Selig upbeat about Mets
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, center, stands on the field before the Opening Day baseball game between the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals. (April 4, 2012) Credit: AP
Bud Selig, speaking Thursday at the annual APSE commissioners meetings in Manhattan, opened by describing the "remarkable growth" that Major League Baseball is enjoying, not the least of which involves the recent sale of the Dodgers for $2.15 billion.
"We'll do well in excess of $7 billion this year," Selig said. "The only question is by how much."
Amid those rosy projections, however, is a somewhat dimmer outlook for the Mets, who will be digging out from under piles of debt for quite a while. Selig is a longtime friend of Fred Wilpon, so he preferred to accentuate the positive when asked about his level of concern for the Mets moving forward.
The relief expressed by the Mets' ownership group after last month's $162-million settlement with the Madoff trustee apparently was shared by the commissioner's office.
"Trite as it might sound to some," Selig said, "but I believe it and history will prove me to be right here, too. What I would say is that Fred Wilpon and family has been through a tough situation. I think it was ameliorated to some degree a month ago by the judge's decision and the trustee."
Selig's optimism, in part, is due to his trust in Sandy Alderson, who worked closely with the commissioner during two different MLB stints before taking the Mets' GM job in November 2010. In talking about the team's short-term prognosis, Selig revealed that he still keeps in touch with Alderson.
"I have a lot of faith in Sandy Alderson," Selig said. "He worked in this office for a long time. I've known him a long time. He's very smart, and he keeps assuring me, 'We're going to be OK.' I believe that.
"I feel OK about the Mets, and not because they've been playing better than anybody thought. Just talking to Sandy about the farm system -- what they have, what they don't have. My conversations with him have been surprisingly upbeat."
Also on the Mets-related agenda is the upcoming 2013 All-Star Game, which has unofficially been scheduled for Citi Field despite no formal announcement yet. Selig did not confirm those plans Thursday, but a person familiar with the process said the final details with the city are being ironed out.
"I can promise you very shortly there will an announcement on 2013," Selig said. As for the longer than usual wait, he added, "I just had a couple of other things I wanted to analyze before I did it."
