Selig to step down after 2012

Sources tell the Boston Herald that MLB commissioner Bud Selig will step down after his contract expires in 2012. Supposedly a group of owners went to Selig to try to convince him to stay, but the 75-year old wants to move on to other things.

The next CBA needs to be negotiated in 2011, so that will likely be his final act as commish. That is, unless he reinstates Pete Rose and/or puts an asterisk next to all of Barry Bonds’ accomplishments the day before leaving office.

For all the criticism that Selig has received over the years, he’s actually brought baseball to a great place. The Wild Card keeps more teams alive every year, meaning their fans have more reason to watch and attend games. Interleague play is criticized by some, but c’mon, it’s fun to watch AL pitchers try to hit. And Selig is the one that began the introduction or replay into the sport. That’s great unless your team is the one that gets the short end of the review stick on a play.

Early favorites to replace Selig are Bob Dupuy, Rob Manfred or Orioles GM Andy Macphail. We don’t know why these guys would be considered, but we read it somewhere and decided to repeat it.