheduled for August 30 of that year. Ultimately, Vincent resigned before the litigation was scheduled to resume, so as a result, the Cubs dropped their suit.
Although Vincent's vision never really came into fruition, Major League Baseball did in fact realign in 1994
1994 in baseball
-Headline events of the year:As a result of a players' strike, the MLB season ends prematurely on August 11, 1994. No postseason is played...
, albeit in the form of three divisions in each league, and the addition of an expanded playoff format.
Vincent's relationship with the owners
His relationship with baseball's owners was always tenuous at best; he resigned in 19921992 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Atlanta Braves ; Pat Borders, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Roberto Alomar*National League Championship Series MVP: John Smoltz...
after the owners gave him an 18–9 no confidence vote. The owners were still angry at Vincent over his intervention during the 1990 lockout. The owners were also disappointed by dwindling television ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
in light of a $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1.2 billion, four year deal with CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
(which ultimately cost the network $500 million) beginning in 1990
1990 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics ; José Rijo, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series co-MVPs: Rob Dibble and Randy Myers...
(Vincent's first full season as commissioner) and upwardly spiraling salaries. (It is also important to note that CBS itself contributed to decreasing ratings thanks to the haphazard scheduling of Game of the Week
Major League Baseball Game of the Week
The Major League Baseball Game of the Week is the de facto title for over-the-air, nationally televised coverage of regular season Major League Baseball games...
broadcasts during the regular season to the point that fans grew tired of tuning into no baseball on summer Saturdays.) They also accused him of acting in a high-handed manner, especially in the Howe affair.
The leaders in the movement to oust Vincent were members of what The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
later dubbed The Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
Gang:
- Bud SeligBud SeligAllan Huber "Bud" Selig is the ninth and current Commissioner of Major League Baseball, having served in that capacity since 1992 as the acting commissioner, and as the official commissioner since 1998...
, president of the Milwaukee BrewersMilwaukee BrewersThe Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
; - Jerry ReinsdorfJerry ReinsdorfJerry M. Reinsdorf is a CPA, lawyer and an owner of the MLB's Chicago White Sox and the NBA's Chicago Bulls. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. He has been the head of the White Sox and Bulls for over 20 years.He made his initial fortune in real...
, chairman of the Chicago White SoxChicago White SoxThe Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
; - Stanton Cook, head of the Tribune Co.Tribune CompanyThe Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
, which owned the Chicago CubsChicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
; - Carl PohladCarl PohladCarl R. Pohlad was a successful financier and the owner of the Minnesota Twins baseball franchise from 1984 until his death in 2009.-Early life:...
, owner of the Minnesota TwinsMinnesota TwinsThe Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
; - Peter O'MalleyPeter O'MalleyPeter O'Malley is the former president and owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers of American Major League Baseball.-Biography:...
, the longtime majority owner of the Los Angeles DodgersLos Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
In his farewell, Vincent said
He was replaced by Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
owner Bud Selig
Bud Selig
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig is the ninth and current Commissioner of Major League Baseball, having served in that capacity since 1992 as the acting commissioner, and as the official commissioner since 1998...
, whose family continued to maintain ownership over the Brewers. Fay Vincent was never able to complete the five year term that he had inherited from Bart Giamatti. Vincent would later contend that Major League Baseball made a huge mistake by not appointing his deputy commissioner Steve Greenberg — the son of the Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg
Hank Greenberg
Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg , nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank" or "The Hebrew Hammer," was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s. A first baseman primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg was one of the premier power hitters of his generation...
— as the commissioner.
Bud Selig (1992-present)
Bud SeligBud Selig
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig is the ninth and current Commissioner of Major League Baseball, having served in that capacity since 1992 as the acting commissioner, and as the official commissioner since 1998...
served as the Executive Council Chairman from 1992 to 1998, acting as the commissioner, and then was appointed as the official commissioner in 1998. Selig oversaw baseball through the 1994 strike, the introduction of the wild card, interleague play
Interleague play
Interleague play is the term used to describe regular season Major League Baseball games played between teams in different leagues, introduced in . Before the 1997 season, teams in the American League and National League did not meet during the regular season...
, and the merging of the National and American leagues under the Office of the Commissioner. He was instrumental in organizing the World Baseball Classic
World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation and created by Major League Baseball , the Major League Baseball Players Association , and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world...
in 2006. Selig also introduced revenue sharing. He is credited for the financial turnaround of baseball during his tenure with a 400 percent increase in the revenue of MLB and annual record breaking attendance.
During Selig's term of service, the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs became a public issue. The Mitchell Report
Mitchell Report (baseball)
The Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball, informally known as the "Mitchell Report", is the result of former Democratic United States Senator from Maine...
