Brewers to erect Bud Selig statue

[Poiuyt]

MILWAUKEE (AP) - The Milwaukee Brewers said Monday the ballclub will erect a bronze statue at Miller Park in honor of baseball commissioner Bud Selig (SEE'-lig).

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio (ah-tan-AH'-zee-oh) says the statue in the stadium's plaza will honor the 75-year-old commissioner "for all of his efforts on behalf of the Milwaukee Brewers and Major League Baseball."

The 7-foot-high statue will join those of Hank Aaron and Robin Yount, which were unveiled in 2001, the first year of play in Miller Park.

Selig returned Major League Baseball to his hometown of Milwaukee in 1970 when he founded the Milwaukee Brewers. He was owner and president of the Brewers before becoming commissioner in 1998.

An unveiling ceremony is scheduled Aug. 24.

http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=11951657

[madinmaryland]

1. I'm sorry to hear that Brewer fans. Putting the guy who has done more

to ruin baseball next to a couple of the heroes of the game is DISGRACEFUL.

[wilt the stilt]

2. I hope it is made out of dung n/t

[MrCoffee]

3. Will it be a statue of him injecting steroids into the ass of the Racing Sausages?

That would be appropriate.

[joeybee12]

4. If the statue is actually Selig covered in bronze, you know, the bronze that

stops people from breathing and gets him out of baseball completely, then I wholeheartedly endorse this diae.

[Jack Rabbit]

5. Objection

Bud Selig ended the era of the independent commissioner that began when Judge Landis was made the first Commissioner of Baseball in the wake of the Black Sox scandal of 1919. This was in a failed attempt to break the players' union, a movement led by Selig, White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and others.

The Selig-Reinsdorf coup over baseball took place in 1992 when Commissioner Fay Vincent was ousted and Selig named by the owners as acting commissioner. The owners left Selig in power in this "acting" capacity until 1998, never seriously entertaining any to return the office of the commissioner to an independent person who would make decisions for the overall good of baseball, not the overall good of the owners. What Selig, Reinsdorf and the others had against Vincent is that Vincent enforced rules against collusion on them when they attempted the rig the free agent market to force players to accept lower salaries.

Never mind the DH, artificial turf or even the Black Sox scandal itself, the coup of the owners against the commissioner's office was the worst thing that ever happened to baseball. Selig canceled the 1994 World Series rather than settle the players' strike, which by that time had become an owners' lockout. Fortunately, a court ruling brought the owners' anti-labor scheme to an end. He lifted the life time ban of Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, who was suspended by Vincent for associating with gamblers and, ironically, is largely responsible for the out-of-control salary structure that Selig and Reinsdorf found so disturbing. Meanwhile, Pete Rose, suspended for gambling by Vincent's predecessor, Bart Giamatti, complained of getting no such consideration from Selig. Worst of all, Selig presided over the era of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, doing nothing to stop it since juiced up players hitting home runs was so good for the owners' bottom lines.

If any one wonders what America will look like once corporate bosses start treating politicians like their personal employees to an even greater extent than they do now, one can look at the sordid history of baseball in the Selig era. If Selig deserves a statue to honor his contribution to baseball, then the image of George W. Bush should adorn Mount Rushmore.

[Capt. America]

9. +100! Great analysis.

[Captain Hilts]

11. BINGO. He killed the integrity of the game. nt

[El Supremo]

6. That picture is when he called the All Star game. Right?

On account of no more pitchers.

What a moran!

[Onceuponalife]

7. Who will be the first to piss on it?

[Jack Rabbit]

8. We'll have to hold a lottery for that honor

Otherwise, I nominate my cats. They've done a number on my clean laundry before.

[joeybee12]

12. I wanna buy tickets for that...I'll mortgage the house to do it! n/t

[Captain Hilts]

10. Reminds me of the Millard Filmore statue in downtown Buffalo. nt

[Jack Rabbit]

13. Hmmm. . . .

Photo by Matthew Trump, Wikipedia (Creative Commons, Attribution/Share Alike)

[LisaM]

14. In related news.....

Lisa M. to go to Milwaukee Brewers game with a sackful of old tomatoes in her purse.