How Bud Selig (Almost) Destroyed Baseball

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

Who do you think is the Worst Commissioner of All Time? Let us know in the comments down below!

[@Tornado1994]

Bud Selig.

[@CharmCityGamer]

Rob Manfred.

[@Tornado1994]

@@CharmCityGamer Bud Selig.

[@georgerogers1166]

Manfred

[@Tornado1994]

@@georgerogers1166 Selig.

[@joshuapatrick682]

All I will say is that if Selig gets a plaque then Bonds, McGwire and the others that he oversaw should too. Steroids weren't banned by MLB until 2005 after all.

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

Yeah, I’ve come around on this over the years. Hoping Bonds and Clemens will get in through the veterans committee

[@zeeski7454]

Exactly. How do you ban the players but not the guy who let the players get away with it? It's hypocrisy

[@waltblackadar4690]

@@TheDiamondBaseball I've said for decades that MLB - at worst - turned a knowing blind eye to steroids. In reality, they really enabled and encouraged steroid use because home runs put asses in the seats. Then when steroids became a hot topic, Bud threw those same players under the bus and tried to whitewash MLB's involvement. They weren't illegal in MLB (Vincent's supposed anti-steroid memo wasn't ever proven that it distributed to the players) and Canseco's estimate of 85% of players taking steroids was probably accurate.

[@sirradiodude]

​@@zeeski7454MLB hall of fame voters are often the best examples of hypocrisy. So, so many HOFers were admitted PED users...... Even before... and many first ballot. It's all the "back in my day" crowd. As those voters die off things will change, but not fast enough for many already.

[@all_time_Jelly_Fish]

it's labor; the owners want the fans on their side, so you only blame the players

[@neither_nor]

thank you so much for these thoughtful and well-researched videos! as a new fan who is also interested in economic justice and labor issues, this is exactly the kind of analysis i’ve been looking for. i would love to hear your breakdown of the ongoing struggle within the MLBPA!

[@PGar58]

I have always said that McGwire vs Sosa was a Faustian bargain. There was, clearly a nod nod wink wink agreement between the players and owners. And when the chickens came home to roost? To quote Claude Rains said in Casablanca “I am shocked - shocked! - there are PEDs in the game!”

[@de-fault_de-fault]

While he was alive, my dad’s assessment of Selig was “Once a used car salesman, always a used car salesman.” And he died in 2005, missing out on the worst of the steroid fiasco, so I’d say he pretty much nailed it.

[@nickbovi]

Your dad was totally right.

[@Tornado1994]

@@nickbovi Selig was a "Pay or Play Commissioner" We ALL know majority of the World Series Crowns were brought from him. He Made a Backroom deal with the White Sox to let them buy the 2005 Crown. That's why the White Sox are terrible.

[@djquinn11]

Your Dad was 💯 correct.

[@martyf3531]

He also gave us the All-Star game tie, which led to the rule of , the World Series home field advantage being determined by that league's all-stars.

[@randomstuff45914]

gotta be one of the worst rules in mlb history

[@richardnunez3474]

What a garbage rule that one is.

[@musicandmagic909]

The Greeny Rule!

[@Tornado1994]

@@randomstuff45914 He Rigged World Series' for His Favorite Big Market Clubs.

[@henrymanzano2201]

Exactly! Home field advantage should be dictated by the better record

[@54raynor]

Ok, here is the counter argument. Blaming Bud Selig for the 1994 Strike and the Steroid issue is like blaming Gorbachev for the fall of the USSR. They were in charge when shit hit the fan, but the underlying issues were decades in the making. Here’s the truth about the Strike: a work stoppage was going to happen no matter what. The relations between the two sides were beyond radioactive, having built up by three decades of intense labor negotiations that resulted in a strike or lockout every single time. While I agree that Selig was negotiating in bad faith, we have every reason to think this would have been the case no matter who was commissioner at the time. But here’s something that never gets mentioned: Selig is the very first commissioner ever to get a MLB labor agreement without a strike. It was intense as can be and could have gone wrong any number of times, but he got it done in 2002. Then he got it done two more times, improving relations to the point where the last agreement received virtually no attention since a strike wasn’t even an afterthought. I don’t know if another commissioner could have done that, but Selig definitely did. As for the steroid issue: Selig DID try to get ahead of it, much earlier than anyone realizes. Steroid testing was part of the proposed 1994 labor contract, and it was rejected outright by the players. The Union would fight it tooth-and-nail until public opinion forced them to cave in 2002. Why did Selig want it in the 1994 agreement? Because he knew that steroids (and the more-dangerous amphetamines) had been widespread in MLB clubhouses since at least 1973. A government study cited in the Mitchell Report stated exactly that. But Selig gets no credit for getting the testing program implemented, nor getting it strengthened almost immediately afterwards. If you are going to blame Selig for the mess in MLB now, you also have to give him credit for his role in cleaning up the mess thst had been there long before he sat in the commissioner’s chair. And by that notion, Bud Selig is the most under appreciated man in MLB history.

