The Associated Press

No matter how diligent he was in removing himself from the daily operation of the Milwaukee Brewers, Bud Selig was perceived to have a conflict of interest as commissioner of baseball because of his ownership stake in the club.

With the announcement Friday that the Brewers are being put up for sale, the first step was taken in removing that cloud that hung over Selig's commissionership.

"Now it is time for me to formally sever my ties to the Milwaukee Brewers baseball club," Selig said in a prepared statement.

"As commissioner, it is inappropriate for me to root for any one club but I must admit and I hope people will understand that I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Milwaukee Brewers."

That soft spot is understandable because it was Selig's dogged determination and perseverance that brought the Brewers to Milwaukee in the first place. He led the group that purchased the club out of bankruptcy court in Seattle in 1970, five years after the Braves bolted to Atlanta and left the city without a baseball team.

Against what often appeared to be overwhelming odds, Selig also spearheaded the efforts to build Miller Park, which he maintained was necessary to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee. Having secured the team's future, he moved from interim commissioner to assume that position full time in August 1998.

At that point, Selig's 30 percent interest in the club was placed in a voting trust, designed to remove him from an active role in the club. But because he maintained an office in Milwaukee instead of New York, and because his daughter, Wendy Selig-Prieb, ran the club until September 2002, Selig was unable to avoid conflict-of-interest accusations.

The Milwaukee franchise has been in serious decline in recent years, going 11 seasons without a winner and amassing $110 million in debt, but Selig always considered the Brewers his baby.

After 35 years of ownership - the longest-tenured reign in the major leagues - it's not easy to cut the cord. A sentimental fan at heart, Selig often reminisced about the glory days of the club in the early 1980s and the many star players who wore the Brewers uniform.

"I have many wonderful and lasting memories of my time with the Brewers," Selig said. "Above all, I will always remember with great fondness my relationship with the baseball fans of Milwaukee over two generations and with those players and employees who called Milwaukee home.

"I have been most fortunate to have several of baseball's greatest players, Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Rollie Fingers, Don Sutton, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, among others, not only to play for me but also become like family to me.

"I am also gratified to have had a long and lasting relationship with Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Uecker."

Now, assuming a buyer can be found, the Seligs are preparing for the day when they no longer will be associated with the Brewers. Selig-Prieb said her family had no intention of being involved with any prospective new ownership group.

"Today, we are envisioning a time in which the Seligs won't be involved and that there will be new ownership of the club," she said. "We'll be involved until there is an ownership change. But with an ownership change, we will not be involved."

Selig recently said he planned to leave the commissioner's office after his current term expires in 2006.