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Selig 'firm' on leaving office

Updated: July 12, 2011 2:57 p.m. |(30) Comments

Phoenix - Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said today he is "firm" about leaving office when his current term expires at the end of 2012.

Selig has changed his mind and accepted extensions in the past but said this time he plans to leave when his contract is up.

"I feel firm about it," Selig said during his annual Q&A session with members of the Baseball Writers Association of America at the All-Star Game.

"This will be 20 years (in office). That's a long time in this job. I'm going to be 78 (next year). I have begun teaching and there are other things I want to do, including writing a book. I'm looking forward to it. I'm comfortable with that."

Some believe owners will find a way to convince Selig to say, as they have in the past, but for now he's saying he won't do it. We'll see.

Selig addressed a number of other topics:

*The criticism of Derek Jeter for not coming to the All-Star Game: 

"There isn't a player in the last 15 years that I'm more proud of than Derek Jeter. He has played the game like it should be played. He's been an even better human being off the field, as great as he is on the field. I know why Derek Jeter isn't here. I respect that. And I must tell you I think I'd make the same decision as Derek Jeter. Any suggestion that I or anybody else is unhappy with him about not being here is just false. I'm proud of what he has done. I told him that last Saturday on the phone and I've told him that often."

*On why Frank McCourt was allowed to buy the Dodgers:

"We have long, complicated ownership processes, far more than we've ever had. That doesn't mean we're always right. But when Fox sells the club to Frank McCourt, wonderful. We don't sell the club to Frank McCourt. Fox does it. It then goes to the ownership committee. It then goes to the executive committee and and all 30 clubs. All of the information is shared. Everybody looks at it. In fact, there was no other application submitted to us. And it was something that Fox really wanted to get something done."

*On having a team like the Dodgers in court over ownership:

"There are a lot of things I'd like to say but I can't. We'll work our way through all of these things. This sport is so healthy and so robust in terms of popularity, we'll work our way through these things. Life doesn't always turn out the way you want."

*On having so many all-star pitchers miss the game because they pitched on Sunday and weren't available, and whether the game should be moved back a day to prevent that:

"We've talked about that. I keep reading that players don't want to play. That's nonsense. Seventy-nine of the 84 (invited players) are here, including injured players. That doesn't indicate to me that people don't want to be here. They do want to be here. We put in the pitching rule. I wouldn't say Halladay vs. Weaver is a bad thing. We'll review that this off-season. A lot of clubs like to play on Thursday but it's something we'll review. But to say that players don't really care is nonsense. We have a rule with the pitchers and we'll take a look at that. You would think we're calling up guys from Omaha, for Pete's sake."

*On Detroit manager Jim Leyland saying there is too much tension between umpires and players, managers and coaches, and something needs to be done about it.

"I think Jim is right in some sense. We talk about this every day. We review all the umpires. We review it more on a daily basis than I've ever seen before. We have a great staff to deal with some of those things. We need to remove some of that tension.

*On what can be done to avoid more tragedies such as the one in Texas, where a fan fell to his death trying to catch a ball flipped to him by player Josh Hamilton.

"For years we talked about how we should be fan friendly and the players shouldn't turn their backs. It was a horrible accident. It's heartbreaking, it really is. Almost beyond comprehension. I noted on a CNN poll taken tha 91% of the fans said they hoped there would be no changes. I think everybody is reviewing parts of their ballparks. Maybe there are some things they can or can't do. What I would say is that common sense should always take over in those situations. To say we should do this or shouldn't do that, I can't."

*On the possibility of realignment, which would necessitate more interleague play.

"No. 1, I like interleague play. We did 18.3% better in attendance this year. I've always liked realignment. But is there anything imminent? No. There are things we need to accomplish. Teams in the NL Central fairly say, 'Why should we have six teams in our division and others have only four or certainly no more than five?' That's a fair comment, so there are things I'd like to accomplish. If you're thinking about significant alignment, that's probably going to have to wait. Would I go to 15 and 15 (teams in each league)? I don't know. It would depend on how everything else goes and what we're trying to do. You'd have to play interleague play every day, and I like it the way it is."