Sports

THE 6TH QUESTION W/ BUD SELIG

By ANDREW MARCHAND

Every Friday in NYP TV Sports, our sports television pullout that appears in the middle of the print edition and online, we present “Five Questions for …” This is the 6th Question, where we present more of my interview.

This week I spoke on the phone with Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig.

Q: When you look at your legacy as the commissioner, what do you want it to be?

A: I am a history buff. I am concerned about that. There has been more change in this sport in the last 14 years than the previous 100. You look at the three divisions, wild card, revenue sharing that created the parity, interleague play. I’m going to let other people determine that. I just think that baseball has made enormous progress in the last 14 years.

Q: Who is your all-time favorite sportscaster?

A: I have to be careful with that one. I actually have a lot of them. I grew up listening to games on the radio so you have to pardon me, I’ll give you a bunch of names.

Obviously, I love Bob Uecker. He broadcast games here [in Milwaukee] for years and he is a wonderful announcer. Vin Scully, Bob Prince in Pittsburgh, I grew up with. There was a great announcer in Chicago, who was killed prematurely, named Jack Quinlan. Harry Caray.

Even to this day, I love listening to games on the radio.

Q: Growing up, what did you want to be?

A: I wanted to be a baseball announcer, believe it or not. When I was young, I made these recordings. I thought I was the next Mel Allen. I loved Mel Allen, by the way. Mel Allen, Red Barber, Russ Hodges. I could go on and on.

Q: Did you have a go-to-saying?

A: I didn’t. There were so many great announcers, but I didn’t have one. Mel Allen had a Ballantine blast. Everyone has their own signature. I guess I had just, ‘Going, going, gone.’ I was very conventional. By the way, my career ended at 14.

Q: What is the one aspect of baseball on television you want to see improved in the future?

A: Television, like everything in life, will be more sophisticated. The thing that has impressed me the most is what local clubs have done. In New York, you have two great examples of it.

I want our fans to have the latest in everything we do when they see games. It increases the sports popularity. I am very confident we have the right people positioned on the right time to do what they will do.

Andrew.Marchand@nypost.com