What the Hell Happened to Bud Selig?

Growing up in the Milwaukee area, Bud Selig is name you know without question. Selig is known for owner the Milwaukee Brewers, enjoying Gilles Custard like the rest of us do around southeastern Wisconsin and a guy whom fought like hell to get a new stadium ensuring Milwaukee would not move from a place they have called home since 1970. Even though his daughter took over the team after he became MLB Commissioner and nearly tanked the franchise, there was no real reason to consider Selig a 'bad guy.'  In fact, people saw Selig as one of the reasons to be proud of Milwaukee. 

Let's fast forward to 2014. Selig is 81 years old and still going as commissioner in what will be his final year of being the head honcho. Unfortunately for Selig, he has a head that can barely fit in most door frames these days with his latest antic of giving himself the Bud Selig Leadership Award which is just another disappointing dent from Selig in the last year and a half with his desire to have a 'Mariano Rivera' send-off as well as everything he has done to distance himself from how ignoring steroids to preserve baseball in Selig's early years as commissioner. 

The Selig Leadership Award might be the height of obscurity and stupidity from him. Just like people do not give themselves their own nicknames, people do not give themselves their own awards for quote 'leadership.' If you want to start an award named after yourself, that's fine, people do that all the time whether it be in business, sports, politics, etc and while it is a little egomaniacal, it nothing compared to acting like a complete egomaniac by giving yourself the first annual award. There are a great deal of baseball players deserving of an award like the one Selig is handing out, but all this seems like another move for Selig patting himself on the back for 'fixing baseball' which is a puzzling way to look at things. 

Selig wants this nationwide tour of all the stadiums, but really what the hell does he expect when they go there?  Baseball fans are a little less rabid than other sports therefore is I do not believe people will boo him like National Football League fans would to their commissioner Roger Goodell if he were to pull something like this in the next decade. But what does Selig really expect? A standing ovation from all of these places?  The hilarity of it all is one of his worst receptions could come in the city he ensured would have baseball in Milwaukee. Hypothetically speaking, if I were there, I would probably remain in my seat with one big eye roll.  It is senseless to boo, but it is senseless to cheer for a guy that needed steroids to keep his sport alive to trying to eliminate the evidence like nothing happen making him this white knight of baseball which is entirely flawed. 

Honestly, I do not have a problem with PED suspensions. If that's what Major League Baseball wants out of the sport,  fine, that's their prerogative even if I feel like there is a discussion needed about how HGH and other stuff can help heal injuries faster without much consequence. But what I do take issue with Selig is the totalitarian rulings of suspensions can be anything and everything pending on the player a la Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun. That's not okay. Selig is trying to basically wipe the blood clean off his hands that nothing happened in baseball in the late 90's.  But what's still there is Ken Caminiti whom won 1996 MVP unanimously chalked full of steroids. That will always be there, Commissioner Selig.  

I do not think Selig is a bad guy, let's get that straight. I am forever grateful and thankful he did everything he could to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee. As well as help mold this city into what it is today.  And those are the exact reasons why I am disappointed this is the man he has become in his final days of commissioner.

Charlie.