funny, someone was kvetching about that yesterday too. as if a shill baker got in and did that and this is simply gloating.
19 out of 22 notables picked by the baker might also indicate that shills were too busy pushing the bread for anyone to nominate anything. there might have been very little truly notable. breads like that happen, especially at beginning of day shift.
the protocol is to screen the anon-nominated notables for relevance and timeliness, especiall y if they are seconded; to reject self-nominated notables and educate anons who self-nominate; to create informative headlines; and yes, to choose notables that have perhaps not been nominated or seconded by anons. a good baker will spot notables early in the bread and put them in a bundle so anons know they have been noted and do not need further calling out.
that a baker chooses a post as notable without anons calling it notable does not mean "self-nomination" on the part of the baker.
"self-nomination" by a baker would mean the baker was noting their own content posts. was that the case in the bread that is the subject of your complaint?