[@FoxxyBrown1111]

Finally a post that talks about the greedy cheaters/players. I thought I was the only one not worshipping them.

[@Uncultured_Barbarian465]

I despised Bud as the owner of the Brewers, and really despised him as the commissioner of baseball. Unfortunately, when you call him out in the state, there are still plenty of people who defend him.

[@DNSKansas]

Would Milwaukee have an MLB team if he didn't buy the Seattle Pilots out of bankruptcy? DOUBTFUL. Denver would have received the expansion team in 1977 which was the Mariners, then some city other than Milwaukee would have had an expansion team in '93 which was the Rockies.

[@Tornado1994]

He Overcrowded the NL Central just to give advantages to his Brewers and ALWAYS made sure the Astros and Reds SUFFERED no matter what. He got prideful and thought Moving the Stros to the AL would make things FAR Worse as 2013 did show that. But in 2017, Selig REGRETED approving the decision to move them from the NL.

[@pathutchison7688]

The thing is, a salary cap has been great for every league in which it was introduced. You also have minimum spending to go along with maximum. It creates parity and makes the game fun. MLB NEEDS a salary cap.

[@marcus813]

Convincing the MLBPA of that is one of the hardest jobs in sports, though. I don't know why they won't get on board.

[@theo4307]

@@marcus813 because they’re greedy. Pretty simple. Unions are bad.

[@pathutchison7688]

@@marcus813 they won’t get on board because they think it means less money for them by artificially holding down contracts. What they don’t realize is that while it may cost the top 15 highest paid players some money, the average salary would actually go up. The NFL introduced its salary cap in the early 90s. Every team was then on even competitive ground. Parity came to the league with everyone actually having a chance, and popularity exploded. More cash for everyone. I applaud the MLBPA for being a strong union, but they need to get past this short sighted approach.

[@a.williams1945]

What hard evidence do you have to back your claim that a salary cap has been great for every league it's been introduced to?

[@MikeBlagg]

The three positives of Selig's tenure, according to this video, were: elimination of separate NL and AL offices, interleague play, and World Baseball Classic. Wrong, those were all horribly bad things.

[@a.williams1945]

THANK YOU!!! Interleague play was the absolute WORST THING ever to happen to MLB. Bud Selig single handedly ruined baseball forever.

[@panowa8319]

I remember when Selig proposed to contracting two teams, the Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos, because the teams had a long record of failing to generate enough revenues to operate a viable major league franchise. There were other teams that couldn't generate enough revenue, and I think his beloved Milwaukee Brewers were one of them, which he did not put on the chopping block.

[@Tornado1994]

He was a Brewers Owner, but even his Team couldn't win a Game of Hopscotch. He DID have a Personal Vendetta and HATRED towards the Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds and I could never Figure out why. If you saw how Insanely OVERCROWDED the NL Central was during his tenure, you'd know what I'm talking about. Plus the 2005 World Series was Rigged. A Cheat. I've NEVER heard of a World Series with multiple games having Extra Innings. It Certainly was fixed for the White Sox that year. Umpires making AWFUL Calls and no Instant Replay. The Red Sox got SUPER Lucky in 2004 during the ALCS.

[@henrymanzano2201]

Exactly! It should have been considered a conflict of interest,being a former team owner

[@michaelleroy9281]

Also the Twins were having problems getting what is now Target Field built it took something like 15 years

[@shaindaman13]

One thing people do tend to forget about, for as big of an atrocity as the Roid fuelled Maris Homerun chase was, was that before this Cal Ripkin Jr’s Iron Man record. I mean this also did a great deal to recaptivate Fans back in to Baseball.

[@craigcavaliere6744]

Very true. And throw in the Yankees return to dominance.

[@shaindaman13]

@@craigcavaliere6744 I will NOT! Lol

[@PGar58]

A big part of what led to the 94 strike was the fact the TV contract was so bad. This was a result of the CBS contract being bad for the game and not giving the game exposure nationally. This was fixed largely in 1996 when Fox Sports, looking to get itself established, gave MLB a lot of money. That and the regional networks.

[@TMC1982Part2]

After CBS' contract expired following the 1993 World Series, the next network TV contract was a revenue-sharing joint venture with ABC and NBC called The Baseball Network. ABC and NBC unlike the previous deal with CBS (who had lost approximately $500 within four years of their $1.2 billion contract), didn't pay Major League Baseball in rights fees. Instead, MLB if I remember correctly, would get about 85% of the revenue while the networks would split the rest.

