Effectively Wild Episode 1400: Bud Selig Speaks
Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast
Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley
4.7 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 5 July 2019
⏱️ 79 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Sam Malone maligning the Mariners, the unlikely career of pinch-hitter extraordinaire Mark Sweeney, the joys of watching Fernando Tatis, Jr., Bryce Harper’s Amazon store, and the definition of “MLB legend.” Then (29:43) Ben talks to Hall of Famer Bud Selig, Commissioner Emeritus and author of the new memoir For the Good of the Game, about Selig’s career, how he built consensus, the mistakes owners made in the ’70s and ’80s, collusion, how MLB missed opportunities to promote itself, steroid testing and Barry Bonds, public ballpark funding, the rise of MLBAM and big broadcast contracts, the future of competitive balance and labor peace, and more. Lastly (56:13), Ben and Meg reconvene to discuss Selig’s comments and analyze his complex legacy.
Audio intro: Rob Orbison, "(I’d Be) A Legend in My Time"
Audio interstitial 1: Willie Nelson, "Buddy"
Audio interstitial 2: Reba McEntire, "That’s What He Said"
Audio outro: Superchunk, "I Guess I Remembered it Wrong"
Link to Frasier clip
Link to THT article about baseball on Cheers
Link to SABRcast episode with Sweeney
Link to Harper store
Link to Harper hair products
Link to Selig’s memoir
Link to Ben on the baseball and the steroid era
Link to Ben on Selig and Hall of Fame voting
Link to Ben on Lords of the Realm
Link to Brewers economic impact study
Link to order The MVP Machine
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | If lonelyness but were a claim |
| 0:07.0 | Then every one would go my name |
| 0:14.0 | I'd be a legend |
| 0:18.0 | In my time |
| 0:24.0 | Hello and welcome to episode 1400 of Effectively Wild |
| 0:31.0 | A baseball podcast and band graphs presented by our Patreon supporters |
| 0:35.0 | I am Ben Lemberg of the banger |
| 0:37.0 | joined by Meg Rally of Vangrass of the Nick |
| 0:40.0 | Hello, hope you all had a happy 4th of July |
| 0:43.0 | Later in this episode I will be talking to none other than Bud Seelig |
| 0:48.0 | Hall of Famer, former commissioner and author with Phil Rogers of a new memoir |
| 0:52.0 | that comes out next week for the good of the game |
| 0:55.0 | I was offered an opportunity to talk to Seelig and I took it |
| 0:59.0 | He is a very influential figure and I think a fascinating figure |
| 1:02.0 | Whatever you think of his legacy which is kind of complicated |
| 1:06.0 | So I think we will run that interview and then you and I will reassemble after that |
| 1:12.0 | to discuss what he said and what we think of his very long tenure in baseball |
| 1:17.0 | But before that a few frivolous things to get to for me |
| 1:22.0 | So I recently with my wife Jesse completed a binge of cheers |
| 1:27.0 | Which took us years I had somewhat fond memories of seeing cheers when it was still airing |
| 1:33.0 | Or maybe when it was in reruns when I was very young |
| 1:36.0 | And I used to watch it with my grandparents and would see it from time to time |
... |
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