Baseball Commissioner

Clearly, brick and steel age more gracefully than the rest of us, because Oriole Park is about to celebrate its 20th birthday on Opening Day Friday and who can believe it is already the 10th-oldest ballpark in the major leagues? Time does fly, in this case seemingly faster than an Adam Jones line drive or a Jake Arrieta heater. The stadium that changed the way stadiums are built was an instant classic. Now, it's simply the grande dame of the post-modern era of sports architecture, but its continuing impact on both baseball and Baltimore cannot be overestimated.

Clearly, brick and steel age more gracefully than the rest of us, because Oriole Park is about to celebrate its 20th birthday on Opening Day Friday and who can believe it is already the 10th-oldest ballpark in the major leagues? Time does fly, in this case seemingly faster than an Adam Jones line drive or a Jake Arrieta heater. The stadium that changed the way stadiums are built was an instant classic. Now, it's simply the grande dame of the post-modern era of sports architecture, but its continuing impact on both baseball and Baltimore cannot be overestimated.

THE hubbub over Fay Vincent, commissioner of baseball, who resigned at the request of 18 of the 28 major league team owners, could have been avoided if a proposal we heard the other day had been enacted.The proposal: Have the American people elect the commissioner in the quadrennial presidential elections.It's the "national pastime," after all, so why shouldn't the nation have a say in who runs the game? Besides, having an election for baseball commissioner will bring out the vote.Most of the Joe (and quite a few of the Jane)

Getting rid of Brian Billick? Let us count the whys Since Brian Billick was fired as Ravens coach, I have read and heard many comments by sportswriters and fans that owner Steve Bisciotti made a mistake. The reasons varied, but the fact that Billick won a Super Bowl and had a winning record were always part of their rationale. Those facts notwithstanding, here are reasons why Billick had to be fired: Terrible play-calling Horrendous time management Nonexistent team discipline Excessive number of penalties An offense that has been the laughingstock of the NFL for years He lost the respect of many veteran players The only mistake Bisciotti made was giving Billick a four-year contract.

SOME TEXANS want Gov. Ann Richards to send herself to the Senate when Lloyd Bentsen resigns to become secretary of the Treasury.Governor Richards can't take this seriously. She must know the history of such self-promotions. Nine times in the past, governors have, in effect, appointed themselves to the Senate, and eight times they have then been defeated when they ran for election to the office.The one exception was A.B. "Happy" Chandler, whose name I left out of last Monday's column about senators who resigned to take higher office.

NEW YORK -- In removing himself from consideration for the U.S. Supreme Court, Sen. George Mitchell put himself into position yesterday to be named the next baseball commissioner.Baseball officials would not say that Mitchell was their man for the job, which has been unfilled the last 19 months. But people familiar with their thinking said they were prepared to move quickly to get him before someone else did.Mitchell, D-Maine, who announced last month that he would not seek re-election, has not said that he would accept the job of commissioner if it were offered.

WASHINGTON - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, acknowledging that steroid use threatens "the integrity of the game," has proposed toughening penalties more than fivefold for a first offense and imposing a lifetime ban for a third violation. In a memorandum to baseball's 30 teams, Selig - criticized by Congress for being too lax - said the sport needs "prompt, decisive and dramatic action" to end the use of illegal performance boosters that he says cheat non-users and set "a terrible example" for the nation's youth.

The forced resignation of Fay Vincent as baseball commissioner is a skirmish in a longer battle. Every commissioner except the legendary Kennesaw Mountain Landis, who pioneered the position in the wake of the Black Sox scandal of 1919, and A. Bartlett Giamatti, who died after just five months in office, has struggled with the sport's owners over the powers of the office. One way or another, they all lost. Though Mr. Vincent cast his initial refusal to resign in the face of a no-confidence vote last week as a defense of the commissioner's power to act in the best interests of baseball, the issue may be narrower than that.

The search for a baseball commissioner is over. It did not stray an inch from where it began.Bud Selig, who has served in the role of commissioner for nearly six years without having the title, has decided to accept the job he had resisted taking, several people in ownership and high-ranking positions in Major League Baseball said yesterday.Two people, one a high-ranking official in baseball and one who is not in baseball but has close contacts with people in the sport's hierarchy, said an announcement could be made by the All-Star Game, which is July 7. An owner said it could be forthcoming in two to four weeks.

Andrew Ervin is one of many fans who think they could run Major League Baseball.What separates Ervin from those who only dream about the chance is that he actually applied for the job.Ervin, 22, a native of Media, Pa., and a senior philosophy major at Goucher College, said he "was looking for a summer job, and I realized that the commissioner's office was open."So, Ervin sent a 1 1/2 -page letter and resume to Milwaukee Brewers president Bud Selig, head of baseball's ruling Executive Council, in March, saying "why I'd make a great commissioner."

