I’ve said it before and it bears repeating:  Bud Selig is the greatest commissioner in the history of Major League Baseball.  And he’s got the resume and annual salary to prove it.  
Selig pulls down approximately $18.5 million per year, more than any other commissioner in U.S. professional sports history.  Perhaps that’s fitting for someone who has presided over an industry that has gone from an estimated $1.2 billion in total revenues in 1992 when Selig first took office as the interim commissioner, to a figure north of $7 billion in 2011.  Selig may or may not be directly responsible for the six-fold increase in revenue the sport has experienced during his tenure, but the person at the top gets the credit for the good and the blame for the bad.  That’s just a fact of life in the real world.
Despite the game’s financial success and widely popular innovations such as the wild card, Selig’s legacy includes a number of PR gaffs.  Who can forget the picture of a furious Selig during the 2002 All Star Game in Milwaukee, the commissioner’s home town, as he listened to the managers tell him they were out of pitchers?  The commissioner was forced to call the game a 7-7 tie after the 11th inning.  And why did Selig take responsibility for the cancellation of the 1994 World Series when it was the players who were out on strike?  But no prior PR misstep can surpass the one that took place on Sunday, September 11, 2011.  
In honor of 9/11, a seminal event not only for New Yorkers but every person who is old enough to remember that tragic day, ceremonies honoring the victims of 9/11 were held in virtually every nook and cranny of this country.  Baseball was an emotional refuge for many Americans ten years ago and every Major League ballpark took part in this year’s 9/11 activities.  Due to the significance of the date, ESPN Sunday Night Baseball elected to broadcast the New York Mets-Chicago Cubs game from Citi Field in New York, even though both teams had ceased to be relevant months ago.  
In keeping with the theme of remembrance, Mets players wanted to wear headgear during the game that honored the police and fire departments of New York City.  Apparently, the caps weren’t offensive to MLB because they allowed the players to wear them during pre-game activities and offered them for sale on the league’s website.  Nevertheless, MLB not only refused to grant its approval, they allegedly threatened the players with fines if they dared to violate the edict.
MLB trotted out the dual mantra of league “policy” and “guidelines” to justify its position.  While every sports league has uniform guidelines, usually based on marketing and sponsorship agreements with manufacturers, i.e., monetary considerations, common sense should always trump policy and guidelines.  
One of the most absurd examples of adherence to policy occurred in the NFL in 2005 when then San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Nolan wanted to wear a jacket and tie during games to honor the memory of his father Ted, who dressed similarly when he roamed the sidelines as coach of the Niners during the 1970s.  The NFL had an agreement with Reebok, which required all league personnel to wear only Reebok-branded gear on game day.  Unfortunately for the younger Nolan, Reebok didn’t manufacture jackets and ties at the time.  So while Bill Belichick’s rumpled hoodies were in, Nolan’s jackets and ties were out.  
On the tenth anniversary of 9/11, MLB came off as insensitive and unpatriotic.  While Pete Rose might accuse the commissioner of the former, no one should accuse him of the latter.  But when it comes to PR, perception morphs into reality.  The controversy proved once again that despite the league’s financial success during his reign, Selig’s image is one of a bumbling neophyte.  
We’ll never know who made the decision to prohibit the Mets players from wearing the commemorative headgear.  However, Selig is the league’s CEO, the most visible member of MLB’s hierarchy.  He takes the credit, deserved or otherwise, when the news is good, and must therefore take the heat when things go bad.  And they don’t get much worse than this.  Headgear-Gate was a disaster that will live in league infamy.       

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