With Bud Selig about to retire, Rob Neyer recalls the time he was chewed out by the commissioner. This section resonated with me. Rob was in St. Louis when Mark McGwire passed Roger Maris in 1998:

McGwire hit his 60th homer on the 5th of September, so there was absolutely no doubt about if, but rather when he would catch and pass Maris. I was in Busch Stadium when he caught him, and again the next night when he passed him. All I remember about that night are 1) a sweet Cardinals fan giving me a small troll doll, 2) McGwire’s record-breaker just sneaking over the fence down the left-field line; I believe it was his shortest homer of the whole season; and 3) Commissioner Bud Selig commandeering the field after the game and literally sucking the life out of things with yet another of his terrible speeches.

OK, not literally. But just the fact that I’ve used “literally” incorrectly says something about the impression Selig made on me that night. I know this wasn’t the only thing I wrote about that night. But on a night when I should have been focused solely on McGwire and his signature moment, I was instead writing about Selig. Which I think set the tone for my future writings about him. What sort of person, I wondered, so utterly lacks the self-awareness and humility that would allow him to just get the hell out of the way when a big moment arrives? What sort of person really believes the fans want to listen to him at such a moment?

I know how Rob feels. I cringe whenever Bud gets up to speak at an event. I don’t know if Rob Manfred is any better, but if not, I hope he has the good sense to appoint someone to speak at these great events who and keep things short and to the point.