1. a practical approach to problems and affairs <tried to strike a balance between principles and pragmatism>
2. an American movement in philosophy founded by C. S. Peirce and William James and marked by the doctrines that the meaning of conceptions is to be sought in their practical bearings, that the function of thought is to guide action, and that truth is preeminently to be tested by the practical consequences of belief
If there’s one thing that Bud Selig is, it is pragmatic. The thing is, Uncle Bud takes pragmatism to the max. You could say he’s roided up on it… because he is so painstakingly slow to make a crucial decision or act in any impactful way whatsoever. You could even say Bud Selig is paralyzed by pragmatism and the need to examine every possible practical angle or solution to a situation. Either that, or he’s just terrible at making decisions. It could be his years too late reaction to steroids, his refusal to do anything with Andres Galarraga’s perfect game, his impossibly slow response to the cries from fans for instant replay, or his know-nothing tie in the 2002 All-Star Game.
Well, now Bud is taking his pragmatism to another hot button issue in Major League Baseball – Barry Bonds and his home run record. When asked about what he might do with the record now that Bonds has been convicted of obstruction of justice in association with his perjury case and pretty much everybody knows he was juiced out of his ginormous skull, you can guess how Bud responded… pragmatism.
”In life there’s always got to be pragmatism,” Selig said Thursday at his annual meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors. “I think that anybody who understands the sport understands exactly why.”
In other words, Bud isn’t going to do a darn thing about it, at least not for the next decade. I think I understand baseball, the one thing that I can’t understand is why Bud Selig never gives a direct answer about anything. Where is the leadership here? I for one think that you can’t erase Bonds’ numbers from the record book unless you take a hatchet to the rest of it and take out all steroid users. However, I appreciate the other side of the argument about taking out Barry Bonds because of the purity of the game and treating Hank Aaron as the “true” record holder. And yet, the commissioner of the sport refuses to take a side… except that of pragmatism. Whatever the hell that means.
I know what you’re thinking though… “Matt, Bud Selig made a huge decision today basically saying there’s going to be another Wild Card team in each league starting next season!”
And to that I say, not so fast my friend! Take a look at what Bud Selig had to say last October about adding more teams to the playoffs…
“I’ve said we’re going to look at it very seriously,” Selig told a group of writers after the presentation of the Hank Aaron Award. “There are a lot of considerations, there’s no question about it. The pragmatism is what’s most difficult. The question is how do you do it and what form does it take? A lot of people have different opinions.”
Ah, pragmatism, such a difficult and mysterious mistress. Let’s just all be thankful that this time Bud’s pragmatism only took about six months. My goodness, does Uncle Bud just lay in bed in the morning looking for the most pragmatic way to start the day??? Holy cow! But wait! There’s more! In case you’re thinking that Bud Selig was a wild man in the early 90s just flippantly adding Wild Card teams, wildly banging his head against his desk and jamming to Counting Crows… no, Bud Selig has always been this way. He had this to say about the original decision to add playoff teams…
“I was very careful. I said it was a matter of pragmatism,” Selig said.
So the next time some crisis hits baseball (hello Dodgers ownership mess!), just remember that Bud Selig will always give careful contemplation towards the issue and wait, and wait, and wait, to finally find the right answer thanks to the best friend a commissioner could ever find, pragmatism.
I think I need a nap now. But where to take it…
