Former MLB commissioner Bud Selig, long-time GM Schuerholz get the call to Hall of Fame

• Former commissioner Bud Selig, who oversaw baseball’s great growth along with some of its darkest moments, and long- time general manager John Schuerholz were elected to the baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.

Schuerholz was picked by all 16 voters on a veter- ans committee at the winter meetings in suburban Washington. Selig was listed 15 times.

It took 12 votes for election. Former player and manager Lou Piniella was third with seven.

Selig became the fifth of 10 commissioners to reach the Hall. He will be enshrined July 30 in Cooperstown, N.Y. — on his 83rd birthday.

Under Selig, the playoffs expanded from four teams to eight to 10 with wild cards and the leagues were split into three divisions. Video replay was added to review umpire calls, revenue sharing was put in place and 20 new stadiums opened across the majors.

Selig also made the decision to cancel the 1994 World Series during a players’ strike, and was in charge when illegal steroids left a cloud of performance- enhancing drugs that still lingers.

“Talk about all the great moments. Those were tough moments,” Selig said on a conference call.

Schuerholz was general manager of t he Atlanta Braves when they won a record 14- straight division titles. He was the first GM to run t eams t hat t ook World Series crowns in both leagues, winning with Kansas City in 1985 and Atlanta in 1995.

The 76- year- old Schuerholz later became president of the Braves and is now a vice- chair with the team, helping prepare for its move to Sun-Trust Park next season. In 26 years as a GM, his teams won 16 division titles, six pennants and a pair of World Series championships.

Harold Baines, Albert Belle, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Davey Johnson, Mark McGwire and George Steinbrenner also were on the ballot considered by the Today’s Game Era panel. None of them got more than five votes. ❚ NOTE: When the Jays signed free agent designated hitter Kendrys Morales last month, it was considered to signal a goodbye to popular slugger, Edwin Encarnacion. But has the market changed the terms of the farewell? The list of possible landing spots for the longtime Jay dwindled over the weekend to the point that Toronto GM Ross Atkins could re-visit the situation. Encarnacion was reportedly being pursued by Houston, but when the Astros signed Carlos Beltran to a one- year deal on Saturday, that likely ended that.