CaliGrown408...	Male 27 years old SANTA CLARA, CA
Subscribe to this Blog Add as Friend Start a SlugFest Send a Message

I think it is an outrage that Bud Selig is thinking about punishing Alex Rodriguez and other players that are brought to surface for using PED’s. Not only will this hinder other players from coming forward but he has no right to punish ANY OF THEM before he takes responsibility himself. This all stems back to the very beginning of his tenure as Commissioner of MLB. I know most are aware, but I will go through some of the incidents leading up to and through Selig’s role as commissioner:

 Selig purchased the Seattle Pilots in 1970 then relocated and changed names to the Milwaukee Brewers. Selig and other owners were found to have committed collusion in the 85-87 seasons. The owners agreed to pay the players $280 million (due to the collusion), with the MLBPA deciding how to distribute the money to the damaged players. In 1990 Spring Training was canceled and Opening Day was pushed back due to the owners lock out. Fay Vincent was commissioner at the time. He held a vital role in bringing the 2 sides together and hashing out a plan that both could agree on. Later in that year Vincent issued a lifetime ban from baseball to George Steinbrenner for paying a small-time gambler to produce “dirt” on one of his ballplayers (Dave Winfield) in an effort to NOT pay part of his contract {I will get to the importance of this here in a second}. Baseball’s Drug Policy and Prevention Program was instituted by Commissioner Vincent in 1991 (banning steroids and all other illegal drugs from use by major league ball players). Vincent also issued a lifetime ban to Yankee pitcher Steve Howe in 1992 for repeatedly failing drug tests. Selig later headed the efforts to have Vincent removed as Commissioner. The biggest reason for the removal was the way Vincent intervened in the 1990 lockout and how he acted in a high-handed matter, especially in the Howe incident.

Okay so let me step in here. The owners ousted a Commissioner because he stepped in to mediate so the entire season did not have to be canceled. And also because he wanted to keep the game clean, huh, okay. Back to the facts:

After the owners gave Vincent an 18-9 no confidence vote in 1992, he resigned as Commissioner. Selig at that time was the chairman of Executive Council of Major League Baseball, and as such became acting commissioner. In 1992 (still his first year acting as Commissioner) Bud reinstated Mr. Steiniwhiny. In 1994, still with no official commissioner and one of their own in the acting role, the owners demanded a salary cap. The CBA had already run out and neither side would work with the other in compromise, as a result the MLBPA set a date for the players to strike. Unlike his predecessor, Selig would not act as the mediator and instead set a deadline for the players and owners to reach an agreement. On Sep 14, 1994 Major League Baseball became the first major US sport to lose an entire postseason due to a labor dispute when Commissioner Selig announced that the 1994 World Series was canceled. This matter drug out for months, again with out the acting Commissioner’s assistance, until President Bill Clinton stepped in and ordered both sides to resume negotiations. After an entire off season, still with no end in sight, Selig advised the public that, "We (MLB) are committed to playing the 1995 season and will do so with the best players willing to play." Thankfully the players voted to return to work on March 29^th even though a CBA had not been agreed on. In 2005 Selig appointed George Mitchell as acting investigator to the use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball. Congressman Cliff Stearns said in December 2007 that Selig should resign because of use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball during his tenure.

Now ever since the ’94 players strike baseball has been living with a pretty bad black eye and a lot of fans have not been too accepting. In 1995 there were a few incidents of fans paying for airplanes to fly over stadiums with banners scrutinizing players and owners alike and other reports of people in attendance throwing dollar bills at players on the field. I honestly feel that the owners and Commissioners Office colluded to look the other way in regards to steroids and PED’s in efforts to “revive” baseball. They wanted a way to get fans back NOW so they could begin collecting the checks as they had in the past. If they would have simply allowed the game to save itself we would be no where near where we are today! Selig had every opportunity to set forth a drug testing and prevention policy, hell one was already set in place, but he CHOSE to do nothing about it. Does anyone else find it dis-concerning that Steinbrenner was allowed back into baseball after his lifetime ban and then 22 of his players were listed in the Mitchell report.He allowed this problem to get to where it is today, and if Congress hadn’t stepped in he would still be doing so today. It is puzzling to me that he thinks he has any right to do anything but step down. He has cast such a horrendous shadow on this great game and has accepted none of the responsibility for its demise. I hope that each and every one of you that read this can join Johnny G, Chris and I in taking the time to write at least one letter or email in regards to Mr. Selig’s removal as MLB Commissioner.

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167

http://espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/story?storyId=1113601   (Mike and Mike, ESPN)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/news/story?page=email_tirico  (Tiriko and Van Pelt, ESPN)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/news/story?page=email_erikkuselias  (Erik Kuselias, ESPN)

http://espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/story?storyId=1360349  (The Baseball Show)

http://espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/story?page=mlbonespnradio  (The MLB on ESPN radio)