St. Louis Cardinals' Lance Berman says Bud Selig 'extorted' Houston Astros into AL move

[JonLP24]

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lance Berkman said Tuesday that Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig "extorted" new Houston Astros owner Jim Crane into changing leagues as a precondition of the sale of the franchise in November.

Berkman, an Astros fan favorite for 12 seasons before his departure two years ago, called it a "travesty" four months ago when the team agreed to move to the American League in 2013 as part of baseball's new realignment plan. The Astros have played in the National League since their inception as the Houston Colt .45's in 1962.

Berkman raised the stakes before a Grapefruit League game between the Cardinals and Astros in Kissimmee, telling ESPN.com and a reporter from another outlet, "I feel basically like the commissioner extorted Jim Crane into moving the Astros."

<snip>

"If he called me, I would tell him," Berkman said. "I think that's exactly what it was. To tell [Crane], 'We're going to hold the sale of the team up until you guys agreed to switch'? It just happened that the Astros were being sold at an optimal time for that to happen."

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7714711/st-louis-cardinals-lance-berkman-says-bud-selig-extorted-houston-astros-al-move

[madinmaryland]

1. Interleague play year round starting in 2013. Next will be the DH in both leagues.

$elig has completely ruined the game.

[Renew Deal]

2. So what?

[wilt the stilt]

3. He's a car salesman

what do you expect. He has no respect for tradition.