Comments on: Hank Aaron applied to be MLB commissioner once?

By: bh192012

bh192012 — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 20:55:25 +0000

I guess that leaves Prince Fielder, Robinson Cano, Adrian Beltre, Crutis Granderson, David Ortiz, Pablo Sandoval and Melky Cabrera (7/16 or 44% of the starting fielders for the 2012 All Star game) wondering if they’re black enough for Ernie Banks.

By: Chris Fiorentino

Chris Fiorentino — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:22:44 +0000

AAD – I didn’t say “blue-chipper”. How many “blue-chippers” are there? Maybe 15 a year at most. and judging from the draft a couple years ago even less. Even if you are a 4-year college player, and you have a choice between basketball and baseball, unless you REALLY love playing baseball, you will probably choose basketball for many reasons. For one thing, you can always go back to baseball if basketball doesn’t work out. Vice versa doesn’t usually work out too well.

Historio…I didn’t think paper was cantankerous at all. He seemed to be agreeing with me…unless I missed something. I agree with him that it isn’t a race issue and that it is something that is happening across all sports.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:38:43 +0000

Yes, they do, but if you have one group whose participation declines over time, it’s valuable to see if there are contributing factors that can be checked. We don’t want to lose participation amongst any group — especially one that was marginalized for so long. I worry about a disconnect b/c baseball is often connected to a rural past in our imaginations, and there’s so much racial baggage in that.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:33:34 +0000

I didn’t mean to be cantankerous….I just really don’t care what color or nation of origin a player is…..I just enjoy watching great athletes play baseball…and great athletes come in all colors….don’t they?

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:28:49 +0000

Exactly. And with football you have to buy pads — if you want to be serious about it. You don’t even need a field or 18 kids to play baseball. We had an empty lot in our neighborhood (the dog bowl was first, the tree was 3b, etc) and w/ a smaller space we needed less kids — of course, the need for players was what let my brother and his friends let us girls play…and I’ll admit I’m not that good.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:23:04 +0000

You just have to be cantankerous, don’t you? Is it because of Chris? I do think it’s sad that there are less black players (American) now, and it would be nice to see more black players (from anywhere) in certain positions.

By: indaburg

indaburg — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:44:38 +0000

African-American is a term used to describe black people in the USA. Dominicans are not Americans. African-Dominican, perhaps? Although, if you used that term in the Dominican Republic, you would be looked at rather oddly. They call themselves “morenos” rather than black. Many Dominicans, even those as dark as night, deny their African heritage due to deeply engrained racism in the Dominican Republic. As an American of Dominican descent, I have no shame of my African heritage but that is mostly due to my American cultural assimilation.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:12:42 +0000

I’m still not sure how baseball is a lot more expensive for kids to play, if they want to play, than football or basketball. You need shoes no matter what you play, that has no effect. In baseball you need a glove (they really are not that expensive), baseballs are cheaper than basketballs or footballs. You only need one bat per group of kids (I never owned a bat growing up). Anywhere you can play football, you can play baseball (or at least wiffle ball), as kids, we didn’t need a baseball field….just a field. The problem is one of interest, not opportunity.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:07:28 +0000

Yeah, I think the “problem” is a “baseball is losing talented athletes to other sports” problem, not a race problem. Great athletes are exciting to watch play, Trout is awesome to watch because of his athletic feats. Billy Hamilton is causing all kinds of buzz because of his tremendous speed and instincts on the bases. More athletes (regardless of descent) in baseball = more exciting and fun baseball.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:47:45 +0000

Nolan Ryan makes baseball decisions, not business decisions, and he owns but a tiny portion of the Rangers. Greenberg owns the team.

Jordan has made a lot of money on his endorsements and undeniably capitalized on his popularity, he has also been an unmitigated disaster running his teams.

I agree that having been a former player in no way excludes someone from being a quality administrator or leader and I think Aaron would make a fine leader….but the commissioner of baseball is most definitely not a leadership role at this point in history (though it may have been when he “applied”). It is his job to enact the will of the owners and to take public blame for the owners’ unpopular decisions/positions. That has not always been the case, but it most definitely is the case now.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:45:02 +0000

“Caucasian” is a BS label itself. Not all white people are descended from inhabitants of the Caucasus region and using the term broadly for white people is an outgrowth of past racial thinking. People use the tag as a fancy-pants reference to whites but that’s crap. You might as well use that “Aryan” silliness — which, of course, most people know better than to do.

Yeah, there were several annoyances in that post — and I could only bring myself to sigh at all of them.

By: blacksables

blacksables — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 08:09:33 +0000

During the 1992 Winter Olympics, an announcer referred to a sliver medalist as the first African-American from another country to win a medal in that sport, so yeah, to be politically correct, any black person has to be referred to as an African-American.

Which is something all the black people in Africa find really amusing. They always ask to see a birth certificate so they can prove it.

By: American of African Descent

American of African Descent — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 04:07:16 +0000

A blue-chipper playing four years of college basketball? The 1980s called . . .

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 03:49:51 +0000

I agree. If the most segregated hour in America is Sunday morning church services, I think one of the most integrated is youth soccer games. My nephew’s team has players who are black, Hispanic, American Indian and white on it. Awhile back they played a team with a kid(s) on it who was Muslim — the sideline had a few women in hijabs on it. Of course, soccer is gaining in popularity b/c of its international status and “low participation cost” (I say that with some hesitancy).

