Bud Selig to be named “Commissioner Emeritus”

This morning I observed that Bud Selig is going to be paid $6 million a year to do “jack squat.” Well, there will be some squat to it at least. And a fancy title. From MLB:

Major League Baseball Commissioner-Elect Rob Manfred today announced that he has given the sport’s longtime leader, Allan H. (Bud) Selig, the title of Commissioner Emeritus, which will be effective on January 25^th, when he officially retires as Commissioner. As Commissioner Emeritus, Selig will be available to advise Manfred and to assist with special projects as Manfred begins his term as Commissioner.

Manfred added that “this role will allow the game to benefit from his unmatched institutional knowledge, experience and relationships,” and that he “could not ask for a finer mentor during this transition process.”

Whether that is worth $6 million is not, I suppose, our call.

It’s interesting that Manfred would keep Selig in an official position of sorts given that doing so could make it harder for him put his own stamp on the job. While things have gone smoothly in baseball in the past several years, there are things that people within the game want to change and accomplish that Selig was not always a big fan of, and a clean break makes that easier. This happens with every leadership transition in every field, even in friendly transitions. That baseball isn’t doing that is interesting to say the least.