9:53pm: In his full report, Costa writes that the committee has also interviewed at least two people who do not currently work in the commissioner’s office. Giants CEO Larry Baer has had “informal discussions” regarding the post, but has not made himself a candidate at this point, Costa adds. Likewise, discussions with Disney CEO Robert Iger have not moved past the preliminary stages and his potential candidacy appears to come with some complicating circumstances.
5:02pm: The process of replacing longtime MLB commissioner Bud Selig appears to be entering its next phase. Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal reports on Twitter that at least three internal candidates have been interviewed, presumably by the league’s succession committee.
The first name that Costa mentions will come as no surprise: Rob Manfred, the MLB COO. Manfred has long been considered a leading candidate and is currently “heavily favored” to succeed Selig, according to the report.
Also earning a chance to make a pitch for the commissioner’s chair were Tim Brosnan and Bob Bowman, each of whom occupy lofty positions within the MLB hierarchy. The former heads MLB’s domestic and international business ventures, while the latter is the CEO of MLB Advanced Media.
Maybe this is a crazy thought (MLB nor him may want it), but what about George W. Bush? He loves baseball, has a decent resume for himself, and these other candidates stay in their lofty positions within the MLB hierarchy…
I’ve tried to think of a snarky retort to this for the past 10 minutes, but I’ve got nothing. Suffice it to say that I REALLY don’t want to see Dubya anywhere near the game of baseball.
Just thinking outside the box. Former owner. Affable (maybe to a fault) guy. Plus, he throws a mean cutter…
Bush was a horrible owner when he ran the Rangers and a terrible president, why would we want to hand him power over anything else?
Baseball needs a commissioner that’s approved by both the owners and the players, not one who’s basically just the head of the owners.
The commissioner’s job is to be the representative of the owners not the players.
Sure, just as soon as the owners get to approve the MLBPA head, Dems get to approve Rep. candidates (and vice versa) and accused criminals get to select who prosecutes them.
The head of the MLBPA doesn’t have any power over the owners as the commissioner has over the players.
And they shouldn’t. MLB Constitution Article II Section 2 “The Functions of the Commissioner” (a) To serve as Chief Executive Officer of Major League Baseball…. ergo he is the boss. I can’t think of many organizations where employees get a say as to who is appointed CEO.
A true commissioner would be one who’s agreed upon by the owners and the players. The current commissioner is merely a lackey of the owners.
Baseball is a business, teams employ players, the League allows the teams to exist. Please name me one other $8 Billion a year business where the employees “vote” on the boss.
Good riddance Selig
Personally I’m not looking forward to Selig leaving. He was a well above average or great commissioner. Below I list his accomplishments
1. Expanded the game internationally: Players can now be posted from Japan, or brought over from Cuba like Puig and Cespedes.
2. Added and then expanded instant relay: Sure, it’s not perfect, but it is a great start.
3. CBA for the draft: Selig realized that contracts were getting out of hand, and put a cap on draftees. Great move.
Believe me, the LAST thing we want is a new commissioner. Nobody can replace Selig
#3 So great of a move that the #1 overall pick wasn’t signed because of it.
I mean, Harper signed for 10 mil and he was highest ever…. If he’d been a free agent he would have made 50-80 mil. Why was this a bad system?
Something Selig has done is balance the game and his draft changes were a big reason. The bad thing about Harper signing for 10mil is that number was part of a rise. Small markets can’t afford to be paying an unproven guy 10+mil. They can’t afford to over slot sign everyone like the Yankees can. By placing this new system everyone is on the same level. Overspend in one area and go less or not at all on the next pick.
The balance in today’s game is pretty amazing considering there is no cap. I don’t think you understand the importance of some of these changes. The way you talk, you want the same 10 teams every year.
Strasburg was the highest ever*
He also gave us inter-league play, the home plate collision rule, an all-star game that “counts”. Thumbs down from me.
Looking at the big picture Bud Selig has done so much for the game of baseball. Sure he has had bad ideas, but honestly who hasn’t? He took MLB out of the gutter and now revenue is up by 400%, attendance is through the roof, teams are building new stadiums, instant replay, revenue sharing, small markets are competing, introduction of the WBC, international players are getting here more than ever, draft is simple and swift getting players signed and playing baseball, best drug testing in sports…the list goes on.
Bud Selig may have saved baseball from becoming a joke. I find it sad some nit pick and say he is bad for the AS Game counting or for the home plate collision rule…what petty things.
Also I’m not sure why Sean is blaming Seligs system for him not being able to sign. The system is great…just a team trying to cheat it and they lost.
This is so correct and so well said.
Larussa or Torre?
Larussa just got a new job with the D-Back and Torre probably hasn’t been a member of baseball’s upper oligarchy long enough to be considered for the job.
I hope they take Sandy out of the Mets. I’m tired of having a politician as the GM of my favorite team.
Sandy is the first GM I’ve felt confidence in forever. You want someone like Duquette, Phillips, or Minaya around? The only reason the Mets were winning in those times was because the Wilpons were spending back then. Sandy’s been pretty good so far.
And the NY media can be terrible most of the time, so I’m actually glad that Sandy is political and tries to manipulate them.
Manfried is a snake just like Selig so hopefully a man like Joe Torre would be perfect.No more evil puppet guys who helps his friends(Wilpons and John Henry’s).
I am avaliable.
Yes, but are you available?
I upvoted your comment. That way, when the commissioner search makes it’s way to the trade rumors message board, they’ll see your comment got some backing, which would make you an ideal candidate (for the record, I’m pretty sure nobody has ever upvoted a comment from Selig).
Selig has done a great job for the owners. Just compare franchise values to where they were when he came on board. For the game itself, the game we like to think as fans that we value, his record is spottier. I’m not a fan of gimmicks like the WS home team being decided by the All Star team. I may be in the minority, but interleague play leaves me cold. I don’t care for the overarching desire for parity, which stretches into every nook and cranny in the game–there’s always a rule for everything and it often produces unintended consequences. We could use a fresh eye at the problems and some simplification.
“Anybody but Farnsworth”
Dave Dombrowski.
Peter Edward Rose.
Yes, after he finishes his lifetime ban.
I can not believe more people from outside of MLB are not being considered. The one that sticks to me is actually a writer. Why is not Bob Costas being considered?
The preceding three were basically non-baseball people (Ueberroth, Giamatti and Vincent). The owners went with Selig as “one of their own”, so I don’t think it is a position of power the owners want to cede.
Bob Costas would be a terrible candidate.
He has pink eye on the day of his interview.
Jose Canseco
Kevin Costner
A name I saw floated the other day was Tom Glavine. He spent a ton of time as a rep for the MLBPA, and having gone through the 1994 debacle as a player rep, would know first hand the ins and outs of negociations between the Players and Owners.
Bill Lee?
Don’t really know anything about any other baseball executives, but as a Giants fan it seems like Larry Baer is a stand-up kind of guy. He’s been instrumental in the Giants’ success over the past four years and has helped turn them into a first-class organization (talking success on the field, amenities, marketing, facilities, etc.) I think he’d be good for baseball.