page_title: Commissioner of Baseball
section_title: Bud Selig (1992–2015)
hierarchical_section_title: Commissioner of Baseball / Overview of commissioners / Bud Selig (1992–2015)
caption_attribution_description: Bud Selig
context_page_description: The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive office of Major League Baseball and the associated Minor League Baseball – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts. The commissioner is chosen by a vote of the owners of the teams. The incumbent MLB commissioner is Rob Manfred, who assumed office on January 25, 2015.
context_section_description: Bud Selig served as the Executive Council Chairman from 1992 to 1998, acting as the commissioner, and then was appointed as the official commissioner in 1998. Selig oversaw baseball through the 1994 strike, the introduction of the wild card, interleague play, and the merging of the National and American leagues under the Office of the Commissioner. He was instrumental in organizing the World Baseball Classic in 2006. Selig also introduced revenue sharing. He is credited for the financial turnaround of baseball during his tenure with a 400 percent increase in the revenue of MLB and annual record breaking attendance.
  During Selig's term of service, the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs became a public issue. The Mitchell Report, commissioned by Selig, concluded that the MLB commissioners, club officials, the Players Association, and the players all share "to some extent in the responsibility for the steroid era." Following the release of the Mitchell Report, Congressman Cliff Stearns called publicly for Selig to step down as commissioner, citing his "glacial response" to the "growing stain on baseball." Selig pledged on numerous occasions to rid baseball of performance-enhancing drugs, and oversaw and instituted many rule changes and penalties to that end.
  Bud Selig helped introduce the following changes to Major League Baseball:
  Realignment of teams into three divisions per league, and the introduction of playoff wild card teams: one per league starting in 1994, and two per league starting in 2012
  Regular season interleague play (1997) and interleague games during the entire season (2013)
  Four additional franchises: the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins (now Miami Marlins) in 1993, followed by the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now Tampa Bay Rays) in 1998.
  An unbalanced schedule formula that heavily favors intradivisional play (2001)
  Consolidation of the National and American League offices and presidencies under the direct auspices of Major League Baseball and inclusion of all umpiring crews into a common pool for American and National League games, instead of having separate pools per league
  Home field advantage in the World Series granted to the winner of the All Star Game in the same season (2003, changed in 2017 to not have influence on home-field advantage in the World Series)
  Relocation of Montreal Expos franchise to Washington, D.C., becoming the Washington Nationals (2005)
  Stricter Major League Baseball performance-enhancing drug testing policy (2005)
  World Baseball Classic (2006)
  Instant replay used by umpiring crew to review disputed home run calls (2008). Expanded to all calls (except balls and strikes) starting in 2014.
  During Selig's years of service, new stadiums opened in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Arlington, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., Queens, The Bronx, and Minneapolis. In addition, the venue now known as Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Fenway Park in Boston, and Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City underwent major renovations, and similar work began on Wrigley Field in Chicago.
  Selig retired from the position after the 2014 season, officially yielding to his successor on January 25, 2015, at which time Selig became the Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball.
caption: Bud Selig
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