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Commissioner of Baseball
The commissioner of baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts. The commissioner is chosen by a vote of the owners of the teams. The incumbent MLB commissioner is Rob Manfred, who assumed office on January 25, 2015.
The title "commissioner", which is a title that is now applied to the heads of several other major sports leagues as well as baseball, derives from its predecessor office, the National Baseball Commission, the ruling body of professional baseball starting with the National Agreement of 1903, which created unity between both the National League and the American League. The agreement consisted of three members: the two league presidents and a commission chairman, whose primary responsibilities were to preside at meetings and to mediate disputes. Although Cincinnati Reds president August Herrmann served as commission chairman and as such was the nominal head of major league baseball, it was the American League president Ban Johnson who dominated the commission.
The event that would eventually lead to the appointment of a single commissioner of baseball was the Black Sox Scandal – perhaps the worst of a series of incidents in the late 1910s that jeopardized the integrity of the game of baseball. However, the desire to rebuild public relations was not the only motivation behind the creation of the commissioner's office. The scandal had not only tarnished the image of baseball, but it had brought relations between team owners and American League president Johnson to a boiling point. In particular, Chicago White Sox owner Charles Comiskey was piqued and incensed at what he perceived to be the indifference of the commission members (especially Johnson) to his suspicions that the 1919 World Series had been thrown to Herrmann's Reds. Meanwhile, the commission came under pressure to remove Herrmann from his post due to anti-German sentiment following U.S. entry into World War I.
At the end of the 1920 season, the National League, whose owners had never been on good terms with Johnson, agreed to invite the White Sox along with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees to join their league. The National League also unveiled plans to put a twelfth team in Cleveland or Detroit. With the American League's status as a major league (and possibly its very existence) suddenly in jeopardy, the five American League owners loyal to Johnson sued for peace. Eventually, at the urging of Detroit Tigers owner and Johnson loyalist Frank Navin, a compromise was reached in late 1920 to reform the National Commission with a membership of non-baseball men.
Having agreed to appoint only non-baseball men to the National Commission, the owners tapped federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, an ardent baseball fan, to serve as the reformed commission's chairman. Landis responded by declaring that he would only accept an appointment as sole commissioner, with nearly unlimited authority to act in the "best interests of baseball" – in essence, serving as an arbitrator whose decisions could not be appealed. Finally, Landis insisted on a lifetime contract. The owners, still reeling from the perception that the sport was crooked, readily agreed.
Landis's first significant act was to deal with the Black Sox scandal. Following a trial, the eight players suspected of involvement in the fix were acquitted. Nevertheless, immediately following the players' acquittal, Landis banned them all from baseball for life. He famously declared, "Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player who throws a ballgame, no player that undertakes or promises to throw a ballgame, no player that sits in conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and means of throwing a game are discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball." Landis explained that even though the players had all been acquitted in court, there was no dispute that they had broken the rules of baseball. Therefore, he maintained that none of them could be allowed back in the game if its image was to be restored with the public.[citation needed] Among those banned were Buck Weaver and superstar Shoeless Joe Jackson, who have generally been viewed to be far less culpable compared to the other six accused. Landis' position was that he had no doubt that Weaver and Jackson at the very least knew about the fix, and failed to report it, and that this alone was grounds for permanent banishment.
Over the years, he dealt harshly with others proven to have thrown individual games, consorted with gamblers, or engaged in actions that he felt tarnished the image of the game. Among the others he banned were New York Giants players Phil Douglas and Jimmy O'Connell, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Gene Paulette, Giants coach Cozy Dolan, and (in 1943) Phillies owner William D. Cox. He also formalized the unofficial banishments of Hal Chase and Heinie Zimmerman. In 1921, he banned Giants center fielder Benny Kauff even though he had been acquitted of involvement in a car theft ring. Nonetheless, Landis was convinced Kauff was guilty and argued that players of "undesirable reputation and character" had no place in baseball.
The owners had initially assumed that Landis would deal with the Black Sox Scandal and then settle into a comfortable retirement as the titular head of baseball. Instead, Landis ruled baseball with an iron hand for the next 25 years. He established a fiercely independent commissioner's office that would go on to often make both players and owners miserable with decisions that he argued were in the best interests of the game. He worked to clean up the hooliganism that was tarnishing the reputation of players in the 1920s. Without a union to represent them, the players had no meaningful recourse to challenge Landis' virtually unchecked authority. On the other hand, Landis inserted his office into negotiations with players, where he deemed appropriate, to put an end to a few of the more egregious labor practices that had contributed to the players' discontent. He also personally approved broadcasters for the World Series.
