The Vote…

Posted by on August 15th, 2014  •  0 Comments  • 

Baseball has a new commissioner; he’s the old commissioner’s hand picked replacement.
 
It was nasty and ugly in Baltimore, but heated arguments gave way to cooler heads, and it took just two votes for the 30-owners to choose Rob Manfred to replace Bud Selig.
 
There was in-fighting thruout the day, rancor, a call for renewal of hostilities, and then peace. The owners interviewed each of the finalists, and a session with Manfred, Selig’s longtime assistant, got testy during questioning from Jerry Reinsdorf, the White Sox owner.
 
Reinsdorf was the owner who tried to lead a coup at the last minute, and get Tom Werner of the Red Sox voted in.
 
The Chicago owner went after Manfred about his tact in negotiations with the Union, criticizing him and demanding responses why there is no salary cap, why there is increased revenue sharing, and why the union seems to win at the bargaining table.
 
Manfred held his ground, and though the first vote was (22-8), it wasn’t enough to get Manfred the job. 
 
Then there were meetings amongst Selig and owners, and the realization of what the current MLB leadership has been able to produce.  Revenues have gone from 2B a year to 9B.  There is more competitive balance in the game than ever  before as witnessed by the fact there are 12 teams fighting for wild card spots with 5-weeks left in the season. 
 
Common sense conversation reminded the owners of the labor peace over the last 20-years, upgraded drug testing, the growth of all things MLB-Media related.
 
When they re-voted, it was unanimous (30-0) for Manfred. 
 
A win for Selig definitely.  More so a terrible blow to the power hungry Reinsdorf, his attitude and his candidate Tom Werner.
 
Baseball’s back when common sense form people like Ron Fowler of the Padres and Stan Kasten of the Dodgers prevailed.
 
Continuity, not confrontation, will help grow the game.
Please follow and like us:

Leave a Comment:

Your email address will not be published.