, commissioned by Selig, concluded that the MLB commissioners, club officials, the Players Association, and the players all share "to some extent in the responsibility for the steroid era." Following the release of the Mitchell Report, Congressman Cliff Stearns
Cliff Stearns
Clifford Bundy "Cliff" Stearns, Sr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1989. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:According to his official biography, Stearns was born in Washington, D.C...
called publicly for Selig to step down as commissioner, citing his "glacial response" to the "growing stain on baseball." Selig has pledged on numerous occasions to rid baseball of performance enhancing drugs, and has overseen and instituted many rule changes and penalties to that end.
Bud Selig helped introduce the following changes to Major League Baseball:
- Realignment of teams into three divisions per league, and the introduction of playoff wild card teams (1994)
- Interleague playInterleague playInterleague play is the term used to describe regular season Major League Baseball games played between teams in different leagues, introduced in . Before the 1997 season, teams in the American League and National League did not meet during the regular season...
(1997) - Two additional franchises: the Arizona DiamondbacksArizona DiamondbacksThe Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
and the Tampa Bay Devil RaysTampa Bay RaysThe Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
(1998) - Abolition of the NationalNational LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
and American LeagueAmerican LeagueThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
offices and presidencies, and inclusion of all umpiring crewsUmpire (baseball)In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
into a common pool for AL and NL games, instead of having separate pools per league - Home field advantage in the World SeriesWorld SeriesThe World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
granted to the winner of the All Star GameMajor League Baseball All-Star GameThe Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
in the same season (2003) - Transfer of Montreal ExposMontreal ExposThe Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
franchise to Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, becoming the Washington NationalsWashington NationalsThe Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
(2004) - Stricter Major League Baseball performance-enhancing drug testing policyMajor League Baseball drug policyMajor League Baseball's drug policy—the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program—was established by agreement between the MLB Players Association and the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball in order to deter and end the use by baseball players of banned substances, including anabolic steroids...
(2005) - World Baseball ClassicWorld Baseball ClassicThe World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation and created by Major League Baseball , the Major League Baseball Players Association , and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world...
(2006) - Instant replayInstant replayInstant replay is the replaying of video footage of an event or incident very soon after it has occurred. In television broadcasting of sports events, instant replay is often used during live broadcast, to show a passage of play which was important or remarkable, or which was unclear on first...
used by umpiring crew to review disputed home runHome runIn baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
calls (2008)
During Selig's years of service, new stadiums have opened in Arizona
Chase Field
Chase Field is a baseball stadium located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona and is the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. It opened in , just in time for the Diamondbacks' first game as an expansion team...
, Atlanta
Turner Field
Turner Field is a stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, home to Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves since 1997. Turner Field was originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium, it was completed in 1996 to serve as the centerpiece of the 1996 Summer Olympics...
, Cincinnati
Great American Ball Park
The Great American Ball Park is a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the home of the National League's Cincinnati Reds. It opened in 2003, replacing the Reds' former home, Cinergy Field, which was known as Riverfront Stadium from its opening in June 1970 until the 1996...
, Cleveland
Jacobs Field
Progressive Field is a ballpark located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and is the home of the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball and the American League. Along with Quicken Loans Arena, it is part of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex...
, Colorado
Coors Field
Coors Field, located in Denver, Colorado, is the home field of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. It is named for the Coors Brewing Company of Golden, Colorado, which purchased the naming rights to the park prior to its completion in 1995...
, Detroit
Comerica Park
Comerica Park is an open-air ballpark located in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It serves as the home of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball's American League, replacing historic Tiger Stadium in 2000....
, Houston
Minute Maid Park
Minute Maid Park is a ballpark in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States that opened in 2000 to house the Major League Baseball Houston Astros....
, Milwaukee, Philadelphia
Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park is a 43,647-seat baseball park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, and home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Citizens Bank Park opened on April 3, 2004, and hosted its first regular season baseball game on April 12 of the same year, with the...
, Pittsburgh
PNC Park
PNC Park is a baseball park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, after the controlled implosion of the Pirates' previous home, Three Rivers Stadium...
, San Diego
PETCO Park
Petco Park is an open-air ballpark in downtown San Diego, California, USA. It opened in 2004, replacing Qualcomm Stadium as the home park of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres. Before then, the Padres shared Qualcomm Stadium with the NFL's San Diego Chargers...
, San Francisco
AT&T Park
AT&T Park is a ballpark located in the South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third and King Streets, it has served as the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball since 2000....
, Seattle
Safeco Field
Safeco Field is a retractable roof baseball stadium located in Seattle, Washington. The stadium, owned and operated by the Washington-King County Stadium Authority, is the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and has a seating capacity of 47,878 for baseball...
, Arlington, St. Louis
Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, of MLB...
, Washington, D.C., Queens, The Bronx
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
, and Minneapolis
Target Field
Target Field is a baseball park located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the home ballpark of the Minnesota Twins, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It is the franchise's sixth ballpark and third in Minnesota. The Twins moved to Target Field for the 2010 Major League Baseball...