[@youngf.l.y.1467]

I think what must be remembered is that the commissioner of any sports league works FOR THE OWNERS so in your (the fans) opinion sure he is a horrible commissioner..but ask the MLB owners they love him he takes the big bullets wit a smile so the true evil manipulative string pulling owners stay behind the curtain

[@surcentro2134]

Great episode 👍 glad I came across your channel

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@bw7754]

You didn’t even have to be involved in an organization to know steroids were going around. I remember my dad told me they were all on steroids that summer. All he did was show me Bonds in his rookie year and it was clear as day.

[@Notimp0rtant523]

What I love about you is you don’t cuss unless and until it is necessary to cuss. Thanks my guy

[@areguapiri]

Never a reason to cuss.

[@LordHighFixxer]

Kennesaw Mountain Landis straight up road blocked integration. He had to die for integration to move forward.

[@robert3622]

I believe the thing that actually killed his career, was the idiotic contract Cashman/Steinbrenner gave him guaranteeing him a major league roster spot, and then Jim Bowden drafting him in the Rule V Draft, hard to develop at 21 on 181 plate appearances because you're not ready and can't be sent down to the minors. Nevermind Bowden 's hardon for giant but relatively fast outfielders who can hit BP balls 500'

[@forrestcommander6283]

While Selig was a terrible commissioner, at least he loved baseball, despite his severely flawed approach to the game. Manfred genuinely despises baseball and thinks the fans are idiots.

[@FoxxyBrown1111]

Well, Manfred has a point. Fans are idiots. They pay for over priced tickets, game shirts, etc... They really think players love the game, and winning means anything to them (it doesnt, unless its in the bank account). Finally those idiots think gambling is profitable just bevause the TV ads tell them so. I mean its a fact. Fans are idiots. The rest of your post I agree on.

[@robert3622]

I'm 40. Lifelong Reds fan. My kids are now 13 and 11. My daughter (13) likes baseball a bit more than my son. Like an increasingly growing number of people, our TV is internet and antenna. Local tv contracts went away, and unless I use a VPN (something I really don't like doing) can't watch Reds games. I've taken them to about 20 games, my brother caught a Joey Votto foul pop with them, and my Dad about four weeks before he died caught a Manny Ramirez(?) home run. We love this. My kids hate baseball on radio (which is my preferred way unless attending), and I can't show them a goddamn Reds game because it's blacked out because of our nearness to Cincinnati. Manferd can make himself a god by addressing this foolishness, hit at the same time, they're not boomers, so as far as far as he's concerned there's no money in it

[@robert3622]

It's laziness for the easy dollar. Our society is about to die from it's debauchery

[@BitcoinMotorist]

My favorite Bud Selig moment was when he awarded Troy Glaus the World Series MVP and called him Troy GLAWOOS. Like, you don't know how to pronounce one of your stars names?

[@MrPezdispencer]

Man this gave me a lot of food for thought. Although I still do think the worst commissioner of all time was Kennesaw Mountain Landis, and I don't think it's close. The way he handled the black sox, let owners get away with more murder than bud selig did, and further rejected baseball's color line being broken for years.

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

Yeah, those are all really good points. I’m glad they started taking his name off the mvp trophy after all these years

[@MrPezdispencer]

@@TheDiamondBaseball Seriously though I was in the opinion that Bud was a good guy until this video.

[@kevinvilmont6061]

Yeah bigotry trumps greed.

[@kevinvilmont6061]

@@antonioprovenzano5130 I Bot? Yeah, I do know that a bigot is worse than greed. Your comment makes no sense.

[@antonioprovenzano5130]

@@kevinvilmont6061 how do you know that cause youre One yourself are you not or you love to project on whites what you really are

[@freaky_j2207]

MLB has dropped in interest even to us long time fans for several reasons in addition to the ones you mentioned which while I agree I won’t restate. 1) expanded playoffs. There are no more pennant races. It’s a long season. Always has been. The payoff was that come August and September you could focus on one, two or sometimes several races where the losing team would miss out a chance for a championship. It added drama to the end of the season keeping it in the news with Football season. Yankees v Redsox, Dodgers/Giants, Cardinals/Cubs, etc. no one cares nationally about a race between Baltimore/Tampa for a wildcard spot? 2) disregarding a generation of the sports best players due to Steroids. Was it cheating? Yes. Was it against the rules? Grey area? Was it encouraged and profited on by the owners? Absolutely! A generation grew up watching Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Clemens, etc. regardless if their “good guys” is irrelevant from a playing or baseball memory perspective. Those players have been effectively white washed from MLB history and fans see the hypocrisy in it. This is made worse by the fact that Baseball more than any other sport thrived on spotlighting it’s history. You then erase 20 years of stars and great moments and now any fan under 60 barely if at all remembers the Mays, Reggie’s, Mike Schmidt’s, etc. most never saw them play at least not in their prime. So what’s to pass down to your kids? 3) all the other factors especially prices that you mentioned. One thing you didn’t mention was chasing the corporate $ at the expense of the hardcore fans. Maybe that was more revenue at the gate but those free ticket take a client crowd doesn’t tune into a Thursday night game on local TV. Since regular fans can’t attend in person several times a year like we used to we lost interest in those games too.

