"I made my arguments and went down in flames. History will prove me right." -- Texas Rangers owner George W. Bush after voting against realignment and a new wild-card system during a Major League Baseball owners meeting in September 1993. Bush was the lone dissenter in a 27-1 vote.
As Dr. Phil would say, hey MLB, how's that workin' out for ya?
Selig, who spent last week watching games at Miller Park* and channel-switching at home, called his old pal, former Boston Red Sox** CEO John Harrington, and they marveled at the direction the game has taken.
"John said, 'Commissioner, did you ever think when we were designing all this that it could be this good?'" Selig said. "The answer is no. I thought it would be great, and so did John. But are you kidding me?"
Baseball's playoff system is so popular, even Bob Costas is no longer on a soapbox on behalf of purists everywhere. The only people with reason to complain, it seems, are those unfortunate division champions who keep getting sent home prematurely by upstart wild-card clubs.
*-Miller Park is the home of the Wild Card Colorado Rockies, who swept the Phillies last weekend.
**- 3 years ago the Boston Red Sox won the World Series in one of Major League Baseball's most memorable postseasons, rallying in the AL Championship Series from 3 down against the arch-nemesis New York Yankees... as a Wild Card.
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