The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as organized baseball. 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.
Read more about Commissioner Of Baseball: Origin of The Office, Owners' "coup", Current Challenges
Famous quotes containing the word baseball:
“Baseball is the religion that worships the obvious and gives thanks that things are exactly as they seem. Instead of celebrating mysteries, baseball rejoices in the absence of mysteries and trusts that, if we watch what is laid before our eyes, down to the last detail, we will cultivate the gift of seeing things as they really are.”
—Thomas Boswell, U.S. sports journalist. “The Church of Baseball,” Baseball: An Illustrated History, ed. Geoffrey C. Ward, Knopf (1994)