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Bud Selig is set to announce his plans for retirement following the 2014 season via conference call today, per multiple reports. The commissioner has planned to retire in prior years before ultimately signing on to remain the head of MLB. His retirement would take effect in January of 2015, if he sticks to it this time, giving baseball around 15 months to come up with a new commissioner. Rumored replacements have been Andy MacPhail, Joe Torre, and Sandy Alderson.
Baseball has not had a new commissioner since Selig replaced Fay Vincent in 1992. It should be interesting to see how baseball goes about replacing him. Torre has enjoyed a high position for the past few years, making him an understandable target to ascend to the role if he wants it. It's also possible that the league decides to go a completely different direction than current leadership while they have the opportunity.
It's unclear what Selig's lasting legacy will be, considering that baseball has enjoyed a lot of success under him. The sport has also undergone a strike and the infamous Steroid Era on his watch. Which of those prevails in history is unclear now, but if you had to bet money on it, I'd say the latter will stick more than the former.
Who is your choice to be baseball's next commissioner?