J.R. Tidwell, Sports, Sports Columnists
 By  J.R. Tidwell Published 
5:59 am Saturday, January 14, 2012

Selig does a good job in MLB

Selig has signed a contract extension through 2014. He has been claiming since 2006 that he would retire, but most people never believed this.

His wife Sue said he would not walk away from baseball when his contract was up this December.

She was right.

Selig took over as commissioner after Fay Vincent was canned in 1992.

29 out of the 30 MLB team owners voted to give him the extension.

Who was the one who voted no?

The AP was told by a source that wished to remain anonymous that it was San Diego Padres owner John Moores. He voted no in response to Selig’s deferment of a vote to sell the Padres to Jeff Moorad.

Selig said he deferred the vote because he needed some clarification on some financial information concerning the deal.

Apparently Moores didn’t take to kindly to this.

The other team owners basically started a movement to keep Selig.

His popularity most likely stems from the labor peace the MLB has had over the past 17 years.

There has not been a dispute since 1995, and Selig helped settle the labor arguments after the last of eight work stoppages occurred that year.

Selig helped get an agreement signed between the player’s union and owners in 2011 that guarantees no labor disputes through 2015.

This means the MLB will have had a 20-year run of labor peace under his tutelage.

In case you’re still wondering, Selig is my favorite commissioner of any major professional American sport. Roger Goodell and David Stern both just stared down strikes and major labor disputes. Stern — the worst of the bunch — saw half his 2012 season go up in smoke because he couldn’t get everyone to agree on a deal for so long.

Stern, who has been the center of several controversies during his tenure as the NBA commish, proved late last year by vetoing a trade that he can and will overstep his boundaries to try to appease the small-market teams who don’t want big and rich teams to stack up talent.

Sucks to be them. Either find a way to make more money, better the players you have or decide that losing is alright for you, NBA small-markets. Don’t hide behind Stern while begging him to keep the Lakers from getting better.

Also on Franklin County Times
Red Bay halts use of Flock cameras
Main, News, Red Bay, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
August 26, 2026
RED BAY — Councilmembers have voted to take the city’s Flock Safety license plate recognition cameras offline until officials finalize a policy govern...
Town council prepares to levy fines for unsafe buildings
Main, News, Phil Campbell, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
August 26, 2026
PHIL CAMPBELL — Town officials will begin preparing the paperwork needed to levy fines for a group of dilapidated buildings after negotiations with th...
Firefighters must stay ready for emergencies at all times
News, Records, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
August 26, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — From operating the department’s aerial truck to practicing rope rescues and dive boat operations, city firefighters spend hours each we...
Super voters are the ones who count most in polls
Columnists, Editorials, Opinion
August 26, 2026
Ask most people what a poll is for and they’ll say it tells you who’s winning. In a low-turnout election, that’s the easy part. The hard part — the pa...
Training highlights Institution Days
Columnists, Editorials, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
August 26, 2026
As a former educator, I can remember attending numerous Institute Days. Even after retirement, I still can return to schools in our area and see educa...
RC&D awards $175K to fund 26 projects
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
August 26, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE – The Northwest Alabama RC&D Council has awarded $175,000 to 26 projects to purchase public safety equipment, make school improvements, a...
Scholarship committee gets $5K for food trailer
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
August 26, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — A $5,000 grant from the Northwest Alabama Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D) helped the Franklin County Branch of the...
Russellville wins thriller over Deshler to begin new era under Coach Higgins
High School Sports, Russellville Golden Tigers, Sports
Brannon King For the FCT 
August 26, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — The Golden Tigers held off a late Deshler comeback attempt to earn a 28-27 win at home to give new head coach Darrell Higgins his first...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *