Because Selig involves all owners in nearly every issue, many of his peers have no intention of allowing an outsider to come in and tell them how to run their business. Thus, before Colorado Rockies owner Jerry McMorris proposes any candidates from his commissioner search of the past year, those owners want Selig to take the job. McMorris said Thursday he had not been told to shut down his search, but he seemed resigned to the fact that the pro-Selig movement is too strong to stop. Baseball officials contacted by the Journal Sentinel said they originally expected Selig to take the job at the next scheduled owners meetings, fittingly scheduled in Milwaukee for Sept. 15-17. But, with his peers turning up the heat, Selig may not be able to wait that long.
Opposition remains among owners, but it has decreased significantly in recent months.
A leading adversary, Peter O'Malley, sold the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Fox Corp. and now is out of the picture. Others not in favor of Selig's election include the Chicago White Sox's Jerry Reinsdorf, San Francisco's Peter Magowan and the Tribune Co., which operates the Chicago Cubs. There are concerns that Selig's name is still too closely linked with the 1994 labor war that led to cancellation of the World Series. It won't even be close. To me, it's a done deal.