Selig’s response
Bud Selig has been roundly castigated for his tepid response to Bonds record-tying HR in San Diego, and rightfully so. For anyone who’s been living under the proverbial rock the past couple days and has *not* seen the footage, let me see if I can paint you a picture.
Imagine a 60-something fella in a marriage to a woman he stopped loving thirty years ago. She berates him enough that he agrees to skip his weekly golf league to instead attend his wife’s nephew’s confirmation. Being an atheist himself, he has no clue what to do - and given he doesn’t want to be in church for this event, and anywhere near his wife, he’s visibly annoyed and uninterested. At the moment that his wife’s nephew is confirmed (big deal in the Catholic church), everyone around him rises and celebrates - and the fella has to be prodded to stand and join the celebration. But even then, all he can think about is the guys would be finishing 18 right about that point and he’d much rather be in the clubhouse at the local muni than in church… so he doesn’t even bother to join the celebration or confer a positive vibe in any verbal or nonverbal way.
Does that paint a picture for you? That was Bud Selig Saturday night. He clearly didn’t want to be there, and consciously or subconsciously, made that abundantly clear during the seminal moment of Barry Bonds’ career, and the biggest moment of what was a weekend full of big individual moments.
In the end, Bud was just remaining true to himself as a fence-sitting buffoon incapable of making a decision in a Quixotic effort to appease the masses. Remember how he looked in the 12 inning of that embarassing ASG tie? He looked 100x more ridiculous this time - but the two incidents are linked (and are not alone in the “career highlights” video of Selig’s reign as commissioner).
Unlike Fay Vincent or or Bart Giamatti, for example, Selig is incapable of making a decision and sticking to it. He’s so concerned with how everyone will react to his decisions, that he flip-flops more than a politician on the campaign trail falling further and further behind in the race. The whole: Will he be there or won’t he? BS was a joke. I’d have far more respect for him if he, like Aaron, simply said that he wouldn’t be there - and left it at that. Would he be open to some criticism? Yup - but at least he’d take a position.
Alternately, if he went there and engaged Bonds at least *once* during the nine days (so far) that he’s followed him around, and showed genuine appreciation for what Bonds accomplished, then he’d be open for some criticism… yes - but at least he’d take a position.
Instead, he goes there to try and placate the side that insists he should be there - but shows absolutely no reaction to history being made, in an effort to placate the other side which says he shouldn’t be supporting Bonds. What a joke. Pick a freakin’ side. Instead he does both… and in so doing, does neither… and looks like a freakin’ clown (again).