‘The stuff of dreams’: Commish gets Hall call

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Bud Selig’s 83rd birthday is almost certain to include a cake and a dinner with family and friends.

Perfect, right?

Well, almost.

What do you give the man who has pretty much everything? Selig received one additional touch Sunday when he learned he’ll be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame that day — July 30, 2017.

He’s arguably the greatest Commissioner baseball has ever had and will be the fifth to have the game’s highest honor bestowed on him.

During 22 years on the job, Selig oversaw a transformation that ushered in an era of competitive balance, Wild Card Games and Interleague Play.

One of his proudest moments came in 1997 when he retired Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 forever and made the anniversary of Robinson breaking baseball’s color line something akin to baseball’s national holiday.

Still, to completely understand Bud Selig’s legacy in baseball, maybe you have to consider something as simple as how we watch games.

That would be on our phones and our tablets. On planes, trains and automobiles. While relaxing in the backyard or during walks around the neighborhood.

This is all a tribute to the company that is providing you with this column, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, which has completely improved how we enjoy the sport we love.

When Selig gave the go-ahead to start MLBAM in 2001, he had no idea where it would lead. He’s not particularly tech-savvy.

But in this case, he did what he did in a lot of other instances. He became convinced in a kernel of an idea.

This is the sport that for decades was criticized for being stuck in the past, for fearing innovation and change. No more. Baseball hasn’t just opened doors in this area. Baseball has built doors and come up with better and faster ways to get through them.

Selig was at his home in Milwaukee when the Hall of Fame telephone call came and hours later was still attempting to get his mind around the honor.

“I just can’t really put it into words,” he said. “My life, I mean, my life has been the stuff of dreams. You couldn’t dream the things that have happened to a kid from Milwaukee.”

He started his career in baseball 50 years ago for the most basic reason of all: He wanted to bring a team back to his hometown in the wake of the …

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