I hate Bud Selig

Ok, yes this happened over a month ago. However, I still feel the need to vent.

How old is Bud Selig now? Well, he turns 76 this month. Currently the average life expectancy for American males is 75.6 years (from wikipedia). He's older than Nylon, canned beer, photocopiers, ballpoint pens and strobe lighting. Let's just agree that he's old. We all have old people in our lives. The majority of them I wouldn't want making any major decisions for me. I don't want them to drive me anywhere. I don't want them buying clothes for me. I don't want to stand behind them at the grocery store. You get the idea.

So why do I want them running Major League Baseball? Seriously. A sport that needs to hold on to as many young viewers as possible is being run by someone over 3 quarters of a century old. How can we expect him to rationally settle something like the Armando Galarraga "Perfect Game" situation?

Ok, now you know why I hate Bud Selig. I believe he dropped the ball on the Galarraga situation. The kid pitched a perfect game. A terrible call in the 9th wiped out this tremendous accomplishment. The ump agreed he made a bad call and has apologized profusely. The Detroit Tigers acknowledged it by giving Galarraga a car. It is 100% clear the call was wrong. Why not change it?

A lot of "experts" are claiming that by changing the call in favor of Galarraga would open Pandora's box. That people would start questioning every important call. However, I don't see how that is relevant in this situation. First of all, the call had no effect on the outcome of the game. Because nothing else in the game would have changed save for an out that was made by the next batter, they should be allowed to review this call and change it. It is in the best interest of the game. Selig still wouldn't need to interfere with other games. He could still keep his distance because this was a special situation. It was purely a record-keeping error and not a game changing event.

Another aspect is that EVERYBODY agreed that the call was wrong. Almost every time there is a bad call, you'll find someone arguing both sides. This time there was only one side. How could you argue with everybody?

Shame on you Bud Selig. This game is for the fans, it's not for you. You should have given us this one. Instead, you've made me hate you and despise the way my favorite sport is being run. Yes, you may keep the older generation of baseball fans happy. You've made it public that you consult with other hall-of-famers and baseball experts, but guess what... they are old too. They are the people who are afraid technology will ruin the game. The people who are fine with bad calls and no consequences. But if you want the game to live on, you need to have a younger audience. You need to stop acting like a senior citizen... oh wait, you have been one for 10 years!

Sorry for rambling. I just don't understand how Selig made this decision. Baseball exists because people watch it. People watch baseball because it makes them happy. Selig could have made people happy, but chose not to. Thanks a lot Bud.