Adam Scott Actor

Commissioner Bud Selig said Tuesday that he was not at all upset with Derek Jeter for not participating in the 2011 All-Star Game. In fact, Selig said that, if he were in Jeter's position, he would have made the same decision.

Jeter reached the 3,000-hit mark Saturday at Yankee Stadium after missing 18 games with a right calf strain. He had been elected as the starting American League shortstop for the All-Star Game but said that he was exhausted from the mental and physical rigors of the pursuit of the 3,000th hit and would rest over the All-Star break. Subsequently, some reports indicated that Selig was upset by Jeter's absence.

In his annual appearance before a meeting of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, the Commissioner set the record straight
"Let me get one thing out of the way right now," Selig said, as he was about to close his opening remarks and move to the question-and-answer session. "There isn't a player that I've been more proud of in the last 15 years than Derek Jeter.

"He has played the game like it should be played. He has even been a better human being off the field than he is on the field. Any concerns that I keep hearing I had about Derek Jeter, I know why Derek Jeter isn't here and I respect that. And I must tell you, I think I would have made the same decision that Derek Jeter made.
"Derek Jeter has brought this sport great pride. He has been a role model, he has earned it, and he is still earning it. So any suggestion that I or anybody else around here is unhappy with him is just false.

"I'm proud of what he has done. I told him that last Saturday on the phone. I've told him that quite often."

On a related topic, the Commissioner said that articles speculating that the absences of notable All-Stars meant that players no longer wanted to play in the All-Star Game were incorrect. Selig said that 79 of 84 players who had been selected to the All-Star teams were in attendance.

"That doesn't say to me that people don't want to be here; they do want to be here," Selig said. "To say that they don't care is absolute nonsense."

In what was Selig's ninth annual appearance at a BBWAA meeting, the Commissioner also said that reports of impending large-scale realignment were inaccurate.

"I saw somebody quote four sources [on major realignment]," Selig said. "I'm the only one doing this, and I don't think I've talked to four people [about it]. Is there massive realignment on the horizon? No, there is not."

Michael Weiner, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, also spoke to the writers' group Tuesday and indicated that a primary concern of the players in the area of realignment is the number of teams in each league. The National League currently has 16 clubs, while the American League has 14. The NL Central has six teams while the AL West has only four.

"It's fundamental, it's arithmetic," Weiner said. "I don't want to be flip about it. The players want the competition to be fair."

Weiner noted that the competition for a division championship was obviously different in a four-team division as opposed to a six-team division and that competition for a Wild Card berth was different in a 14-team league as opposed to a 16-team league. The players, as competitors, Weiner said, would like to have this inequitable situation resolved by having 15 teams in each league.

Both Selig and Weiner termed the current talks on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the union and Major League Baseball as "constructive," but both, as expected, declined any discussion of specific issues. The sides have been in negotiations on a regular basis since the beginning of the regular season.

"We've agreed not to discuss the substance of what's going on at the bargaining table," Weiner said.

On other issues, The Commissioner would not confirm, but did not deny, reports that the 2013 All-Star Game would be played at Citi Field and hosted by the New York Mets.

And Selig said that despite much conjecture to the contrary, he remained firm on his decision to retire when his current contract expires at the end of 2012.

Tags:all star game 2011, mlb all star game, all star, allstar weekend, homerun derby