Bob Nightengale

USA TODAY Sports

MINNEAPOLIS - Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said that Montreal made quite a favorable impression when it hosted two spring-training exhibition games, and dropped a hint that it could be a future site if a team relocates.

"It did make great impression,'' Selig said Tuesday of the 95,000 attendance during the two games. "I think they would be an excellent candidate in the future.''

Yet, when asked if Tampa Bay or Oakland could use Montreal in leverage to assist their hopes to new ballparks, Selig was evasive, and still hopes that the Athletics and Rays will get new stadiums.

"It's a very complex situation, we need to get lease situation resolved in Oakland,'' Selig said to a meeting of the Baseball Writers Assn of America, "that's what we're trying to do. We worked hard at it, and we've made significant programs. We are two-thirds of the way home, we have one more hurdle to go. And I feel we will solve that hurdle.''

Selig said that he is concerned about the time of games lasting three hours, and is hopeful that umpires begin enforcing rules that speed up play, such as prohibiting players from consistently stepping out of the batter's box between pitches.

"There are some rules that need to be enforced,'' Selig said. "I know the players have habits, and they are tough to break. I'm hopeful [to accelerate the pace of the game] the last half of the season.''

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Selig is confident the drug-testing program is working, reminding everyone it is the only sport that tests for human growth hormone. "One of the things I'm proudest of is that this sport went from no drug testing,'' Selig said, "to the best testing program, not only in sports, but in America. Our program is as good as it could be.''

Instant replay may not be perfect, Selig says, but it's working better than he initially envisioned. "We had no right to expect it could be this good, this fast,'' he said. "I'm very pleased. I couldn't be happier.''

There has been no discussions with the Cincinnati Reds on whether Pete Rose, who's banned from baseball, will be permitted to participate in All-Star festivities next year.

The possible ban of smokeless tobacco will be addressed in the next collective bargaining agreement, but union chief Tony Clark prefers to educate the players of its danger, but let them make the individual choice.

Major League Baseball will honor New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter in the latter part of the season, but not at the All-Star Game. "There will be an opportunity between now and the end of year to do that,'' Selig says, "there are a lot of ideas we will kick around. There is enough time to honor him. If you were sitting around two decades ago and wondered who you'd want be the face of baseball, and what you want this generation to remember, you couldn't have written a script like this. He's been just remarkable.''

The Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves will be responsible whether they will change their names or logos. "The club has to make that decision,'' Selig said, when asked specifically about the Chief Wahoo mascot. "I never had anybody talk to me raising that issue. I know that for years, the Indians did polls and studies, and they kept telling me they had no problem. The Atlanta Braves told me the same thing. The local club will have to make a judgment call.''

He hopes there are tweaks made to the Home-Run derby, which dragged into the night on Monday.

Selig says he is satisfied with the search process to find his heir apparent.

"The process has worked just like I thought it was,'' he said. "It's done fine. Quiet and thoughtful. If you're going to have a meaningful search, no candidate can expose himself.''

When asked about his legacy, Selig says his proudest accomplishment has been the dramatic economic reformation in the game.

"To go from no revenue sharing, where disparity was growing to a stunning [level],'' Selig said, "to a where we have gotten to revenue sharing, revenue has grown to an all-times high.''

However, he said Selig says he's concerned that 70% of the Los Angeles market not receiving Dodgers' games on TV, and has spoken to TV executives in hopes of rectifying the problem.