An unintended consequence of Bill Clinton’s decision to pass up George Mitchell, the former Senate majority leader, as secretary of state: Mitchell is likely to be the new baseball commissioner. It’s the job he wanted anyway. It pays more. He can travel with his wife. Mitchell has been ready to take the post for years, all the while awaiting a new contract between owners and players. Now there is one, but only after a bitter struggle among owners. Mitchell is the choice for commissioner of two bigwigs, acting commissioner Bud Selig and Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox. Trouble is, they don’t have the sway they did a year ago, when the odds overwhelmingly favored Mitchell. Some owners want a businessman for the job. Wayne Huizenga, owner of the Florida Marlins, for instance. Huizenga is a pal of George Bush, whose presidency Mitchell gutted. Hmmmm.
