Is It Time for Bud Selig To Step Down as Commissioner?

Even though Bud Selig holds the power to reverse the call made by Jim Joyce that cost Armando Galarraga his perfect game, the Commissioner has decided to uphold the call.

Even after the whole nation witnessed the botched call, along with some within the baseball community who called for the change immediately after it occurred, Selig easily hid behind his official press release that said he would examine the umpiring system and look into expanding the instant replay system.

We did not even find out that Selig had made his decision regarding the call until an anonymous MLB official confirmed it to the Associated Press.

The Commissioner’s response to this latest controversy has me thinking that it is finally time for someone new to come in and take charge of the MLB.

I am not just saying this just because I am an angry Tigers fan (which I am). I am saying this because Selig does not have a perfect track record.

After the 2001 World Series, Selig and former Montreal Expos owner Jeffery Loria were sued for racketeering and conspiring to deliberately defraud the Expos minority owners. This case would eventually be settled outside of court with the help of one of man's greatest weaknesses: money.

Of course the Steroid Era has stained my perception of the Commissioner. He implemented the current steroid policy, banning the use of performance enhancing drugs in 2005. This was a little too late when the Mitchell report released in 2007 listed 89 players who used performance enhancing drugs.

Now, in the wake of the latest controversy, Selig is finally looking to expand instant replay to reexamine calls that are made on the base paths, which should have been an addition when instant replay was first introduced to baseball.

Had Selig and other MLB officials done this, Galarraga would have the 21st perfect game in MLB history, the third in the 2010 season, and a new record occurring four days after Roy Halladay’s gem. Jim Joyce and his family would not be facing the threats that they have received, and everyone in America would be happy to see a deserving player succeed.