MLB: Selig addresses Bethany College grads

Falls asleep, bangs head on podium, thinks he’s at Matheny College.

Selig gave a 23-minute oration, continually saying that baseball was “a metaphor for life.”

“As in life, baseball has had great success and it has had its problems,” he said. “One can’t dwell too long on success because it’s fleeting, and one can’t ignore problems because left unattended they get worse. Preserving the status quo or following the path of least resistance often is the most negative option, because it neither requires vision nor courage.

“You must not be afraid to act. You must not be afraid of failure. And, perhaps, most importantly, you must not be afraid of success.”

As Selig spoke, the wind loudly rippled flags attached to wooden poles to the left and right of the rostrum. Tree branches and leaves waved frantically to and fro and graduates held tightly to their tasseled caps.

“I was worried that the pages of my speech might blow away,” he said afterward. “But I held them with both hands and I made it through.”