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Selig hits it big with students

After more than 40 years of working in the same industry, it's easy to get worn out, lose passion and throw in the towel.

Not for Bud Selig.

After 14 years as commissioner of Major League Baseball and 42 in the baseball business, Bud Selig is still passionate about the game he's followed since he was a little boy.

Selig spoke at Hillel Theater Tuesday night, telling fans in attendance that they were witnessing the "golden age of baseball."

The MLB is on its way to setting an attendance record this year, Selig said, as 73 million fans have watched games so far this year, less than two million short of the record set in 2005.

"Obviously, I'm partial, but baseball is the greatest game there is," Selig said, adding that many of the games this year have been "mind-boggling."

Dominating much of baseball news in recent years, though, has been the steroid scandal that has left some fans skeptical about players like San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds.

Selig addressed the scandal, admitting there is more work to be done, but added he believes baseball in on the right track.

"What I try to say to people all the time is the steroid controversy is a manifestation of the society we live in," he said. "It's a very, very, sad problem."

What moved Selig to crack down even further on steroids, he said, was a meeting last year with Donald Hooton, whose son, a high school baseball player, committed suicide as a result of steroid use.

"It was a heartbreaking story," he said. "[Hooton] made a stunning impression on me."

Selig said people have criticized him for not recognizing the problem sooner, but said a Hall of Fame sports writer said to him, "How would you know? I'm in the clubhouse everyday, and I didn't know."

Bonds is on pace to break Hank Aaron's career home run record, and Selig said MLB has every intention of recognizing it.

"We will be very appropriate if and when Barry breaks the record," Selig said.

Selig did not want to comment on the steroid policies of other professional sports leagues, but said baseball is held to a "higher standard" than other sports.

"Baseball is a social institution — that's what it is," Selig said. "It's bigger than a sport; it has an enormous amount of social responsibility."

With some teams in bigger markets earning more revenue than smaller clubs, Selig said it's imperative for each team to have a fair chance to succeed.

"The most important part of our sport are the two words that I use at owners' meeting," Selig said. "Our job is to provide hope and faith — hope and faith that your team has a chance to win."

Selig also discussed his pride in inter-league play in baseball, a concept he fought for from the 1970s until it was enacted until 1996.

"It's made new rivalries," Selig said, including one between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers when the two teams were in separate leagues.

As he was watching one of the first inter-league games between the Cubs and Brewers, Selig said he was listening to Brewers announcer Bob Uecker on the radio and watching the Cubs' Harry Carey on television.

"Harry Carey was saying, 'What took them so long? This is really wonderful.'" Selig said. "And I'm not ashamed to say I cried."

While being baseball's greatest administrator, Selig remains one of the game's biggest fans.

Of all his memories of baseball, Selig said one his most unforgettable was in 1957, when he uncharacteristically skipped an accounting class to watch the Brewers play the St. Louis Cardinals for the National League championship.

The Brewers won that game, and the next day, the New York Times ran a large photo of Aaron, and next to it was a picture from Little Rock, Ark., of white people beating up blacks during the Civil Rights movement, he said

"I've still got that newspaper, and I've shown it to a lot of people," he added. "It was an amazing contradiction."

Selig also shared his excitement for the new World Baseball Classic and potential of the Brewers' young talent.

Members of the Jewish Cultural Collective, which sponsored the event, said they were proud to have the commissioner of Major League baseball speaking to their group.

"Commissioner Selig has been a major influence on major changes in baseball," JCC events coordinator Jacey Bader said. "He is a well respected man who's given a great amount to the game of baseball."

Andrew Rubin, chair of JCC, said they were "proud" to have Selig speak at Hillel Theater.

Selig graduated from University Wisconsin-Madison in 1957, originally coming to the school with the intention of becoming a history professor.

"Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined where my career would take me," Selig said.

Selig plans to retire as commissioner when his contract ends in 2009. Following his retirement, Selig plans to write a book and finally pursue teaching.