Back in 2009, MLB commissioner Bud Selig appointed a special commission to look into the challenges relating to getting the Oakland Athletics a new stadium. The hope was that it would also break the stalemate between the A’s and San Francisco Giants as to the latter’s territorial rights claim on the city of San Jose.
More than four years later, the commission has yet to be heard from.
With the continued delay in any sort of resolution regarding the A’s, Selig has been much criticized for dragging his feet on the matter. Some have even gone so far as to contend that Selig is simply hoping the issue will play itself out without league interference, and those critics are likely to have new fuel for their belief.
Last week, the city of San Jose sued MLB over the continued delay regarding the A’s. The Athletics and San Jose have an agreement basically in place for a stadium, and have even gone so far as to secure naming rights from Cisco. The lawsuit came in the wake of the A’s current home, O.co Coliseum, leaking raw sewage into its baseball clubhouses, forcing both Oakland and the visiting Mariners to shower in the Raiders’ facilities.
Now, Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Selig dodged court papers relating for the lawsuit for three days. San Jose’s attorneys tried to serve Selig with the lawsuit, but they were unable to due to Selig’s evasion.
As Ostler writes, the lead attorney on the case described Selig’s behavior as “very unusual” for anyone being served legal papers.
Some, such as Hardball Talk’s Craig Calcaterra, have speculated that San Jose may not have the standing to sue MLB, and the city’s lawsuit should be tossed out of court. However, either way it’s bad PR for Selig, who likely has only been able to get away with dragging his feet for so long because of A’s lack of national exposure.
