MLB Commissioner Bud Selig plans to announce his retirement after the 2014 season in an official press conference Thursday afternoon, and this time he means it. While Selig has strongly insisted 2014 will be his last year in office, he's also announced his retirement before and reneged on it, though it is believed this time Selig, 79, will be calling it quits for good.
In 2006, Selig announced that he'd retire following the 2009 season but he then signed a three-year extension to stay on in 2008. Then, after signing that extension he said he'd retire in 2012 before he eventually signed a two-year extension that kept him in office through 2014. This time though, Selig is determined to leave office and he's planning an official announcement for Thursday afternoon, according to CBS Sports.
Selig's retirement after the 2014 season actually wouldn't take effect until January of 2015, according to CBS Sports. The news affiliate reports that baseball will now have 15-16 months to find a replacement and past rumored candidates included former Cubs, Twins and Orioles executive Andy MacPhail, MLB executive Joe Torre and Mets general manager Sandy Alderson over the years.
Selig took over as acting commissioner in 1992 when Fay Vincent was voted out of office. Selig was eventually named the permanent commissioner six years later in 1998 and he's stayed in office since then. Selig was a former baseball owner as he was a majority owner of the Milwaukee Braves and also purchased the bankrupt Seattle Pilots in 1970 before moving them to Milwaukee to become the Brewers.
Selig has made substantial changes during his time as commissioner, including adding a wild-card team to each league and then eventually, changing the playoff format to include two wild-card teams last season. He's also expanded the use of instant replay to make the game a little less controversial. Selig has also contributed to making the game more popular through the years.
While Selig has done a lot of good for baseball, that doesn't mean his tenure hasn't had some trying times. Selig was the commissioner during the Steroid Era of the late 1990s as well as the strike in 1994 that saw the World Series get canceled for the first time ever. Due to being in office during all the recent PED scandals in baseball, including the Biogenesis scandal that marred part of this season, Selig has been forced to institute the toughest PED testing system in the four major sports.
Selig can be known as somewhat of a controversial figure, but he's undoubtedly left his mark on the game of baseball. Selig's announcement is forthcoming, and someone else will preside over baseball when the 2015 season rolls around.
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