In the Best Interests of Baseball? The Revolutionary Reign of Bud Selig - Hardcover

Zimbalist, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471735337 ISBN 13: 9780471735335

Publisher: Wiley, 2006

Synopsis

"Once again, Andy Zimbalist proves that no one understands the mysterious inner workings of the best game on earth better than he does. With energy, thoughtfulness, and passion, he has parsed the complicated world of baseball and shown how important its business side is to its soul—and its survival."
—Ken Burns

"By looking at baseball from the perspective of the commissioner's office and its many challenges, Professor Zimbalist has been able to use his scholar's eye and his fan's heart to see the game as an ongoing enterprise that needs refreshment. The fair but unsparing portrait of Bud Selig he paints is of a man who is nobody's fool and nobody's tool—and now, those of us who love the game need him to start the rally that will restore baseball in America's esteem."
—Scott Simon, host of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday and author of Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball and Home and Away: Memoir of a Fan

"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."
—Fay Vincent, former commissioner of baseball

"Tremendously enjoyable and a must-read for baseball fans. Guaranteed to raise the level of discourse on sports-talk radio."
—Jim Bouton, former 20-game winning pitcher for the Yankees and author of Ball Four

"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 Moores, owner of the Padres and member of MLB's Executive Council

"I always thought Yogi Berra was the wisest source on baseball, but Zimbalist has hit a grand slam here."
—Tom Werner, owner of the Red Sox and former owner of the Padres

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

So what impact have Selig's thirteen years at the top had on the sport? How have his policies changed baseball, and how will they influence the future of the game? Few people are in a better position to answer these questions than sports economist, consultant, labor negotiator, award-winning author, and baseball fan Andrew Zimbalist. In this thoughtful, balanced, but hard-hitting critique of Selig's tenure, Zimbalist examines the commissioner's performance in every aspect of the job. Among the more controversial topics he probes into are:

• Conflicts of interest arising from Selig's original role as owner/commissioner
• Selig's response to the growing steroids scandal
• The commissioner's role in promoting and marketing the sport
• Player relations and the collective-bargaining agreement
• Major changes in the game made on Selig's watch
• Leadership—getting owners to think beyond their wallets for the good of the game
• Selig's growing compensation

Underlying this very public evaluation is a far more challenging question: given the legal, economic, and political architecture of Major League Baseball, can any commissioner act in the best interests of the game? Zimbalist examines the history of MLB, the pervasive effects of its 1922 antitrust exemption, and the ambiguous role of the commissioner's post since its inception in 1921. He compares Selig's performance to those of other commissioners and explains how and why Bud has functioned in a dramatically different fashion from his predecessors and thus has had a far greater impact on the sport.

Based on dozens of interviews with Selig, baseball COO Bob DuPuy, and scores of baseball insiders and interested outsiders, as well as mountains of historic baseball documents, In the Best Interests of Baseball? challenges everything you think you know about the game, the Major Leagues, the players, the owners, and, most of all, the man at the helm.

About the Author:

Andrew Zimbalist is the Robert A. Woods Professor of Economics at Smith College. An award-winning writer, media commentator, and consultant in the sports industry, Zimbalist has worked with players’ unions, cities, owners, and leagues.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0471735337
• ISBN 13: 9780471735335
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 250