MLB doing 'remarkably well,' says former commissioner
Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig published his new book “For the Good of the Game” on Tuesday.
Selig served as acting commissioner from 1992 to 1998. He later served as the official commissioner from 1998 to 2015. In his new book, Selig reflects on the game’s long history, and its future.
Selig told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo that baseball is doing “remarkably well,” with a gross annual revenue at an all-time high, which he estimated between $12.5 billion and $13 billion.
“I used to hear how back in the 50s and 60s the game was moribund,” Selig said. “The game was not going to survive. We’re doing pretty well.”
And part of the reason Selig said MLB is doing so well is because of the new “wave of talent” and the growing demographic of the league and its fans.
“We have the best wave of young players that I’ve ever seen,” he said. “The wave of talent is enormously good.”
Selig also boasted that MLB games are gaining momentum among younger fans more than ever before. In addition, Selig said he believed the future of baseball would no longer be limited to America.
“One of the aspects of the future of the sport is international, and they’re going be very aggressive,” he said.
The MLB has played games in Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro, among other places. The Cubs and Cardinals are set to play in London next year.
“It’s tremendous because it just increases the audience and increases everything we do,” Selig said.
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Technology has also had a hand in the sport’s growing interest, Selig pointed out.
“We had a company, Baseball Advanced Media, that has been extraordinarily successful and are way ahead of the others,” he said.
Selig said MLB is expanding its audience by allowing people to listen to games on all kinds of devices, and by using technology to enhance fan experiences at the actual games themselves.