[@TippfehlerEN]

Now don’t shoot me, but as an Astros fan I will never forgive him for forcing a move of the Astros to the AL, screw you Bud

[@henrymanzano2201]

The rest of the American League agrees

[@stephenmitchell6368]

In Baseball, Three strikes and you're out! Selig should be OUT of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Actually, as a follow-up: Let's remove ALL commissioners from the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Let it be for the players, managers/coaches, and people who made a lifetime contribution. And, of course, the lovable umps!

[@csnide6702]

Selig was an abomination . My personal favorite was openly saying HE wasn't running the Brewers while commish - but his DAUGHTER was..... yeah, Riiight. Then there was his reasoning for having the brewers change to the National League and move Houston to the American League--- WTF for..? He actually publically said " when I was a boy in Milwaukee , the (then) Braves were in the National league " SO WHAT..? WTF does THAT have to do with today..? He just wanted it that way and it was HIS TEAM. So he did it. then there is the biggest issue of them all..... Turning a blind eye to steroids.

[@henrymanzano2201]

This!

[@fishingwithphil7603]

great presentation. i personally enjoyed baseball more during the 90"s than i do today and at any point since. gotta hand it to selig, the 90's were goated for baseball

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

Late 90's baseball must have been objectively great to witness. Life must have felt so much simpler then.

[@Tornado1994]

@Rrabows The Late 90s was the Yankees,Braves, DBacks and Cards. Nothing Else, everyone else was treated irrelevant.

[@champaignken]

I hate him because he moved the Astros to the AL, rather than moving his Brewers BACK to the AL.

[@DNSKansas]

The Royals were given the first chance to go to the NL and they said no. The Astros went to ONE World Series in 41 seasons in the NL and were swept in that one series. It was more to give the Rangers a natural rival. TOUGH SHIT. Besides, now that the DH is in the NL, there's no real distinction between the leagues.

[@matthewfein]

The commisoner that I think was the worst was Bart Giamatti, the one that banned Pete Rose. The reason I say this, is because, 1.The all-time MLB hits leader should definetely be in the Hall of Fame and, 2.When he bet on baseball, he bet ON his team, not AGAINST them! (I say this, because they compared what HE did, to the 1919 Black Sox scandal! Although, I DO think that Bud Selig did do some terrible thing as commissioner. Like, when he made the All-Star Game decide home field advantage for the World Series, just because of that ONE time when the players threatened to boycott the All-Star Game,on 2002, because it was scheduled to be played in Bud Selig's home town, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin!

[@thomaslemon3971]

Something about Selig gives me a bad feeling in my gut. Politician-esque way of speaking, skirting around questions, and zero issues with lying through his teeth

[@stephenmitchell6368]

The beginning of the end for my interest in modern baseball was the 1994 strike while the end of the end (the final nail) was the disgraceful, anti-American kneeling before playing of the National Anthem that first COVID year. Virtually no club handled it properly so Baseball went from America's game to ...

[@Jangmo88]

It costs me nearly 100$ usd a month for Fubo, regional sports provider. Having cable is as much, but requires a contract. It’s terrible trying to be a fan rn

[@MachoMessiah]

All I know is that Bud Selig would never have called the Commissioner's Trophy "a piece of metal"

[@MikeSuth4040]

Some commissioner's have a bias towards certain teams. I think those commissioners are also horrible.

