Baseball owners to vote for new commissioner to replace retiring Bud Selig

This will be a big week for baseball, one that could shape the game for decades to come.

Major League Baseball owners are scheduled to meet in Baltimore and will vote Thursday on a replacement for commissioner Bud Selig.

Selig, 80, announced his retirement last September, but he is scheduled to stay on the job until Jan. 24, 2015.

Baseball has been hush-hush about the search for a replacement. However, multiple news organizations have identified three finalists: MLB chief operating officer Rob Manfred, executive vice president for business Tim Brosnan and Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner.

A new commissioner must receive votes from 23 of 30 owners, and that doesn’t seem as likely as it did even a few months ago.

The New York Times reported that White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has worked to come up with eight votes to block Manfred.

“The (leadup to the meetings) will be about Bud versus Jerry,” a senior baseball official told The Times. “Bud is dismayed.”

Should a candidate not receive the necessary 23 votes? The owners reportedly will keep voting until there’s a winner.

So, this vote could be headed for extra innings.

Statistically speaking

The Rangers, through Thursday, led the majors with 35 losses in games in which they held a lead at some point.

On Tuesday night, the Cubs sent nine batters to the plate and scored three runs in the seventh against the Rockies without getting a hit; the Cubbies used six walks (two with the bases loaded) and a sacrifice fly to score the runs.

Carlos Beltran joined Darryl Strawberry and Robin Ventura as the only players to hit a grand slam for both the Yankees and the Mets. Beltran hit his first grand slam with the Yankees on Friday.

You need to know

Brewers starter Wily Peralta, in his second full season in the majors, was the first major-leaguer this season to win 14 games. The last second-year NL player to lead the majors in victories was Dwight Gooden, with 24 in 1985.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia joined Walter Alston (Dodgers), Tommy Lasorda (Dodgers) and Earl Weaver (Orioles) as the only managers to post at least 1,300 wins for one team in their first major-league managerial job. Scioscia won his 1,300th game Monday.

As of Friday, the Brewers have been in first place in the NL Central, either alone or tied, since April 5 — a franchise-record 124 consecutive days. The previous club record for consecutive days in first place was 118 by the 2007 Brewers

Words of wisdom

“I told someone the other day, the season just started. August 1st, that’s when the season starts. Particularly if you’re in a race. I think you’ll see better pitching, better defense. Games will be much more intense. I think our guys are enjoying it. I don’t see anyone getting tight or anything like that.”

| Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon

This story was originally published August 9, 2014 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Baseball owners to vote for new commissioner to replace retiring Bud Selig."