Bud Selig, John Schuerholz Elected To Baseball Hall Of Fame

The “Today’s Game Era” Committee of the Baseball Hall Of Fame met today at the Winter Meetings and as expected, elected former commissioner Allan H. “Bud” Selig and longtime Braves executive John Schuerholz to Cooperstown.

The 16-member committee had ten candidates among players, managers and executives from the era of 1988 to the present. Schuerholz received all 16 votes and Selig got 15 out of 16.

Selig was the second-longest tenured commissioner in history, running the game from 1992 until 2015. Before that, he was the owner of the Milwaukee Brewers from the time they moved from Seattle in 1970.

Selig had a mixed legacy as commissioner. During his time in office, the game saw an unprecedented level of growth and was on the cutting-edge of technology in the creation of MLB Advanced Media. He also oversaw 20 years of labor peace after 1995. Four expansion teams were created under Selig, bringing baseball to the booming population centers of Florida, Arizona and Colorado.

On the negative side, Selig was the driving force behind the owner’s hardline stance that led to the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. As an owner, he was one of the conspirators behind the Collusion Scandals of the 1980s. He threatened to contract two teams as part of labor negotiations around the turn of the century and his oversaw the destruction of Major League Baseball in Montreal. (Although bringing baseball back to the District of Columbia was a good thing.) Baseball also underwent several massive PED scandals during his time as commissioner.

Schuerholz started as an executive in with the Royals and was general manager when the team won the World Series in 1985. After joining the Braves in 1990, he led the team to 14 straight (not counting 1994) playoff appearances, five World Series appearances and a World Series title in 1995. He was the first general manager to lead teams in both leagues to a World Series title.

Candidates needed 12 of the 16 votes to be elected to Cooperstown. Former Cubs manager Lou Piniella was third in the voting with 7 votes.