Ueberroth Balks at Serving 2nd Term as Baseball Czar : Cites Family, Personal ‘Concerns’

Baseball Commissioner Peter V. Ueberroth said today that he is leaving the job when his contract expires at the end of 1989, but will stay on into 1990 to help the new commissioner.

Ueberroth, who became commissioner Oct. 1, 1984, after heading the Los Angeles Olympic Committee, said he will not accept a second five-year term.

He said he will participate in the selection of his successor and remain through the transition. Ueberroth said he and the new commissioner will be involved in the 1990 labor negotiations and expansion plans.

“In this way, my successor will have plans and agreements for the 1990s with which he could live,” Ueberroth said. “I didn’t think it would be fair to the owners and my successor to allow the institution to suffer from the situation in which I found it upon taking office in 1984.”

On Ueberroth’s first day in office, he was greeted by an umpires’ strike and a demand from one of the network TV stations for a $9-million refund.

Expire at End of 1989

The current television contract and the Basic Agreement expire with Ueberroth’s current contract on Dec. 31, 1989.

Bud Selig, owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, and Fred Wilpon, co-owner of the New York Mets, were appointed to work out the details of the transition period.

“I am particularly grateful to Charles Bronfman and Carl Pohlad, who provided the lead and a number of others who asked me to stay for another term,” Ueberroth said of the owners of the Montreal Expos and Minnesota Twins.

“I told them I would not do that under any circumstances for a number of reasons, including family and personal concerns, and my desire to abide by the bylaws in place which require a decision 18 months prior to the end of my term.

“My successor will benefit from the smooth transition during which we will work hand in hand to assure that the game is on solid footing. The next commissioner need not be concerned about inheriting the TV contract and a labor contract. He will have helped negotiate those contracts.”