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With Selig dedication, Padres whiff badly

In an Aug. 26 ceremony that caused quite a furor in San Diego, Bud Selig (left) turns to see the unveiling of a sign announcing that the Padres were renaming a part of Petco Park in honor of the soon-to-retire commissioner.
( / (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi))
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Less than two hours before one of the most bizarre announcements in Padres history, team president Mike Dee made a comment from the first-base dugout.

“Most of what we do,” Dee said, “is listen to the fans.”

If that’s true, they really should have taken a survey before Tuesday’s unveiling — because it’s clear that they don’t know the fans.

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The Selig Hall of Fame Plaza at Petco Park?

Excuse me while I channel my inner John McEnroe.

You cannot be serious!

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig was at Petco Park Tuesday as part of his farewell tour. His 22-year tenure as MLB’s boss will end in January of 2015, and he’s stadium-hopping as the date draws near.

The Padres announced earlier in the week that they would “honor” Selig in a ceremony before the game against the Brewers. They left out the part about immortalizing a figure with virtually no San Diego connection.

At 5:29 p.m., the space near the Western Metal Supply Co. Building in left field was known as the Palm Court Plaza. Minutes later, it was changed to, well…we’ll try not to mention it again.

And as fans funneled into Petco to catch an otherwise run-of-the-mill ballgame, one question seemed to stand out.

“Are you kidding me?” said longtime Pads fan Ben Montoya. “That baffles me. I’m speechless.”

“I don’t understand,” added fellow Friars fan Kristen Lemme. “Why would you do that for someone who has no ties to this city?”

And then there was Milwaukee fan Brad Flipse, a resident of Sheboygan, Wisc., who said “the only place we should see something like that is Miller Park.”

Miller Park, of course, is the home of the Brewers, the team Selig owned before becoming commissioner. And perhaps it would make sense for his hometown to pay tribute in the most personal of ways.

But here in San Diego, where you have two Hall of Famers (Tony Gwynn and Jerry Coleman) who passed away this calendar year? Here at Petco Park, where names such as Randy Jones and Trevor Hoffman prompt cheers every time they’re mentioned?

Hell, if you’re gonna dedicate a Hall of Fame plaza to a Bud of any kind, make it Bud Black, who’s squeezed 601 wins out of some of the most impotent lineups in baseball.

Defending the dedication Tuesday, Padres Executive Chairman Ron Fowler said that Selig was instrumental in luring former owners John Moores and Larry Lucchino to town in the early 1990s and revitalizing a flatlining franchise. And while there may be validity to that, does it warrant a Hall of Fame dedication in a town that only sees him once every few years?

Fowler added that Selig was a key figure in the construction of Petco Park, but don’t the 1998 pennant-winning Padres and, I don’t know…the taxpayers deserve most the credit for that?

What wasn’t mentioned is that Selig allowed Jeff Moorad — perhaps the most loathed Padres executive to date — to buy the team from Moores on layaway with money he didn’t have. What wasn’t mentioned is that Selig oversaw the strike-shortened season of 1994, the year Gwynn was making a legitimate run at batting .400. What wasn’t mentioned is that Selig didn’t even attend Gwynn’s memorial service at Petco in June.

Does this warrant permanent condemnation? No. Does it make Tuesday’s dedication absurd? Absolutely.

The online reaction to this announcement was even harsher than in person. By press time, a U-T poll revealed that 98 percent of voters felt the Padres had erred in naming the plaza after Selig.

And while the motivation may have been innocent enough (there’s no way the Padres could have anticipated this kind of backlash) it speaks to a disconnect between owners and fans that just can’t seem to be remedied.

Some people suspect that the dedication was aimed at bringing the All-Star Game back to San Diego after a 22-year hiatus, especially after Selig said that Petco had become a “prime candidate” for hosting the event. But those type of deals come via back-room politicking, not dog-and-pony shows.

The truth is, while saying farewell to the outgoing commish, the Padres were simply trying to stand out.

Rotten luck -- they did just that.

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