Long Island, about 1956 or so ...
Posted on 10/04/2011 4:30:57 PM PDT by Darren McCarty
A question occurred Monday around the time Juan Cruz was pitching to Nelson Cruz, which was a half-inning after Alexi Ogando got the Rangers out of a seventh-inning jam and one inning before Neftali Feliz came in to close out the Rays. The question was this: Do young American baseball players understand what they're up against?
Every year, hundreds of American college and high school players sign contracts and head out to go to work in the minor leagues. They show up and find the world doesn't look quite the same. Amateur baseball in this country -- especially college baseball -- could be mistaken for a country-club sport. There are shockingly few minorities and not even much in the way of socio-economic diversity. It's an upper-middle-class world, fueled by expensive travel teams, private coaches and the best suburban high schools.
Counting historically black colleges, a recent study by the United States Sports Academy found that 4.5 percent of college baseball players are black, In 2006, there were just 24 black players in the SEC, a conference that includes eight states with a black population of more than 25 percent.
That's the reality, not a judgment. Baseball has become less enticing to African-Americans, a fact attributable either to diminished opportunity (expense/infrastructure/support/coaching) or the allure of other pursuits (basketball/football). College baseball is by far America's most underrated and under-covered sport, but the racial makeup of participants is no different from women's soccer. Players are often groomed more than developed.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.go.com ...
Today, this editorial by Tim Keown pushes some leftist tripe here that is what I expect from BSPN. Good ole hypocrisy.
Besides the stupidity of this article, you have players from Cuba, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the USA which are all considered "Hispanic" despite the large difference in all those areas.
My attitude is this. Go Tigers. I don't care where the players come from. The only time I watch BSPN anymore is if my team is on. I prefer Big 10 Network anyway.
ESPN is bigoted.
Verlander is too sick.
Go Tigas!
1) No. 2) Who really cares?
This is a racist column!!
Silly question.
Que?
Racist question without a doubt.
And in view of they did to Jr. and Rush Limbaugh, shows them for the vile hypocrites they are.
We don’t do little league in America the way we used to. Used to be every boy was on a team and played pickup games in the park.
Used to be a team shirt and a ball cap were all that made a team but now I see big money spent for full uniforms and equipment. Kinda puts it out of reach of the poorer kids while in latin America, they’re still playing in the vacant lots.
Still got the playoff thread going, see tagline.
Is basketball too ghetto black?
Is Hockey too Nordic white?
Who cares?
They are all great athletes.
I can be honest. This is why I stopped watching MLB and now only really watch the NFL.
MLB used to be by far my no.1 but the sport just ain’t the same.
If I wanted to watch another country’s sports professionals I would buy Fox Sports International.
Just speaking the truth, which is Illegal now. MLB is a business, if you want to keep making money, you’re going to have to cater to your fans. A lot of people I know feel the same way (which isn’t saying the country does of course)- everything is hispanized, almost all the players are non-American, the teams wear jersey’s that say “Los Mets”, and the music at the ball park is almost all salsa or reggaeton.
Great....I have no problem with it existing this way, I’m just saying that’s why I opted out for something far more American and to my tastes. I hope the huge hispanic market can support those salaries CC and them get when that’s the only market they have.
Just the men I hear.... I dunno.... I am totally opposed to porn as a Christian so I will not be looking into that farther.
Affirmative Action for Major League Baseball. Sounds like the way to go. Can’t have all those Hispanics (whoever and wherever they come from).
Why do they consider it necessary to question the presence of latinos in baseball? Wasn’t that the complaint of African Americans, that they didn’t get a chance to compete? In fact, it still is the complaint.
Are the NFL and NBA too black?
The answer is “NO”. The NFL and the fans don’t care; they just want to win.
How come there are so few Japanese and Hispanics in the NHL?
Congress is going to demand MLB to go affirmative action now.
Is ESPN too liberal?
Beisbol been bery, bery good to Latinoamerica.
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