By: crankyfrankie

crankyfrankie — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 03:36:08 +0000

No, not all poor people are black but there are more poor minorities in America then the percentage of Americans overall. Priced gloves to donate to a local group that is attempting to help little league that were wiped out by the storm and was surprised how much it costs. Then you get to spikes,bats and volunteers and baseball is lots more expensive. And yes my attempt was to be nice. Growing up watching Mays and Richie Allen helped me appreciate people who don’t look like me. Many peoples exposure to other races in America is through sports so the more diversity in all sports the better off the nation is. Yes I am aware it sounds pollyannish.

By: Chris Fiorentino

Chris Fiorentino — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 03:31:35 +0000

This is so true. The fact is that African-Americans are favoring Football and Basketball more than Baseball at this point in time. Why? Because they can much more easily play football and basketball than baseball, both at home and in school. Especially in school. How many times do you see high school baseball on TV? Never. How many times do you see high school basketball and football on TV? Almost weekly when in season.

BUT this isn’t limited to African Americans. Whites, Asians, and every other race is also migrating more toward basketball and football than baseball. Because baseball is a grind. Guys don’t get drafted out of high school and play for millions right away, unless their name is Strasburg or Harper. No, you have to grind it out for years in the minors to become one of the 800+ Major League ballplayers. When you play these games, you aren’t on TV. Even college baseball is only on TV during the CWS. Yet a guy can play basketball and be on TV all the time all 4 years he is in college. Same with football saturdays. Sure not everybody makes the pros…but when you get drafted in football and basketball, you are playing to join a professional team from the start. And that’s the dream many youngsters have.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 03:07:48 +0000

I don’t want to start something because I think you’re intention is to be nice. But, I can’t resist saying: Not all poor people are black and not all black people are poor. There isn’t a population shortage in our country. Gloves aren’t that expensive, and baseball (especially the kind kids play in lots and neighborhoods and streets) is less costly to play than football. Charity is nice, but inspiration is better.

By: American of African Descent

American of African Descent — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 03:01:29 +0000

Your statement was just dumb, not conservative. And the total tonnage of things that you do not know could stop a team of oxen in their tracks.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 02:09:16 +0000

Especially some women!

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 02:07:39 +0000

To be fair, he did say he had to get hammered off his ass to listen to O’Reilly.

By: historiophiliac

historiophiliac — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 02:02:24 +0000

sigh

By: approvenothing

approvenothing — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:59:05 +0000

I am also a fool for making a conservative statement on a leaning liberal blog. Anything that i do not know?

By: crankyfrankie

crankyfrankie — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:49:37 +0000

No the issue is that in the African-American community there are a number of gifted athletes that are not ever playing baseball. Baseball is, relatively speaking, an expensive sport compared to basketball. You can play basketball with two people and a ball. Baseball, on the other hand, requires a field and more players to play a game. Gloves are not cheap and fields are not plentiful. The RBI program, a good charity, in attempting to remedy this situation. It is not a everybody get a chance but rather the sport is better when it gets the best athletes from the U.S.A. in addition to from around the world.

By: American of African Descent

American of African Descent — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:46:30 +0000

The issue is that blacks are choosing to play football and basketball instead of baseball. This means that baseball is (potentially) losing out on some phenomenal athletes. Can you imagine how much poorer the sport would be if Bob Gibson had gone on to box as opposed to pitch? Or if Jackie Robinson had gone on to play football as opposed to baseball?

No one is advocating quotas — everyone has got to earn their spot. But you’re a fool if you wouldn’t try to make your talent pool as great as possible. You’re also a fool if you listen to Bill O’Reilly.

By: American of African Descent

American of African Descent — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:38:20 +0000

Goodwin's law states that the probability that someone will compare something else to the Nazis is directly proportional to the length of the thread. Re-read my post. I called simon94022's post the stupidest thing I ever read, I showed why it was stupid, then I told him to shut up unless (big unless) he could back up his premise. In short, Brennan, you are an illiterate slut and should SHUT THE #@&* UP when the adults are talking! (See what I did there? I used irony to make a rhetorical point.)

By: brennan71

brennan71 — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:57:40 +0000

Speaking of stupid, read your post again. You have a legitimate disagreement with simon94022, toward which you make excellent points. But instead of making your points and letting them speak for themselves, you devolve into shut-uppery. This is the interweb equivalent of Godwin’s Law–the first to tell another to STFU automatically loses the debate. Fail.

By: approvenothing

approvenothing — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:44:25 +0000

You are concerned because there aren’t as many African American players in the majors? I’ll be honest, who the fuck cares? There is no problem with the way it is now, I’m sorry that not at many blacks are playing in the majors as ten years ago? Welcome to America, land of everything has to be 50/50 so we don’t hurt anybodies feelings. Make everyone earn it. Or i know, everybody is a racist and considers race a factor when they look for major league talent! Well, time to go get hammered off my a** and listen to Bill O’Reilly.

By: hatesycophants

hatesycophants — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:40:53 +0000

Hank Aaron shouldn’t have had to “apply” for anything once he retired from the game.

The “writer’s” dismissive closing sentence (and the lack of diversity among ownership and management) is a fairly clear indication that MLB hasn’t advanced as much as decent folk would hope since the 40s and 50s.

By: thegurubrave

thegurubrave — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:38:46 +0000

I may be wrong but do Dominicans count as African Americans? There aren’t a lot of African Americans because opportunities for African Americans aren’t as great as the predominant Caucasian race in North America.It seems to me, that MLB is more of a melting pot, and I try not to pay attention to race as much as stats… I’m getting tired of every word out of his mouth being about race.

By: American of African Descent

American of African Descent — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:27:55 +0000

I would also like to see more diversity within ownership.