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Commissioner of Baseball
The commissioner of baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts. The commissioner is chosen by a vote of the owners of the teams. The incumbent MLB commissioner is Rob Manfred, who assumed office on January 25, 2015.
The title "commissioner", which is a title that is now applied to the heads of several other major sports leagues as well as baseball, derives from its predecessor office, the National Baseball Commission, the ruling body of professional baseball starting with the National Agreement of 1903, which created unity between both the National League and the American League. The agreement consisted of three members: the two league presidents and a commission chairman, whose primary responsibilities were to preside at meetings and to mediate disputes. Although Cincinnati Reds president August Herrmann served as commission chairman and as such was the nominal head of major league baseball, it was the American League president Ban Johnson who dominated the commission.
The event that would eventually lead to the appointment of a single commissioner of baseball was the Black Sox Scandal – perhaps the worst of a series of incidents in the late 1910s that jeopardized the integrity of the game of baseball. However, the desire to rebuild public relations was not the only motivation behind the creation of the commissioner's office. The scandal had not only tarnished the image of baseball, but it had brought relations between team owners and American League president Johnson to a boiling point. In particular, Chicago White Sox owner Charles Comiskey was piqued and incensed at what he perceived to be the indifference of the commission members (especially Johnson) to his suspicions that the 1919 World Series had been thrown to Herrmann's Reds. Meanwhile, the commission came under pressure to remove Herrmann from his post due to anti-German sentiment following U.S. entry into World War I.
At the end of the 1920 season, the National League, whose owners had never been on good terms with Johnson, agreed to invite the White Sox along with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees to join their league. The National League also unveiled plans to put a twelfth team in Cleveland or Detroit. With the American League's status as a major league (and possibly its very existence) suddenly in jeopardy, the five American League owners loyal to Johnson sued for peace. Eventually, at the urging of Detroit Tigers owner and Johnson loyalist Frank Navin, a compromise was reached in late 1920 to reform the National Commission with a membership of non-baseball men.
Having agreed to appoint only non-baseball men to the National Commission, the owners tapped federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, an ardent baseball fan, to serve as the reformed commission's chairman. Landis responded by declaring that he would only accept an appointment as sole commissioner, with nearly unlimited authority to act in the "best interests of baseball" – in essence, serving as an arbitrator whose decisions could not be appealed. Finally, Landis insisted on a lifetime contract. The owners, still reeling from the perception that the sport was crooked, readily agreed.
Landis's first significant act was to deal with the Black Sox scandal. Following a trial, the eight players suspected of involvement in the fix were acquitted. Nevertheless, immediately following the players' acquittal, Landis banned them all from baseball for life. He famously declared, "Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player who throws a ballgame, no player that undertakes or promises to throw a ballgame, no player that sits in conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and means of throwing a game are discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball." Landis explained that even though the players had all been acquitted in court, there was no dispute that they had broken the rules of baseball. Therefore, he maintained that none of them could be allowed back in the game if its image was to be restored with the public.[citation needed] Among those banned were Buck Weaver and superstar Shoeless Joe Jackson, who have generally been viewed to be far less culpable compared to the other six accused. Landis' position was that he had no doubt that Weaver and Jackson at the very least knew about the fix, and failed to report it, and that this alone was grounds for permanent banishment.
Over the years, he dealt harshly with others proven to have thrown individual games, consorted with gamblers, or engaged in actions that he felt tarnished the image of the game. Among the others he banned were New York Giants players Phil Douglas and Jimmy O'Connell, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Gene Paulette, Giants coach Cozy Dolan, and (in 1943) Phillies owner William D. Cox. He also formalized the unofficial banishments of Hal Chase and Heinie Zimmerman. In 1921, he banned Giants center fielder Benny Kauff even though he had been acquitted of involvement in a car theft ring. Nonetheless, Landis was convinced Kauff was guilty and argued that players of "undesirable reputation and character" had no place in baseball.
The owners had initially assumed that Landis would deal with the Black Sox Scandal and then settle into a comfortable retirement as the titular head of baseball. Instead, Landis ruled baseball with an iron hand for the next 25 years. He established a fiercely independent commissioner's office that would go on to often make both players and owners miserable with decisions that he argued were in the best interests of the game. He worked to clean up the hooliganism that was tarnishing the reputation of players in the 1920s. Without a union to represent them, the players had no meaningful recourse to challenge Landis' virtually unchecked authority. On the other hand, Landis inserted his office into negotiations with players, where he deemed appropriate, to put an end to a few of the more egregious labor practices that had contributed to the players' discontent. He also personally approved broadcasters for the World Series.