Closer: Selig has moved the sport forward, but the Yankees still lead the pack

Sporting News, The, August 30, 2004 by Todd Jones

Excuse me for chuckling last week when the owners took a "vote" to extend the contract of commissioner Bud Selig. The fine print, as I see it, was that his deal will run until the owners come up with a system that benefits more owners even more.

I've been hard on the commissioner, but let's look at some of the ways he has helped the game. Interleague play was a good idea, at least for teams with cross-town or cross-state rivals. Selig also introduced the wild card, which has created greater interest in more teams deeper into the season. It makes perfect sense, and just think, it took MLB only 50 years to come up with a forward idea.

I love this game, but the people who ran it before Mr. Selig were a bunch of Chicken Littles--The sky is falling. At least this commissioner was gutsy enough to lift everyone's collective heads out of the sand, look at the NFL and NBA and see how things are done.

The other thing he'll take credit for is saving the game from another work stoppage on his watch. It's played as if Selig came in on his white horse and saved the game. I figure after he ended the 2002 All-Star Game in a tie, he had to come in and save the day to break even. So, nice going.

One thing that rocks about baseball and the owners is what the Yankees have done. George Steinbrenner is the man. The other owners specifically came up with a system during the last round of bargaining that was designed to hinder the spending of large-market teams. The luxury-tax and revenue-sharing plan was designed to be the Robin Hood plan for baseball, taking from the rich and giving to the poor.

The Yankees basically said, OK, if that's the way you want to play--if you want to punish teams who are trying to win the whole thing every year--that's fine; we'll beat you at your game.

This year, the Yankees will pay close to $100 million in luxury taxes and revenue sharing. Steinbrenner's payroll alone would scare most owners, but the Boss decided to pay because he wants to win. He's playing the game the owners want to play, and he's still beating them. I say, right on. Good for the man who can roll those big dice; good for a man who competes; good for the idea of American business. Grind the others into the ground.

As a player, I say the Yankees are good and bad for baseball. They're bad for the rest of the A.L. East, but they sell out the ballpark every night and help grow the game. That benefits everyone.

E-mail Todd Jones, a reliever for the Phillies, at tjones@sportingnews.com.