[@decker528]

Interleague play was a huge mistake. Baseball wasn't special anymore with having two separate leagues that only saw each other in the world series and all star game. It was a short term gimmick that has destroyed the schedule now and a big reason why I barely care about baseball anymore

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

If AL teams playing NL teams made you not care about baseball, I question if you even cared about baseball in the first place. That is such a bizarre complaint to have

[@decker528]

@@TheDiamondBaseball not really. The wildcard and division realignment already cheapened baseballs postseason and now you had teams potentially playing in the world series that had seen each other in the regular season. They weren't complete unknowns. I take it you aren't old enough to remember baseball prior to either 1997 or 1994 when those two shifts happened

[@jadenfoster7729]

@@decker528 wild card helped it and realignment made sense no reason uneven divisions should exist and you shouldn’t be punished because you had a 100+ win team in your division

[@decker528]

@@jadenfoster7729 why should a 100 win team have to go prove themselves again against an 84 win team? Baseball isn't special anymore. I hate it. I've got a whole man cave full of stuff I've collected since I was 11 but the format and the games are just awful now. I'm glad the shift is gone but it's still brought in a bunch of nerds comparing stats that have many different calculations and nobody truly understands them. That little ball on the screen in the strike zone makes it where you cant even see the bat come off the ball anymore. All the launch angles and spin rates have become available to fans and it takes away from the experience tremendously. Baseball from 1996, and especially before 1994 was a lot different and it was great and I miss it. I could go on all day but if you're too young to remember when kids traded cards and no one would recognize Steve young on the street but everyone knew who Ken Griffey Jr , wade boggs, Mike piazza, frank Thomas, Mark McGwire, Nolan Ryan etc were

[@jadenfoster7729]

@@decker528 the nfl has always been more popular than the mlb so that’s a non starter and the 100 win team should win they did it in the regular season they should do it again for the entire season if you can’t beat inferior competition then that’s on the team not anyone else don’t make excuses get it done

[@thevalleyabriefhistoryofar2845]

He did give us the Diamondbacks though, and that's all that can be forgiven about him.

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

Amen to that, although now I can hate him for the heartache that team has caused me

[@paysonfox88]

I do not give him credit for putting his personal image into the game. You know, both Bud, and Diamondbacks are venomous snakes

[@josephweiss1559]

I blame the owners who knew and were aware of what they were getting into

[@donpietruk1517]

Selig may not have been the worst ever commissioner in the history of MLB. I think Kennesaw Mountain Landis was worse. But with said that enshrining Selig in Cooperstown is more than problematic. His actions turning a blind eye toward the steroid use when it suited MLB alone are reprehensible. The real problem however was the callous exploitation of that usage in the form of the home run race in order to win back fans to the game. Once that narrative came apart under scrutiny he acted like a coward and sought to punish those players. I used to be against including those players in the hall. Now I say if Selig is in they should be in as well. To keep them out is the purest hypocrisy.

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

KML certainly is in the conversation, the fact that they are both in the Hall is very sad.

[@J.C...]

This is probably the most foolish comment on this video. Two wrongs don't make a right. Letting steroid users in because he's in is the most asinine, ridiculous suggestion I've heard yet.

[@donpietruk1517]

@@J.C... I don't believe it's wrong. The deciding factor for me is whether you can adequately tell the story of baseball without the player. I don't believe you can, especially with Bonds as he was emblematic of the era. I'm not saying it shouldn't be noted, commented upon, etc. But he belongs in and so does Clemens. If you're going to keep Bonds and Clemens out you need to eliminate all those like Willie Mays who very very likely used amphetamines and red juice in the late 1950s through mid 1960s as well.

[@Tornado1994]

@@TheDiamondBaseball It wasn't just the Roiding OR the fact that he agreed to sweep the A-Rod scandal under the rug to buy the Yankees the 2009 Crown, it was the fact that FEW World Series Championships were legitely won under his tenure. Watch the 2005 World Series, the WHOLE thing was Rigged Against the Astros. I'm not even an Astros fan and even I know that. You DON'T SWEEP a Team in Extra Innings Games. There were BAD Umpire Calls that screwed them over.

[@paysonfox88]

I would treat Selig the same as the Era he authored. Until the Steroid guys like Barry Bonds, or Roger Clemens get into the HOF, Bud has no place there either. His inaction, and encouragement of such actions led to the abuse of Roids in the first place.

[@everettkalafatis6106]

This is a man who stopped an All Star Game during a tie game. In all my years, I have never seen a more ass kissing sports executive move.

[@sirradiodude]

Amen brother! My personal peeves are the two Buds that did lasting damage to pro sports... Bud Selig and Bud Adams. So many little things and decisions Selig made in his tenure really put his astronomically poor character on display. Really, just so many the video would have been lengthy and tedious. SIDENOTE- Don't let recentcy bias blind you to the flaming turd nugget that was Commissioner Mountain Landis.

[@pathutchison7688]

Steroids should be legal. Baseball was at its best during the steroid era.

[@areguapiri]

Completely agree.

[@TERoss-jk9ny]

Him screwing Pete Rose from the HOF has pissed me off forever. Rose’ stats deserve to be honored. Selig wouldn’t make a pimple on THE WORST baseball Butt! Regardless, Manfred ruined BB.

[@agentallstar7]

MLB needs a salary cap big time….

