( CNN ) -- Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig will retire when his current term ends January 24 , 2015 , Major League Baseball said Thursday . Selig said that `` it remains my great privilege to serve the game I have loved throughout my life . '' `` Baseball is the greatest game ever invented , and I look forward to continuing its extraordinary growth and addressing several significant issues during the remainder of my term , '' he said in a statement . Selig , 79 , has been full-time commissioner since 1998 after six years as the interim boss . Before that , he owned the Milwaukee Brewers after moving the Seattle Pilots in 1970 . The game changed significantly during Selig 's tenure as commissioner . Interleague play was instituted , teams that exceeded a salary threshold were penalized and the money shared with other teams , and the postseason was revamped several times to include division series and the Wild Card playoff contest . Umpires can now also use instant replay to review certain plays . MLB also grew . Two teams -- the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Rays -- joined . The Montreal Expos moved to Washington and became the Nationals . Other teams switched divisions and the Brewers changed leagues . There were low points , too , including MLB canceling the World Series in 1994 after a players ' strike , and a long investigation into the use of performing-enhancing drugs in baseball that culminated in a 2007 report that led to congressional hearings .
Bud Selig was owner of the Milwaukee Brewers when he became interim commissioner . He took on the job full time six years later . The Dodgers are owned by Guggenheim Baseball Holdings, which is headed up by Steve Tisch, a former MLB executive who also owns the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and New York Mets.