Like bigotry, the best kind of corruption is that which takes place in public, so everyone can witness and mock it.
It would be difficult to prove the San Diego Padres renaming the plaza at Petco Park as “Bud Selig Hall of Fame Plaza” is a quid pro quo exchange for hosting their first All-Star Game since 1992, but any other justification is elusive.
In honouring Major League Baseball’s outgoing commissioner, Padres president Michael Dee said the organisation “wanted to do something to recognise his contributions here in San Diego because they are unique.” Those contributions are not the kind to be commemorated.
This is the same Selig who allowed then-owner Tom Werner to trade Gary Sheffield, Randy Myers, Tony Fernandez, Benito Santiago and others despite the Padres being in play-off contention late in the 1993 season. In return, the Padres received Trevor Hoffman and an assortment of minor-league players.
This is the same Selig whose employers precipitated the strike that ended the 1994 season early, costing Padres legend Tony Gwynn a chance at hitting .400. He finished the season at .394. He also helped botch the sale of the Padres in 2008, resulting in four years of delays and the team losing US$200 million (Dh734.6m) in television revenue.
Since the plaza was renamed, Selig called San Diego “better than a prime candidate” to host an All-Star Game. If true, the bar for gaining the favour of MLB’s grand poobah is worryingly low.
pfreelend@thenational.ae
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