DETROIT - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig would love to use the sweeping powers of his office to rid the sport of performance-enhancing drugs ... if only his powers were as sweeping as some people would like to believe. Selig has asked the Major League Baseball Players Association to join him in adopting a much tougher steroid-testing program than the one that currently appears to be working just fine, because the fact that it seems to be working is only half the battle. "I believe this is an integrity issue," Selig said yesterday.

DETROIT - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig would love to use the sweeping powers of his office to rid the sport of performance- enhancing drugs if only his powers were as sweeping as some people would like to believe. Selig has asked the Major League Baseball Players Association to join him in adopting a much tougher steroid-testing program than the one that currently appears to be working just fine, because the fact that it seems to be working is only half the battle. "I believe this is an integ rity issue."

WASHINGTON - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, acknowledging that steroid use threatens "the integrity of the game," has proposed toughening penalties more than fivefold for a first offense and imposing a lifetime ban for a third violation. In a memorandum to baseball's 30 teams, Selig - criticized by Congress for being too lax - said the sport needs "prompt, decisive and dramatic action" to end the use of illegal performance boosters that he says cheat non-users and set "a terrible example" for the nation's youth.

PHOENIX - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig repeated yesterday that "all options are on the table" in the industry's attempt to achieve economic balance, and refused to rule out the dissolution of one or two teams before the start of the 2002 season. "Can it be worked out for 2002?" Selig said. "I can't tell you. I wouldn't rule it out." Ownership officials have been floating the idea of contraction as a possible solution to the large- market/small-market quandary that has troubled Major League Baseball for the past couple of decades, but it could only be accomplished in time for next season if management can cut a side deal with the Major League Baseball Players Association before full-scale bargaining begins on a new labor agreement.

SAN FRANCISCO - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has a lot on his mind these days. Baseball is heading into another labor storm and the economics of the game soon might force him to make some painful decisions, but he is determined not to let anything get in the way of this season's feel-good finish. Barry Bonds will be in Houston tonight to continue his assault on Mark McGwire's single-season home run record. He needs one to tie Big Mac at 70 and another to erase a 3-year-old mark that was expected to stand a long, long time.

WASHINGTON - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said yesterday that he remains committed to finding an economic framework that will bridge the huge revenue gap between Major League Baseball's richest and poorest teams, but he stopped well short of predicting another game of hardball with the Major League Baseball Players Association. Selig, speaking before a luncheon crowd at the National Press Club, restated the need for greater economic parity among the 30 major-league clubs and reasserted his commitment to find a solution that would restore hope to fans of the game's struggling franchises.

PHOENIX - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig repeated yesterday that "all options are on the table" in the industry's attempt to achieve economic balance, and refused to rule out the dissolution of one or two teams before the start of the 2002 season. "Can it be worked out for 2002?" Selig said. "I can't tell you. I wouldn't rule it out." Ownership officials have been floating the idea of contraction as a possible solution to the large- market/small-market quandary that has troubled Major League Baseball for the past couple of decades, but it could only be accomplished in time for next season if management can cut a side deal with the Major League Baseball Players Association before full-scale bargaining begins on a new labor agreement.

DETROIT - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig would love to use the sweeping powers of his office to rid the sport of performance-enhancing drugs ... if only his powers were as sweeping as some people would like to believe. Selig has asked the Major League Baseball Players Association to join him in adopting a much tougher steroid-testing program than the one that currently appears to be working just fine, because the fact that it seems to be working is only half the battle. "I believe this is an integrity issue," Selig said yesterday.

Interim baseball commissioner Bud Selig insists that published reports of his impending coronation have been greatly exaggerated, which can only mean one thing.Selig, who often says no when he means yes, will soon put his ownership interest in the Milwaukee Brewers in trust and become the first baseball commissioner to serve a full term since, well, Bud Selig.In other words, nothing has changed and nothing will. Selig has been the world's highest-paid telephone operator since he filled the leadership vacuum left when the owners forced former commissioner Fay Vincent out of office six years ago. Selig rules by conference call, taking the pulse of ownership on every issue and taking the heat when the consensus becomes a curse -- as it did during the last labor war.It's no wonder that, among the owners, he might be the most popular commissioner in history.

The search for a baseball commissioner is over. It did not stray an inch from where it began.Bud Selig, who has served in the role of commissioner for nearly six years without having the title, has decided to accept the job he had resisted taking, several people in ownership and high-ranking positions in Major League Baseball said yesterday.Two people, one a high-ranking official in baseball and one who is not in baseball but has close contacts with people in the sport's hierarchy, said an announcement could be made by the All-Star Game, which is July 7. An owner said it could be forthcoming in two to four weeks.