MILWAUKEE — Bud Selig helped bring the Brewers to Milwaukee, led the effort to build Miller Park and spent 23 years as commissioner of Major League Baseball. As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, Karley Marotta sat down with Selig to discuss how baseball has helped shape the story of our country.
WATCH: How baseball helped shape America: Bud Selig reflects on game's lasting legacy
"You can't impress enough how much baseball means to America... and how much America means to baseball," Selig said.
From a young fan in Milwaukee to commissioner of Major League Baseball, Selig spent a lifetime watching baseball help tell America's story.
"There was something about it that just absolutely intrigued me... and it's never left me," Selig said.
That fascination began in Milwaukee.
"I remember when the Braves left here, people wept. And that's how I was brought up to understand that the game itself is far more important than any of us," Selig said.
Selig would witness some of baseball's and America's most defining moments.
"On April 15th, 1945, Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson," Selig said.
By breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier, Jackie Robinson helped change the course of American history.
"I've talked to historians about it and they all believe that Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey, who brought him to the big leagues, are two of the most important people in American history," Selig said.
The game also helped heal America.
"9-11. For the next five days, I agonized over when to start the game. I talked to everybody. It started with the President of the United States, George W. Bush. I came to the decision that we would open that following Monday," Selig said.
While anxiously waiting for the public's reaction, Selig watched Jack Buck deliver a moving poem at the Brewers-Cardinals game.
"I started crying. What I wanted to have happen was I wanted baseball to serve a role in which it played a role in the coming together of people," Selig said.
Weeks later, baseball delivered another unforgettable moment as President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch before Game 3 of the World Series.
"I remember standing down on a dugout and here comes the President of the United States and the place goes bonkers and people chanting USA, USA, USA. And I thought to myself at the time, this is what I always had hoped for...I knew then that baseball had played this wonderful sociological role," Selig said.
When asked what he hopes his chapter says when baseball's story is written, Selig reflected on a life well spent in the game.
"I've been lucky. I got to participate in a sport that I loved. I did it all my life. Never dreaming I'd wind up being the commissioner of baseball for 23 years... but it's been a fascinating life," Selig said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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