Selig Says This Will Be His Last Term

NEW YORK — Bud Selig, buoyed by what he sees as a fresh start for baseball under its eight-month-old collective bargaining agreement, said Thursday he won’t be around to negotiate the next labor contract as commissioner.

Selig, 67, who was named acting commissioner in 1992, told a group of sports editors that he will not seek a new term when his contract expires at the end of 2006.

“When I took the job, I told my wife I’d do it for two to three months, and it has turned into 14 years.... There are some other things I want to do,” he said.

Selig’s off-the-cuff remark seemed to catch some of his key aides in attendance -- Major League Baseball President Robert DuPuy and executive vice presidents Sandy Alderson and Rob Manfred -- by surprise, but Selig added emphatically, “That will be it, I’m done.”

Selig agreed to a five-year term in 1998, and owners gave him a new five-year contract in November 2001. That deal expires Dec. 31, 2006.

In a wide-ranging interview session, Selig took pride in some of the accomplishments under his watch, including interleague play, changes in the All-Star game, and an amicable relationship with the union.

-- Dave Morgan