Posted on 06/03/2007 9:31:25 AM PDT by Kid Shelleen
The percentage of African-Americans playing Major League Baseball is at an all-time low and Gary Sheffield says he has a theory why that's the case.
--snip--
In an interview with GQ magazine that's currently on newsstands, the typically outspoken Tigers designated hitter said Latin players have replaced African-Americans as baseball's most prevalent minority because they are easier to control.
(Excerpt) Read more at abclocal.go.com ...
LOL... it’s all that time he’s been spending in the great enlightenment known as Detroit.
I was at a Marlins game and watched Sheffield throw a tantrum. It was ugly.
In my opinion, with absolutely no statistics or facts to back it up, one reason there are more Latin players in MLB is because they are willing to stick it out longer in the minors. Minor league players don’t make a lot of money, by American standards, and it’s not an easy life. To many Latin players the amount of money they can make in the minors is very good relative to what they might be able to make in some Latin countries. That being the case it’s not a bad job to stick with, especially with the hopes of being brought up to the majors. I’d like to see statistics on the racial, ethnic, and national mix of the minor leagues in this country. I know that are other factors, but I do think this is a valid one.
Tennis
Ice Hockey
Swimming
Sailboat Racing
Skiing
Water Polo
Professional Golf
/sarcasm
It all starts out on the playgrounds. Kids play what the other kids play and they play what is most popular with their friends or what is most convenient.
"I called it years ago. What I called is that you're going to see more black faces, but there ain't no English going to be coming out."
Maybe it was the Andriol.
Oddly enough, the Tigers have a fairly large percentage of black players but aside from himself, most of them aren’t big hitters.
On the other hand there are guys like Magglio Ordonez who had a 5 hit game last night including a home run, a couple of doubles and singles. Then there’s Placido Polanco who is a practically guaranteed RBI hitter. Pudge is a hitter and also arguably the best catcher in the game.
Personally I suspect it has more to do with the fact that we don’t play baseball as kids as much as we used to. In latin America it’s still a major passtime. Also, latin American blacks generally aren’t considered black.
“I called it years ago. What I called is that you’re going to see more black faces, but there ain’t no English going to be coming out.”
“English” hasn’t come out of Gary Sheffield’s mouth either. Wow, this guy is angry at the world.
Exactly. Watching and following Shefield/s career,
he always seem to be a lightning rod and all for Gary,
come hell or high water. His comments on this subject,
is about as revealing as anything about where he has
been and where he is going...down the tubes with the
Tigers...overpaid and underproduced..as he was with
the Yankees...JK
Ok, Sheffield needs to explain to us why there aren’t more whites in basketball! Enough said!
From a idiot with many kids from different women.....Just who GQ should be talking too.
They might make more then you think. My nephew was drafted by the Expo's a number of years ago. $350,000 signing bonus, $75,000 per year, three years guaranteed. He was resigned at $125,000 per year, three more years. He never rose above AA.
He is now 26 and coaches at training camps and is making $80,000 a year.
His father (my Brother-in-law), who played one season for the Expo's once explained to me that the pros keep a lot of guys around for several years, even though they will never make the pros. This is so they can fill out the roster's in the minors, some of these guys can make up to 200K.
The sad part of the above is his father convinced him, when he was 19, to turn down a full ride scholarship at Pepperdine, to go pro.
Which leads me to my original question that I posed when the Tigers acquired Scheffield. Why? The team was pretty good, and the only thing that stopped them from winning the whole shebang was a few choice fielding errors. And the fact that they didn’t hit worth a crap. But I digress...
He, apparently, don't know no good english.
Wow! Thanks for the info. I had no idea. I had friends who played in the minors, but that was much further back than I like to admit, and they were not making that kind of money. Your nephew sounds like quite an athlete. I understand your feelings about the Pepperdine scholarship, but he is only 26 years old and can certainly still do anything in life that he wants. Actually, his unique sports background, because it attests to his ability to be committed to a goal and put in a lot of effort to achieve it, will be a big plus for him in how he is viewed by potential employers etc., or by universities if he wants to go back to school.
I read someone recently who said it’s because baseball is a game that’s passed from father to son - watching the games together, playing catch in the back yard - lots of hours and lots of patience. When the fathers aren’t there, the game isn’t there.
Mrs VS
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