2008 Woodie Awards
Baseball legacy should not be overlooked
Eric Wormus
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Sports
I never thought the "Miami bubble" would grow so large as to encompass sports. Either out of naiveté or ignorance, I assumed the one national topic everyone kept up with was sports. So when Tuesday rolled around I expected to see something, anything, about Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball.
I was wrong. We did get news piece number 516 about the hockey team (and that's just since they lost), but not a peep about Jackie Robinson.
Jackie completely altered the landscape of baseball. Some of the best players in the 1960s and 70s were able to pursue the dream of playing in the big leagues because of him. He opened the door for guys like Ernie Banks, Frank Robinson and Larry Doby to showcase their talent.
Is it possible those guys could have made it without Jackie? Sure, but it definitely helps to have a role model who has been there before.
The celebration of Jackie Robinson puts us in a unique and often uncomfortable place- the race debate.
We like to think that the realm of sports is above racism. For every sign that it is, reality eats away at out hubris. A city like Cincinnati can come together to root for Marvin Lewis and Dusty Baker, two black head coaches. Yet it also was the home of Marge Schott and her infamous quote, "Dave (Parker) is my million dollar 'N-word.'"
And then a report comes out, like the one that came out Tuesday, showing that only 8.9 percent of Major League Baseball players are black, a 20-year low, and immediately a line is drawn in the sand.
On one side you have the people who blame racist owners and the other side who dismiss it as nothing more than playing the race card. There is no middle ground and no one wants to give an inch.Unfortunately for the two sides, the issue resides solely in that middle ground into which ideologues dare not trod.
The fact is there are several reasons for the decline of blacks in baseball. The most obvious is the enormous influx of Latin and Asian baseball players. MLB owners have just recently come to understand the immense talent poll of Latin and Asian players. It becomes an arms race to see who can sign the most the fastest.
I was wrong. We did get news piece number 516 about the hockey team (and that's just since they lost), but not a peep about Jackie Robinson.
Jackie completely altered the landscape of baseball. Some of the best players in the 1960s and 70s were able to pursue the dream of playing in the big leagues because of him. He opened the door for guys like Ernie Banks, Frank Robinson and Larry Doby to showcase their talent.
Is it possible those guys could have made it without Jackie? Sure, but it definitely helps to have a role model who has been there before.
The celebration of Jackie Robinson puts us in a unique and often uncomfortable place- the race debate.
We like to think that the realm of sports is above racism. For every sign that it is, reality eats away at out hubris. A city like Cincinnati can come together to root for Marvin Lewis and Dusty Baker, two black head coaches. Yet it also was the home of Marge Schott and her infamous quote, "Dave (Parker) is my million dollar 'N-word.'"
And then a report comes out, like the one that came out Tuesday, showing that only 8.9 percent of Major League Baseball players are black, a 20-year low, and immediately a line is drawn in the sand.
On one side you have the people who blame racist owners and the other side who dismiss it as nothing more than playing the race card. There is no middle ground and no one wants to give an inch.Unfortunately for the two sides, the issue resides solely in that middle ground into which ideologues dare not trod.
The fact is there are several reasons for the decline of blacks in baseball. The most obvious is the enormous influx of Latin and Asian baseball players. MLB owners have just recently come to understand the immense talent poll of Latin and Asian players. It becomes an arms race to see who can sign the most the fastest.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 3
Jim
posted 4/18/08 @ 4:21 PM EST
Plain and simple, this article really doesn't make much sense. First, you go off lamenting the fact that there was no article about Jackie Robinson in Tuesday's paper. (Continued…)
ethan donaldson
posted 4/21/08 @ 2:16 AM EST
this was a well intentioned column. and even though it drifted a bit, i can't help but be impressed with the choice of subject.
my old columns didn't always come off the way i intended, but, as they say, practice makes perfect. (Continued…)
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