Bud Selig, the former MLB commissioner, has retired, so this humble correspondent thought it would be interesting to make an article about his best and worst moments during his tenure as the MLB commissioner.

Best:

1. Sustained labor peace

Every other major sports league in the country has had major lockouts, in the last few seasons going into the season, the most recent and the longest of which being the NHL lockout in 2012-13. Baseball has not had a lockout in 1994, which is a big positive for sports fans, because it means they get to watch their teams on schedule not after months of negotiating.

This humble correspondent  once heard a perfect way to describe lockouts; it is a bunch of millionaires fighting with billionaires because they each want more money, while some people can not even afford to go to games. This a major positive for Bud Selig that during his entire tenure as MLB Commissioner baseball has had sustained labor peace.

2. Playoff Expansion

The wild card being introduced was met with great opposition when Bud Selig first introduced it and the second wild card was met with similar opposition. However, the wild card worked out great, with five wild card teams winning the World Series. Those teams being the 1997 Florida Marlins, 2002 Anaheim Angels, 2003 Florida Marlins, 2004 Boston Red Sox, and the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals. In addition, five wild card teams made it to the World Series but lost, the 2000 New York Mets, 2002 San Francisco Giants, 2006 Detroit Tigers, and the 2007 Colorado Rockies.

The same could be said for the 2nd wild card, it allows teams that previously would be out of the playoff race, get a 2nd chance to make the playoffs. Last season, the Kansas City Royals played in the Wild Card game, and made a surprise run to the World Series before hitting the wall that is Madison Bumgarner.

3. Interleague Play

Interleague Play has been a great addition; showing teams that previously only played if they made it to the World Series, play during the regular season, with more regularity. It has allowed for local rivalries to be played out, every year such as the Yankees and the Mets. Previously fans of teams in the same area would never get to trash talk and watch their teams play each other. However, with interleague play that happens on a regular basis. Fans have latched onto the concept since Bud Selig first instituted it into Major League Baseball.

4. Global Growth

Bud Selig has helped baseball grow into a worldwide sport. He instituted the World Baseball Classic in 2006, which is a tournament between countries’ best players. The WBC has allowed American fans to witness players from other countries, such as Japan and the Dominican Republic, before they come over to play in the MLB. MLB TV is shown in 21 countries including Russia, Germany, India, and Sweden. Every year more Dominican and Japanese talent comes over and makes big marks, with recent arrivals of Jose Abreu to the Chicago White Sox and Masahiro Tanaka to the New York Yankees.

5. Reaction to 9/11

September 11th, 2001 was one of the worst tragedies in U.S. history and Bud Selig’s quick actions after the terrorist attacks were swift, and the correct decision given the circumstances. Bud Selig canceled all the games for one week, to let the country mourn but also to ensure the countries safety in this tough time. This inadvertently pushed the World Series into November and Mr. November was born.

Worst:

1. 2002 All Star Game

The 2002 All Star Game was a fiasco in the simplest terms. The game was at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Bud Selig was the owner and team president. The 2002 game was tied in the 11th inning when both teams ran out of pitchers. The next season was the first season that Bud Selig introduced the all-star game being played for home field advantage in the World Series.

2. Not cracking down on PEDs sooner

Bud Selig will forever be the commissioner that lasted through the PED era. He put in policies to rid baseball of it’s black eye and people have still recently got in trouble for taking PEDs, mainly Alex Rodriguez. He put in policies, and suspended players only after they failed tests, and got more than just a failed test for evidence.

3. Houston Astros moving to the American League

In 2011, new owner Jim Crane met with commissioner Bud Selig prior to buying the team. Then on November 15, 2011, Jim Crane announced the Houston Astros were going to move from the NL Central to the AL West. Many blame Selig for the Astros moving to the AL, because he made them move to the AL as part of the sale to Jim Crane.

4. Bias toward Milwaukee Brewers

Bud Selig was the part owner and team president of the Milwaukee Brewers, before becoming the commissioner. When he became commissioner he transferred control of the Brewers to his daughter Wendy Selig.

5. Failure to attract the majority of the next generation.

This generation of digital technology being readily accessible, the current general population having ADD, and baseball is “boring” to the new generation because of the fact that it is slow, is not helping, This is a failure for Bud Selig. The new rules with the time clock and things of that nature will help but that is more new commissioner Rob Manfred's area than Bud Selig.

With all these positive and negatives to his tenure, he is far and away the best commissioner of any of the four major sports in America during his time at the helm of Major League Baseball.