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Book
Views Baseball Through Commissioners' Eyes
 It’s
a high-pressure world few people are privy to and a perspective
hard to conceive of, but a new book by Andrew Zimbalist, the
Robert A. Woods Professor of Economics at Smith, looks at
Major League Baseball (MLB) through the eyes of the commissioners
of one of history’s most scrutinized sports industries.
In the Best
Interests of Baseball? The Revolutionary Reign of Bud Selig,
Zimbalist’s most recent book in a succession of lauded
works on the business of sports, primarily outlines the news-making,
transformational tenure of Selig’s management of America’s
pastime.
But as well, the
book looks at the service of Selig’s predecessors, such
as Judge Kenebrew Mountain Landis, MLB’s first commissioner,
who famously banished nine players from the Chicago Black
Sox after they allegedly “fixed” the 1919 World
Series; Albert “Happy” Chandler, who helped expand
the league during the turbulent years following World War
II; and the controversial Peter Ueberroth, who experienced
difficulty gaining traction among the league’s owners
during his five-year stint in the late 1980s.
Fay Vincent, who
followed Ueberroth as commissioner in 1989 (until 1992) also
roiled the ire of baseball’s powerful owners, in part
assisting the ascension of Selig, a former owner of the Milwaukee
Brewers, to the position. Vincent will be the guest speaker
in Zimbalist’s class The Sports Economy, on Tuesday,
April 25 (see related story).
Zimbalist, who
interviewed Selig at length for the book, admits he was at
first dubious about the MLB owners’ appointment of one
of their own to become commissioner, underscoring the obvious
conflict of interest. But over time, Zimbalist says, he has
come to highly respect the current commissioner’s 14-year
management of the league through a series of crises, such
as the difficult collective bargaining agreement in 2002 and
the ever-growing controversies around steroid use.
“Baseball,
by electing an owner as leader and CEO, was declaring that
it was ready to begin behaving like a business,” said
Zimbalist in a recent interview with Don Walker in the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel about the appointment of Selig in 1992. “The
path hasn’t been smooth and there have been missteps
along the way, but Bud has ushered in a new era and moved
the game forward.”
In the Best
Interests of Baseball? was featured on ,
the industry’s Web site, on this year’s Opening
Day April 3 and .
As with his previous
books on the business of sports, In the Best Interests
of Baseball? Is garnering accolades from heavy-hitters
in the industry. Here are some of their comments:
•
Jim Bouton, former 20-game winning
pitcher for the Yankees and author of Ball Four:
“Tremendously enjoyable and a must read for baseball
fans. Guaranteed to raise the
level of discourse on sports-talk radio.”
• Fay Vincent,
former commissioner of Major League Baseball: “Baseball
books, like the game itself, are often replete with
errors. But Andrew Zimbalist has written a carefully
researched yet lively review of the record of the nine
commissioners that is both fair and accurate. It is
long overdue and a superb read.”
• John Moores, owner of the San
Diego Padres and member of the MLB Executive Committee:
“Andrew Zimbalist has done a very credible, eminently
readable and engaging job describing MLB's commissioners,
particularly Bud Selig, who easily has become the most
significant figure in baseball in decades. While Selig
will not necessarily share all of Zimbalist's views
about the game, In the Best Interests of Baseball?
has thoughtfully, and perhaps uniquely, tracked many
of the thorny issues that Selig confronted during baseball's
new golden era.”
• John Henry, principal owner
of the Boston Red Sox and member of the MLB Executive
Committee: “I read In the Best Interests of
Baseball? start to finish in one evening. Zimbalist
has provided a tour de force. It’s an incredibly
interesting read that ends with a vision for the sport
that is squarely on target and a clarion call to our
industry.”
• Katherine Powers, Boston
Globe: “The season's best book so far.”
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