Comments on: So really, what does “he’s a ballplayer” actually mean?

By: cur68

cur68 — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:54:25 +0000

Mat Stairs, God of Thunder, King of Beaverland. Has a nice ring to it.

By: WhenMattStairsIsKing

WhenMattStairsIsKing — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:37:57 +0000

Thought so.

By: Mr. Jason "El Bravo" Heyward

Mr. Jason "El Bravo" Heyward — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:35:06 +0000

Yes.

By: WhenMattStairsIsKing

WhenMattStairsIsKing — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:24:34 +0000

Haha. I’d love to hear baseball players be described as random inanimate objects.

“That guy Jerry Hairston is a real pair of scissors, I tell ya.”

By: WhenMattStairsIsKing

WhenMattStairsIsKing — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:23:17 +0000

Does this make Matt Stairs a Thunder God?

By: Jonny 5

Jonny 5 — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:42:19 +0000

“pretty fly for a white guy” is the new “scrappy” or “gamer” Just an FYI

By: Ari Collins

Ari Collins — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 19:57:25 +0000

If you look at who’s been called “scrappy” or “a gamer”, it’s a white player 95% of the time.

By: BC

BC — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 19:26:07 +0000

It means he’s not a doorknob. Or a washing machine. Or a Rotato. Or….

By: pipkin42

pipkin42 — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:58:13 +0000

Melvin Mora has a huge ego, though.

By: cur68

cur68 — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:51:57 +0000

Jeez, I don’t even know how we get from ‘ballplayer’ to ‘a given ‘complexion’. I took it to mean they like the guy because he’s not a douche, can field his position, bat just well enough to be respected and is not Dykstra, Manny, ARod, or Latos (wait, I sad douche twice now). How did we get to what color he is from that statement? I happen to agree, BTW; I like him. He’s a ballplayer. Now have I said something wrong?

By: Brian Murphy

Brian Murphy — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:44:44 +0000

David Eckstein seems to be the poster child

Who’s your favorite “ballplayer”?

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:32:27 +0000

Yesterday I noted a couple of scouts referring to Melvin Mora as “a ballplayer” and mused what, if anything, that could mean.

Wasn’t sure if serious, as the first words in my mind were “scrappy, gritty, white, not a good baseball player”. Moshe Mandel at the [now defunct] TYU tackled this subject last year at this link:
http://www.theyankeeu.com/2010/02/fans-media-and-racism-without-racists-14913

By: sabathiawouldbegoodattheeighthtoo

sabathiawouldbegoodattheeighthtoo — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:31:44 +0000

Pujols, Maddux, Jeter and others were on the list of Ballplayers…

By: sabathiawouldbegoodattheeighthtoo

sabathiawouldbegoodattheeighthtoo — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:30:58 +0000

but the article says “not athletic” and everyone knows black baseball players who are any good are “athletic.” Further, the quote excluding the “athletes” from the definition was from Youkilis, about his own team (shock), and everyone knows there are no black (i.e., african-american) players in Boston…

By: dodger88

dodger88 — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:23:54 +0000

Agreed as it seems these extra descriptions are only used on those who are mediocre when looking at statistics.

By: Mr. Jason "El Bravo" Heyward

Mr. Jason "El Bravo" Heyward — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:05:52 +0000

“Kent doesn’t show much emotion, he’s a ballplayer” That might be my favorite. Emotionless = ballplayer. Awesome.

By: Mr. Jason "El Bravo" Heyward

Mr. Jason "El Bravo" Heyward — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 17:52:41 +0000

Minor amendment to your definition: good guy/hard worker/not dumb/no ego/mediocre talent

Also, where do Asians fit in with these generalized, overly broad, meaningless, titles? I would hopethat there’s a completely new hybrid term that fits here like “he’s a scraptastic ballgamer”.