Announcement from mbcrowder

[MD Longhorn]

I don’t think “best interests” is nearly as broad as you imply here. In the Cubs case, a judge ruled that the clause was “applicable only to internal baseball relationships between teams or between teams and players.” Even the current Texas Rangers situation is shaky regarding this clause – and if he invokes it, it will definitely go to court.

“Best interests” does not even apply (yet) to interactions between the league and umpires, Sandy Alderson notwithstanding.

Selig himself wrote, “the Best interests powers are inherently narrow and created to ensure the integrity of the game.”

Put it this way … Bud could not invoke Best Interests to enforce instant replay to allow for changes to umpires calls. He had to use collective bargaining to change the agreement between MLB and WUA. So how could Best Interests apply to this … which is essentially the same thing – using instant replay to change a call (however long after the fact)… the agreement is VERY specific about what calls can be reversed via replay, and one umpire nearly lost his job over going outside the bounds of that agreement.

[mbyron]

If Selig had decided to overturn the call, I'm sure that the justification would have turned on claims about fairness and getting it right.

He wouldn't have to go through the players' union or WUA because it would have been an exceptional instance and he wasn't proposing any change of policy or rule.

As for whether he has the "power" to overturn an umpire's call: that's moot. The powers of the commissioner are ill-defined and broad. I suspect that had he decided to overturn the call most umpires and many others who love the game would have regarded it as an illegitimate extension of the commissioner's power.

[Steven Tyler]

Originally Posted by grunewar

Bud Selig is in a position to do so.

Using your example, Mr Obama and Mr Tagiabue are also in a position to do so.

You are not.


Of course, this is just for argument's sake.

FYI-Roger Goodell is now NFL commissioner.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by Steven Tyler

FYI-Roger Goodell is now NFL commissioner.

Guess I was trying to remember the good ole days.....

[SanDiegoSteve]

Does the fun ever start????