The Post’s Steve Serby chatted with the commissioner of baseball about a variety of issues confronting the game — and a few of his favorite things.
Q: Will the Madoff scandal impact the Mets?
A: I don’t think so. Fred Wilpon is one of my best friends in the world. I believe the Wilpon family will own that team for generations to come. I say that with complete confidence.
Q: But were they damaged baseball-wise?
A: Nobody knows the economics of all these clubs like I do. I’m telling you I have no evidence of that.
Q: The Yankees appear to be a monster again. Is that good or bad for baseball?
A: I don’t know that they’re a monster. I think we have more competitive balance than baseball ever had. You’re always going to have good teams and bad teams. The Yankees have done a marvelous job, and I know they spend a lot of money. What I set out to do with revenue sharing . . . the system was broken. I’m quite comfortable with where we are right now.
Q: You knew how to handle George Steinbrenner.
A: George or Edward Bennett Williams are the first two people who talked to me about becoming the commissioner. My wife liked (George) lot. My secretary went from Vince Lombardi to me. He sat and talked to her about Vince.
Q: Hal Steinbrenner?
A: I like Hal a lot. He appears to be really moving in and taking control. I’m very confident Hal will do extremely well.
Q: Will Alex Rodriguez break Barry Bonds’ all-time home run mark?
A: He certainly is in position now. He certainly has a shot.
Q: If A-Rod breaks it, should there be an asterisk?
A: I just don’t believe in asterisks. They’re too complicated.
Q: Do you feel bad that Derek Jeter, one of your all-time favorite players, has been stained by the Steroid Era?
A: Jeter properly feels, and so do a lot of other players I’ve talked to, to call it the Steroid Era is unfair. As many said to me, “We didn’t do anything.” I agree with them. Look, we’ve cleaned the sport up. A lot of players have conducted themselves beautifully and never did anything wrong.
Q: Expanded instant replay?
A: I like it the way it is.
Q: The quality of umpiring?
A: When I was a kid growing up, people were grumbling about umpires.
Q: Can it be improved?
A: I think the state of umpiring is quite good.
Q: Adding another wild-card team?
A: I like it the way it is.
Q: The cancellation of the 1994 World Series?
A: As you remember, the players were on strike. I had talked to a lot of managers and general managers who called me in September: “Commissioner, they’ve been gone too long, they can’t come back!” There weren’t even bargaining sessions set up. A lot of people said, “Oh, don’t you call it off. You’ll get blamed.” I was merely telling the American public we didn’t have any players to play.
Q: The traits that you feel have helped you in the job?
A: Patience . . . tenacity
. . . and a great history of the sport. The 23 or 24 years I had been in baseball . . . there was very little I encountered after that I hadn’t encountered already. It gave insight I think some of my predecessors didn’t have.
Q: The 2002 All-Star game in Milwaukee that ended tied after 11 innings?
A: I remember in the seventh inning, Joe (Torre) used Barry Zito. And I said to my wife, who was going to leave early, “I hope he knows what he’s doing. If it goes extra innings we’re going to be in trouble.” (Torre and NL manager Bob Brenly) ran out of pitchers. What were we supposed to do? That’s why This Time It Counts has been so good.
Q: HGH testing?
A: Nobody wants to test faster than I do. We have to make sure it’s a valid test.
Q: The (controversial, accusatory) book written by Mark McGwire’s brother Jay?
A: I was saddened by it. I have a lot of faith in (Cardinals manager) Tony La Russa, Bill DeWitt and the Cardinals. I happen to like Mark. He has apologized (for his steroid use).
Q: Pardoning Pete Rose?
A: I’m the judge in that case, and I have great reluctance talking about it. I said I’ll review it and I am.
Q: Why was Joe DiMaggio your boyhood idol?
A: There was an aura about him. He was such a complete ballplayer . . . beautiful swing. I never missed an opportunity to go to Comiskey Park when the Yankees came to Chicago.
Q: You wanted to play center field for the Yankees?
A: I did. The problem was, I was 15 or 16, playing sandlot ball in Milwaukee, and the kid threw a curve. To say I was bailing out would be an understatement.
Q: Hank Aaron was your favorite Milwaukee Brave?
A: In the ’50s, you never saw a guy hit rocket shots like that all over the ballpark.
Q: The ’57 World Series, Braves over Yankees in 7?
A: I’ll never forget it. I can still see (Eddie) Mathews stepping on the bag. Moose Skowron hit a bullet with the bases loaded. Eddie made a nice backhand stop, stepped on third, and stunningly, the Milwaukee Braves were world champions. A great thrill. Ecstasy.
Q: And the next year, when the Braves lost to the Yankees?
A: It was like a mini-funeral.
Q: Your late friend, Bart Giamatti?
A: We went one night for dinner. We had an unbelievable dinner. Bart and I walked the streets of New York until 1:30 in the morning. Near the end of the conversation, I said to him, “You know, when I was a kid, I was a Yankee fan, a Joe DiMaggio fan.” We started replaying and arguing about what happened the last five days of the 1949 season. He was a huge Red Sox fan. That was our relationship from that day forward.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: FDR; Abraham Lincoln; JFK.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Gone With The Wind”; “Pride of the Yankees.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Humphrey Bogart; Clark Gable.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Lauren Bacall.
Q: Favorite singer/entertainer?
A: Elvis Presley; Neil Diamond; Pavarotti.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: The whole world knows how much I love hot dogs, but there’s nothing better than a New York Strip.
Q: Favorite NYC restaurant?
A: I was raised in baseball in the ’70s at “21.”
Q: The Brewers are honoring you in August with your own statue.
A:. My wife had more input into it than I did. . . . She didn’t like the way my hair looked.
Q: That’s quite an honor.
A: Yes it is, and I really am honored.
Q: Regrets?
A: I often thought, “Should I have done this differently to avoid certain things?” I really don’t. This has been a remarkable journey.
Q: Your legacy?
A: I guess I’m gonna leave that to the historians.