. A new stadium is scheduled to open in Miami for the 2012 season.
Owners' "coup"
Landis ruled baseball with an iron hand for 24 years. For example, in response to fining Babe RuthBabe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
$5,000, he is quoted as saying, "In this [commissioner's] office he's just another ballplayer." Subsequent commissioners wielded varying degrees of power with varying degrees of success.
Tensions between commissioners and the baseball team owners who elected them, exacerbated by baseball's chronic labor conflicts with the Major League Baseball Players Association
Major League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association is the union of professional major-league baseball players.-History of MLBPA:The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players...
beginning in the 1970s, came to a head in , when baseball owners voted no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
in Commissioner Fay Vincent
Fay Vincent
Francis Thomas "Fay" Vincent, Jr. is a former entertainment lawyer and sports executive who served as the eighth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from September 13, 1989 to September 7, 1992.-Early life and career:...
by a tally of 18–9. The owners had a number of grievances against Vincent, especially the perception that he had been too favorable to the players during the lockout of . Unlike the current commissioner, Vincent has stated that the owners colluded
Baseball collusion
Baseball collusion refers to owners working together to avoid competitive bidding for player services or players jointly negotiating with team owners....
against the players. Vincent put it this way: "The Union basically doesn’t trust the Ownership because collusion was a $280 million theft by Selig and Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
owner Jerry Reinsdorf
Jerry Reinsdorf
Jerry M. Reinsdorf is a CPA, lawyer and an owner of the MLB's Chicago White Sox and the NBA's Chicago Bulls. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. He has been the head of the White Sox and Bulls for over 20 years.He made his initial fortune in real...
of that money from the players. I mean, they rigged the signing of free agents. They got caught. They paid $280 million to the players. And I think that's polluted labor relations in baseball ever since it happened. I think it's the reason union chief Donald Fehr
Donald Fehr
Donald M. Fehr is the executive director of the National Hockey League Players Association. He previously served as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1986-2009....
has no trust in Selig."
Vincent resigned on September 7, 1992. Selig, the longtime owner of the Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, was appointed chairman of baseball's Executive Council, making him the de facto acting commissioner (among the potential candidates for a permanent commissioner discussed in the media were future President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, who was the managing partner for the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
from 1989 to 1994, and George J. Mitchell
George J. Mitchell
George John Mitchell, Jr., is the former U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace under the Obama administration. A Democrat, Mitchell was a United States Senator who served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995...
, then Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
). While acting commissioner, Selig presided over Major League Baseball during the 1994 player's strike, which led to the cancellation of the World Series
1994 World Series
The 1994 World Series was canceled on September 14 of that year due to an ongoing strike by the Major League Baseball Players Association, which had begun on August 12...
.
Selig continued as acting commissioner until July 8, 1998, when the owners officially appointed him to the commissioner position.
Having been an owner for 30 years, Selig is seen as having closer ties to the MLB team owners than previous commissioners. Selig's administration has had many perceived successes, such as expansion and interleague play
Interleague play
Interleague play is the term used to describe regular season Major League Baseball games played between teams in different leagues, introduced in . Before the 1997 season, teams in the American League and National League did not meet during the regular season...
, but many still see his lack of independence from the owners as a problem.
In May , Bud Selig
Bud Selig
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig is the ninth and current Commissioner of Major League Baseball, having served in that capacity since 1992 as the acting commissioner, and as the official commissioner since 1998...
surpassed Bowie Kuhn
Bowie Kuhn
Bowie Kent Kuhn was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, , to September 30,...
as the second longest-serving commissioner (including his time as "acting commissioner" from to mid-), behind Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
, who died in office after 24 years of service.
Beginning in 2006, Selig repeatedly stated his intention to retire at the end of his contract in 2009.
However, on 17 January 2008, it was announced that Selig has accepted a 3-year extension through the 2012 season
Current challenges
The most prominent issue currently faced by Major League Baseball is the usage of performance enhancing drugs, including anabolic steroids, by ballplayers in the late 1990s through 2009. Addressing the issue of whether Selig should have taken alternate actions, former commissioner Fay VincentFay Vincent
Francis Thomas "Fay" Vincent, Jr. is a former entertainment lawyer and sports executive who served as the eighth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from September 13, 1989 to September 7, 1992.-Early life and career:...
wrote in the April 24, 2006, issue of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
that with most of Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...
' official troubles being off the field, and with the strength of the players' union
Major League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association is the union of professional major-league baseball players.-History of MLBPA:The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players...
, there is little Selig can do beyond appointing an investigating committee. Vincent said that Selig is largely "an observer of a forum beyond his reach."
External links
- History: Commissioners – Major League Baseball
- Commissioners of Major League Baseball – Sports Encyclopedia