Senate hopeful J.D. Hayworth apparently has jumped the gun in his public thank-you to Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig for opting to keep the 2011 MLB All Star Game in Phoenix, despite pressure from immigration advocates to move the game in protest of Arizona's controversial, new immigration law.
We got an e-mail from Hayworth's campaign about 2 a.m. today pimping a letter Hayworth sent Selig thanking him for keeping the game in Phoenix.
One problem: as far as we can tell, as of now, Selig hasn't made any decision on the matter, and he definitely hadn't made a decision at 2 a.m. -- the time at which Hayworth sent the e-mail.
Maybe J.D. knows something we don't.
Calls to Selig's office were not immediately returned, but there's nothing on the commissioner's Web site even referencing a decision.
According to Arizona Republic sports columnist Nick Piecoro, no comment on any decision is even expected until Selig addresses the media this afternoon.
While sources close to Selig say moving the game's unlikely, it still seems that prematurely thanking Selig for a decision he's yet to officially make could only hurt Phoenix's chances of retaining the midsummer classic.
We contacted Hayworth campaign spokesman Mark Sanders to see if he had some advanced knowledge of Selig's decision, but he didn't immediately get back to us.
Check out Hayworth's letter below.
July 13, 2010
Dear Commissioner Selig:
As you prepare to enjoy this year's All-Star Game in Anaheim, please accept my thanks for keeping the 2011 event at Chase Field in Phoenix.Perhaps it was inevitable that our "national pastime" would be drawn into the cauldron of national politics, but the decision to play the mid-season classic in Arizona next year is a practical, not political course of action.Arizona SB 1070 simply reaffirms federal immigration law, so to satisfy the demands of open-border extremists who are railing against Arizona and against existing law, the only alternative venue would be Rogers Centre in Toronto, since it is located in Canada, and therefore outside the jurisdiction of United States immigration law.Your decision to keep the game in Arizona is welcomed not only by Arizonans, but by millions of Americans as well.
Sincerely,
JD Hayworth
United States Senate Candidate