[@starlinpena4943]

No it doesnt you communist

[@robertmusgrave9236]

When gamantti died it was a sign that baseball was going to be dying as a big league sport.

[@jonnytheboy7338]

Stopped going years ago, stopped watching on TV too ... The sport was ruined for me

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

Its a shame, you're missing out on some of the greatest talent the game has ever seen (although if it were up to MLB, you wouldn't be able to watch any of them play lol). I don't blame you for leaving, but it sucks to see fans be driven away.

[@jonnytheboy7338]

@@TheDiamondBaseball I agree with you. I should have added that I watch the highlights on KZbin everyday but it's short and sweet and not spending hours of my time

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

@@jonnytheboy7338 Honestly, that's a good way up keeping updated. I can't watch many games live anymore since I live in Sweden now, so I mainly keep tabs via KZbin and Twitter

[@jonnytheboy7338]

@@TheDiamondBaseball my father was off the boat from Sweden. I'll get over there someday

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

@@jonnytheboy7338 It's pretty nice over here, not gonna lie

[@jamesmccarthy4777]

If it wasn't for how my dad and grandpa taught me well how baseball works and all the games they took me to throughout my life I wouldn't be a lifelong fan. But if I didn't come from a family of avid fans Bud Selig and his gooons defintely would've ruined baseball for me the way they did for other potential fans.

[@mattmurphy5805]

That collusion stat is crazy. This video totally changed my opinion on Selig, nice job.

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! I want to do more deep dive video essays like this one in the future - this one is kind of a trial balloon lol

[@aaronanderson8268]

He was horrendous. Interleague and wild card are massive negatives he created

[@sleekaxe303g2]

Nope couldn't do it with his voice

[@kjorlaug1]

I get the critiques of Selig and Manfred, but let's not forget that Landis kept baseball segregated and Kuhn knew about collusion and did nothing

[@anthonyemerson2965]

Worst commissioner is still Kennesaw Mountain Landis, who fought tooth and nail to keep baseball segregated. Baseball could’ve been a force for good in the early 20th century, but instead it decided to reinforce the existing power structures in the country.

[@JR-zu9jk]

MLB commissioners are historically bad not just Selig or Manfred. Many of them have been terrible such as Landis. I really wish we had some one like the NBAs Silver or Stern who sought out to grow their respective sports and are actual fans of the sport they represent

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

I agree with this for the most part. The one thing I will say to Selig’s credit is that he actually was a fan of baseball and you can tell how much he loved the game, but the problem was that he only cared about growing his wallet and not the actual game. In contrast, the NBA has focused way more on getting their game in front of his many people as possible and it’s done wonders for them over the past 20 years

[@davidrolfes8803]

Are you kidding me? Stern is the worst sports Commish of all time, and why people think the NBA is just a basketball version of the WWE.

[@musicandmagic909]

I promise you that you don't want Stern. I love basketball but the NBA is a fixed league because of Stern. There are a lot of things about image that a sports league can rehabilitate, illegitimate competition is not one of them

[@Sebakeng]

Faye Vincent deserved a longer tenure.

[@Tornado1994]

Buddy was a CROOK. A Slimeball. ONLY a Handful of legit WS Crowns were won under his Tenure, and I'll say this, 2005 and 2006 certainly weren't legit. My SF Giants won 2010 and 2012 because of the MLBIPA, Selig was demoted and could no longer buy World Series for his Favorite Big Market Clubs, What's pathetic about Bud is that even with his Precious Brewers in the NL during the 90s and 2000s, they STILL blew chunks. Selig's HATRED towards the Astros during its NL era was legendary too.

[@emmanuelwood8702]

Manfred is the worst . Bud actually did some things right.Under Manfred theres only been drama and scandal .Theres no good everything has been done wrong .

[@Tornado1994]

Selig can go to HELL. He was a Contemptuous piece of Trash. He HATED small Teams too. And LOVED rigging Series(Its why they often went to EXTRA Innings) for larger market teams. Watch the 2005 WS. You can tell something is amiss. You don't have Extra Innings World Series Games in a Row. Its just not normal.

[@markgreene8186]

Selig is the most corrupt. But He is what the owners wanted.

[@johnterry4987]

Or doing like football and not making a big deal about steroids.

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

Goodell will always be the WOAT when it comes to commissioners

[@areguapiri]

Nobody cares if they use steroids.

[@cccCCCccc123ccc]

When I was a kid in the 90’s- early 2000’s, I used to watch the Braves with my dad as often as I could. Now I can’t even be bothered. Sometimes I’ll check highlights out on KZbin. Baseball just seems to suck now.

[@ZZSmithReal]

Nah, it's not jumping the gun. Manfred truly is the worst.

