The Milwaukee Post

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN Conley News Service MILWAUKEE – Bud Selig, Major League Baseball's commissioner, loves Opening Day. But with this being his last associated with baseball in some way, he insisted it was not any more special than the previous ones. "Opening Day is a very special day, always," he said during the Milwaukee Brewers' game Monday against the Atlanta Braves at Miller Park. "We've really had some great Opening Days here." This one was special. There is no way to sugar coat it. Selig will retire as MLB's commissioner in January. It's a position he's held full time since 1998. From 1992 to 1997, he was the acting commissioner. Before that, he was owner of the Brewers after he bought the Seattle Pilots in 1970. He's already gotten some requests from league owners to recon- sider retirement. While honored to have the owners think highly of him enough to stick around, he remained stern on his decision. "I meant what I said last October," Selig said. He did reveal his favorite Opening Day story. It was April 10, 1980, and the Brewers were tied with the Boston Red Sox in the ninth inning at Milwaukee County Stadium. Milwaukee's Sixto Lezcano hit a grand slam off Boston reliever Dick Drago to win the game 9-5 and send the crowd of 53,313 into a frenzy. Lezcano also hit a two-run home run off Dennis Eckersley in that game. "There was just something about that game I'll always remember," Selig said. He started in baseball in 1964, which is a reason why he believes it is time to walk away. "That's 50 years ago," Selig said. "In life, there's a time to come, but there's also a time to go. I'm proud of what's going on and what's happening in base- ball." During his tenure as the commission- er, he has changed the game with ideas such as the introduction of the wild card and interleague play. He was also instrumental in organiz- ing the World Baseball Classic in 2006, introducing revenue sharing, and is cred- ited for the financial turnaround of base- ball during his tenure with a 400 percent increase in the revenue of MLB and annual record-breaking attendance. While he's also fielded harsh criticism for how the game of baseball became clouded in performance enhancing drug controversy, Selig led Major League Baseball into a new era of drug testing. He said the World Anti-Doping Agency called MLB's drug testing procedures and punishment, which recently got a boost in toughness, the best in the United States. For the Brewers to play the Braves on Opening Day had historical significance, too. The last time the Braves played in Milwaukee on Opening Day was in 1965, the last season the Braves were in Milwaukee before moving to Atlanta. That day is still fresh in Selig's memo- ry. "We played the Cubs," he recalled. "It was a tense and tough atmosphere. But we did all right." He also still remembered the last home game of that season. The Braves lost to the Dodgers, 7-6. "I'll never forget the picture of Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews going up the tunnel for the last time," Selig said. That was the start of a five-year period when Selig didn't know if baseball would ever return to Milwaukee, but knew he wanted it to come back. "The odds were really stacked against us," Selig said. "Baseball didn't want to come back here. Milwaukee County had sued them. The state of Wisconsin had sued them. It was pretty tense." Selig said he knew baseball had a chance of coming back when the Chicago White Sox played a game at County Stadium in 1967, which everyone told him not to do. "We drew 51,144 people," Selig said. It was March 31, 1970, at 10:15 p.m. when the Seattle Pilots became the Milwaukee Brewers. "That'll always be my proudest accom- plishment," Selig said. Contact Nicholas Dettmann ndettmann@conleynet.com 10 • Milwaukee County Post • April 4, 2014 Selig reminisces on past Opening Day games Selig Favorite memory was Brewers' dramatic win over Red Sox in 1980 Milwaukee/NARI names new certified pros Post Staff MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry recently recognized 10 individuals from eight member compa- nies who successfully completed a NARI national certification program. The certified remodeler project manag- er designation denotes professional remodelers who have applied proven proj- ect management techniques and process- es to the residential remodeling project's construction process. Typically, project managers oversee every aspect of the project: customer sat- isfaction, personnel management, admin- istration. The following individuals earned this designation: Christopher Agena, Four Seasons Sunrooms/Chris Egner Design- Build-Remodel, New Berlin; Robert Bates, Badger Carpentry Inc., Pewaukee; Chris Egner, Four Seasons Sunrooms/Chris Egner Design-Build Remodel, New Berlin; Bingo Emmons, Creative Construction of Wisconsin, Inc., Franklin; Zack Emmons, Creative Construction of Wisconsin, Inc., Franklin; Randy Lewis, Oak Creek Plumbing Kitchen & Bath, Oak Creek; and Ken Polewski, KP Carpentry LLC, Milwaukee. The certified remodeler specialist des- ignation denotes professional remodelers who focus on a specific type of work and serve the needs of homeowners interested in their area of technical expertise such as concrete or masonry, electrical, insula- tion, mechanical systems, plumbing, roof- ing or siding work. Leah Krueger of LH Krueger & Sons Inc., Waukesha, earned this designation. The universal design certified profes- sional designation identifies profession- als who differentiate themselves through work that promotes the highest standards in universal design and remodeling. Joseph Klein and Nathan Wachtl, S.J. Janis Company Inc., Wauwatosa, earned this designation. www.milwaukeenari.org Ten individuals attain national certification $1,250 Cool Cash Greenspeed Rebate ($1100 59MN7/25VNAU + $150 Infinity Touch WiFi control) + $225 59MN7 (NG) FOE reward. D&M Heating and Air Conditioning 4227 S. 13th St. Milwaukee 414-281-5350 "At Your Service" www.dmheating.com • Prompt, professional service since 1979 237483045 Great Get up to $1,475 Cash-Back Rewards on a Carrier Infinity Greenspeed Intelligence System Get Both High Efficiency & Savings! 24 HOUR SERVICE ON ALL MAKES AND MODELS

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