Seven days after the unveiling of a statue bearing his likeness outside of Miller Park, Bud Selig sent this letter to former home run champion Roy Sievers.
Dated August 31, 2010, the letter reads in part, “Dear Roy, Just a short note to thank you for the wonderful card of congratulations which you sent to me. It was a great day with extraordinary emotion and I was really honored to have all of my players back to celebrate with us.”
The man who unilaterally retired Jackie Robinson‘s #42,Bud Selig earned respect for his stewardship of America’s National Pastime. Under his watch, baseball centralized the umpiring staff and introduced instant-replay, making it the most accurately-officiated professional game on his continent.
Selig’s reign brought three-division play to each league, their accompanying divisional races, and the expanded playoff format.
Thanks to this vision, every summer millions of fans in cities across America owe their thanks to Hall of Fame member Allan “Bud” Selig.