[@willdodge200]

Selig was a terrible owner in Milwaukee. Claiming that they never had any money, yet he was paying family members very large salaries for basically doing nothing for the Brewers.

[@rwboa22]

What is now needed in MLB is not a salary cap, but a salary floor.

[@richardnunez3474]

I remember losing interest in the game for 5 years after the 94 strike.

[@jasonvaught2274]

Thank you for telling this story. Been a player and fan of baseball my whole life and have never known a good commissioner. As to who's worse probably Bud because the NFL surpassed MLB under his watch.

[@TheChrismeg34]

I love baseball but that was going to happen eventually. Goddell is paying you back now though cause the NFL is trash.

[@areguapiri]

NFL passed baseball back in the 1970, my friend.

[@Floww23]

Baseball and MLB is still bigger world wide than the NFL is

[@areguapiri]

@@Floww23 ...lol.....hahaha..

[@lowgearman9731]

Well he was certainly the creator of the Oakland A's mess suggesting the the Athletics move to Oakland hurt the San Francisco Giants market and that they should be relocated to another city. Rob Manfred has continued that push and the Owners have been more than happy to approve relocation to Vegas which may or may not happen. But it does seem like their leaving Oakland where to is anyone guess.

[@a.williams1945]

Interleague play was THE WORST THING to ever happen to MLB. There was no forgiving Selig for allowing that nightmare to ever happen. WTF is the point of having separate leagues if there's play btwn then during the season?

[@richardnunez3474]

I would say the closest model of a commissioner in sports right now is Adam Silver.

[@DNSKansas]

Commissioner Spock is an improvement over tyrant David Stern, but he's far from perfect. He's might be the least evil, which is a very low bar considering how bad Manfred and Bettman are.

[@fluffskunk]

To explain the problems with baseball, you basically have to start with the Austrian School of economics.

[@brianbelden2449]

Oh, and all this time I thought the current commissioner was the worst. BY FAR.

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

I mean, he’s still trying to compete for the title lmao

[@JStorm13]

He almost contracted two teams

[@wsegen]

sure, selig. manfred a close toady second.....

[@YakuzaRich]

It is jumping the gun and I can't stand Manfred. Selig was way worse. Manfred comes off as impulsive and over-reactive...but Selig just came off like a complete boob.

[@johnterry4987]

Personally I think inter league play is a negative, I liked that when the teams play in the World Series that it was the first time they met under circumstances that counted.

[@JayTemple]

And now they'll face every team every season.

[@SW2799]

johnterry4987 I somewhat disagree with that, if only for the fact that interleague play brings more competitive rivalry to crosstown teams, such as in the Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York regions. For example, I am in the Los Angeles area. Although the Dodgers are my team, I always enjoy when they play the Angels. I like the fact that the “Freeway Series” between the Dodgers, and the Angels is now a series that counts. Yes, I am hoping one day that those two teams will meet in the World Series!

[@a.williams1945]

​@SW2799 interleague play ruined baseball. It destroyed the structure and intelligence that made baseball interesting. With interleague play, then there's no point of even having leagues. The Dodgers play the Angels more times a season than they play the Cardinals, a team that they're supposedly in the same league in.

[@vicarious4231]

He screwed the expos, i will forever have two middle fingers for selig.

[@marcus813]

Selig was way too slow to implement a PED policy. That and his role in the 1994 fiasco are the biggest black eyes among many others in his time as MLB commissioner. I can't wait until his successor, Rob Manfred, moves on because I'm sick of him, too.

[@richardnunez3474]

Selig was an awful creep.

[@zacharyhelton1247]

The real question is… who won the Braves vs Astro demo on your MLB The Show in the background?

[@stephenbrown-bourne465]

Amazing vid, great breakdown. I didn't know a lot of this stuff about Selig

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

Yeah, I think a lot of things get whitewashed about him and his tenure. We tend to look at Manfred with a more critical lens because he doesn't have Selig's charisma or love of the game, but they are both leading the game down a dark path.

[@terrytitus5291]

Selig was commissioner that long? There should be term limits or maybe 10 years,then a fresh voice!

[@camionerosfurgoneros5915]

Again the FANS blow the players When the players are the one to BLAME. The player when on the STRIKE The players Asosiation and UNION Are the reason why Bud canceled the WS

[@stephenmacfarlane5061]

Sadly no one will know who won that simulated game between the astros and braves behind you.

[@nrmleigh]

The Commissioner is a conduit for the rich owners who are only interested in their monopoly and making a profit. It the American Way.

[@MikeBlagg]

Two more comments. The only credit I will give Selig for not doing anything about steroids is that his boss, Don Fehr the head of the players union, wouldn't let him do anything. Comment #2: Selig and Manfred are both terrible Commissioners. Selig was evil. Manfred is just dumb.

