Commissioner of Baseball - Owners' "coup"

Owners' "coup"

Landis ruled baseball with an iron hand for 24 years. 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 1992, 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 1990. 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 2008, Bud Selig surpassed Bowie Kuhn as the second longest-serving commissioner (including his time as "acting commissioner" from 1992 to mid-1998), 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