Yo, Meathead!

In this article by AP sports writer Josh DuBow, current MLB commissioner Bud Selig ruminates on former commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who died this past week. Buddy-Bud also touches on the drug scandal and the A’s move to Fremont, California.

Selig: Kuhn Never Got Respect He Was Due

By JOSH DUBOW
.c The Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) - Bud Selig complained Saturday that Bowie Kuhn was never appreciated for his success as baseball commissioner, saying the changes Kuhn oversaw in his 15 years on the job have helped baseball reach the level of success it currently has.

“I think the reason we are where we are today…a lot of the seeds were planted in the Kuhn era,” Selig said. “He never gets credit for it but he should.”

Selig spoke of his predecessor as commissioner while attending a spring training game between the Oakland Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers. Selig planned to fly to Florida to attend Kuhn’s funeral on Tuesday.

Kuhn died Thursday at St. Luke’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla., following a short bout with pneumonia that led to respiratory failure. He was 80.

Selig recalled when he first met Kuhn back in the 1960s before he became a baseball owner. Kuhn, then a lawyer for the National League, questioned Selig on the witness stand during a trial over the Braves’ move from Milwaukee to Atlanta.

“But we became great friends,” Selig said.

Selig sought advice frequently from Kuhn during baseball labor battles in the 1990s, but called Kuhn’s 15-year tenure the toughest the game has ever had.

“The sport had been stuck in neutral for a long, long time,” Selig said. “Pete Rozelle had taken over the NFL in the 1960s. Baseball was resistant to change. The sport was adamantly resistant to change. And now change started. And Bowie was the commissioner then.”

In other topics, Selig said he’s still waiting to see what will come out of a nationwide investigation into the illicit sale of steroids and human growth hormone. Baseball players Gary Matthews Jr., Jose Canseco, John Rocker, Jerry Hairston Jr., David Bell and Darren Holmes have already been linked to the investigation.

The district attorney in Albany, N.Y., who is conducting the probe, said earlier in the week that he will forward the names of athletes linked to the inquiry to pro sports leagues. Selig said has no more details on that.

Earlier, Selig addressed the Athletics’ investors and talked to them about their proposed stadium deal in Fremont, Calif. Selig said he was pleased the team plans to remain in the Bay Area

“I told them every stadium deal is very difficult,” he said. “They have made good progress. I’m hopeful.”

SEASONINGS: As if baseball needs any more negative attention, now Pete Rose is opening his mouth again, telling anyone who will hear that he placed bets on his team, the Cincinnati Reds, every night while he was managing the club. Rose reminds me of another serial talker—A-Rod. Why do these guys feel as if what they have to say has to be back-page tabloid fodder all the time? Why can’t they just shut up and keep their announcements and opinions to themselves? Rose should realize by now that it doesn’t matter what he says to anyone. Until another commissioner comes along besides Big Bud—and maybe not even then—he will never be allowed back into the game of baseball. As for Rose’s desire to manage again…please! Would you put someone in charge of watching the oven when he has already let the cookies get burned?