[@jasonmilly3320]

I think Manfred is worst. I have paragraphs worth of reason but I'll stick with just one that really bothers me personally. I love being a fan of a high attendance MLB team these days... that means I (we) don't matter and my team is gonna be shipped across the world, and to play our biggest rival too probably, so none of us real fans can even go see it...the biggest games we circle on the calendar. Bravo MLB, bravo. I understand these international games "grow the game" but they're too stupid to realize, baseball is baseball, it doesn't matter the teams... do like NFL, send the low attendance ones, grow their fanbase up maybe even too while they're over there. What a wild concept.

[@J.C...]

He didn't almost kill baseball. I was there. Through every game. The 94 Strike. Everything. He DID NOT almost kill baseball.

[@areguapiri]

I went to a packed spring training game in 1994.

[@agentallstar7]

It’s hard to argue that baseball is more entertaining or popular as it was in the 80s and 90s. Even early 2000’s …The steroid era was far better then this crap we’ve had for over a decade lately.

[@AndThatsBaseball]

But he’s in the Hall of Fame, how could he be bad at his job?

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

L + ratio + ym in the Hall of Fame

[@sportscastercanada]

It’s all politics. The home run 👑 isn’t in…

[@bluemooncinco]

While it is great to see a critical look at Selig, who was widely praised and liked during his tenure, aren't seven years at the helm enough for Manfred to have at least started work on reversing some of the issues he was left with or that Selig built the foundations for? It seems like he has been on a "full speed ahead" type of plan the whole time. I know this is such a surface level or subjective thing, but it seems like Manfred doesn't even like baseball whenever I see an interview or a quote or something, which has always led me to dislike him even outside of any of the decisions he makes. Selig always came off as a baseball fan and that always seemed to work for him when it came to public opinion. Maybe that's the fan version of an old timey scout rating grit and heart over WAR and BABIP, but I have to admit to it.

[@TheDiamondBaseball]

You are correct on pretty much all counts here imo. It's like I said in the video: Manfred is just Selig without the PR, charisma, and business savvy. The one good thing I can say about Selig as a commissioner is that you cannot deny his lifelong love of the game - but Manfred is a different story. His policies have largely been an extension of Selig's (e.g. regionalizing the game through TV contracts, focusing on short-term profit, and relying on gimmicks to solve long-term problems), which is why we haven't made any progress on issues of the relevance, growth, and health of the game. But because he is also an incredibly awkward lawyer with seemingly no real ties to the game, he is easy to hate and he gets put under even more scrutiny. Still, it will take a lot for him to do as much damage as his predecessor did with the steroid crisis and player strike.

[@JayTemple]

@@TheDiamondBaseball I can't help think that regionalizing the game is part and parcel of (eventually) having every game televised, at least in the local market.

[@yaterspoon57]

Worst Ever = Rob Manfred. Makes all the wrong calls. Atlanta was the worst.

[@papabare1977]

Wait....Selig's in Cooperstown? What?!?!

[@RobertNugent]

This guy. Hands down.

[@stevecooper6473]

Worst Commissioner ever? Rob Manfred says "hold my beer."

[@henrymanzano2201]

Wasn't Manfred a hand-picked replacement,though?

[@voxextremos22]

He knew they were juicing and did nothing about it but hey he is in the hall of fame and the players aren’t

[@James90]

He Screwed My Texas Rangers

[@nicolasdenz4292]

He helped both Jeffrey Loria and David Glass get their clawholds into MLB, helping screw Kansas City fans for decades, and Montreal fans forever. Saying that the merger of the leagues and interleague play were good things is laughable. He introduced the abomination called the Wild Card (at one time, only one out of every seven teams (14%) made the postseason; now it's two of five (40%), as well as trying to make the All-Star game relate to World Series home field advantage -- didn't do much damage, but it was stupid, and not even good for a laugh.

[@WMCheerman]

Crazy

[@tryhardfinessedyou]

Are any baseball players paid what they are "actually worth" is Aaron Judge hitting 60 odd HRs worth 250 mill or whatever his contract was? Mmmmmm I'd argue probably not really.

[@kochan1147]

Honestly salary caps might no be the too bad, but before anything, MLB absolutely needs a salary floor, minor leaguers are making under the minimum wage, its horrible.

[@davidfox9947]

A cap and floor would actually benefit most players yes it would limit the top contracts but the bottom 75% would see there salary double you could have better revenue shearing and more competitive balance players would still get 50% or more of the revenue.

[@bigjared8946]

I used to believe this but Manfred put in the work to change my mind.

[@peterolbrisch8970]

It's destroyed now anyway.