Commissioner Kasten.
It’s alliterative. It fairly trips off the tongue.
And it may very well be the next entry in Stan Kasten’s biography.
That Kasten announced his resignation last week wasn’t exactly a shock. The stories that he and the Lerner family were never on the same page, and that a five-year contract was keeping him with the club are somewhat misleading, however. Kasten’s a lawyer for crying out loud and if he and the Lerners were at such odds, don’t you think they’d have found a way for him to bail before now? Besides, it seemed to be common knowledge inside the game that adding Kasten to their ownership group pushed the Lerners past the finish line when the franchise was awarded.
True, the Lerners backed Jim Bowden far longer than they should have, leaving Mike Rizzo a far more difficult road to hoe when Bowden finally imploded prior to the 2009 season. Rizzo, Kasten’s first hire in 2006, was prepared to be a GM from day one, but had to bide his time for almost three years before taking over. Cleaning up those earlier messes only enhanced Rizzo’s luster within the game.
I can’t imagine that Kasten would walk away unless there were something much larger at stake. What’s bigger than a team presidency outside of sole ownership?
Commissioner of Major League Baseball.
Look, we know that Bud Selig is stepping down at some point in the next couple of years. Who has a stronger resume to take his place than Kasten? On top of the aforementioned law degree — which sets him apart from most other candidates you may have heard mentioned — he’s run two MLB teams, an NBA team and an NHL team, sometimes simultaneously. This guy has kept multiple balls in the air while having to deal with Ted Turner on a daily basis. Representing all of the owners — most of whom wouldn’t be in his intellectual wheelhouse — should be a piece of cake.
Selig’s precise departure date is yet to be determined, a likely scenario would have Kasten separating himself from the day-to-day operations of the Nationals and taking some time to hit the books, so to speak, on MLB’s big picture issues. Before assuming the office, he’d have to divest himself of his Nats’ ownership stake, but that shouldn’t represent a problem.
If you’ve followed the game on a daily basis — besides just checking the box scores for your fantasy roster — you know that this situation with the Nationals is pretty small potatoes compared to the soap operas that have enveloped the Dodgers’ ownership this year, as well as the Rangers. There may not be a new “President” of the Nationals, a title that’s frequently overrated to begin with.
The plan is in place. Kasten won’t be around to be fitted for a ring, but he may well be the guy who hands over the trophy.
Examiner columnist Phil Wood is a contributor to Nats Xtra on MASN. Contact him at [email protected].
