Shef's Ideas
I don't know if the rest of you caught Sheffield's recent comments about why there are so few African-American players today, but I found it fascinating and thought provoking. Here is the main part of what he said:
"Where I'm from, you can't control us. You might get a guy to do it that way for a while because he wants to benefit, but in the end, he is going to go back to being who he is. And that's a person that you're going to talk to with respect, you're going to talk to like a man.
"These are the things my race demands. So, if you're equally good as this Latin player, guess who's going to get sent home? I know a lot of players that are home now can outplay a lot of these guys."
My first reaction was that it sounds like an issue of pride, saying "you can't tell me what to do". I'm really curious what kind of experiences he has had or thinks players have that leads him to think the level of respect is not there. I don't doubt that this is an issue in the black community, a high value on respect and being treated like a man. But my question is how is this being compromised in the world of baseball?...and how much of this value is pursued in a healthy way and how much is just not being willing to take discipline and instruction.Who knows for sure what Shef was trying to say, but I have often wondered why there are so few African-Americans in baseball today. It is a complicated issue to be sure, but one baseball has been wrestling with. I know part of the issue is with economics...it is not the cheapest sport with gloves, bats, balls, etc. To really play at a high level there needs to be access to good equipment, organized play, etc. That is why MLB has an urban program to promote baseball in cities in lower-income areas. You would think there would be similar problems with football then since there is all kinds of equipment...but apparently not so much.
So, what other factors keep more African-Americans from playing?
I would love to hear any ideas out there. It is sad to me there has been such a decline. There was such an identification with baseball in the Black community for so long, such a pride in the place of black players in the game. Even the history of the negro leagues is a testament to the prominence of the sport in the community.
Somehow baseball has either lost its appeal for many African-Americans or has become a more difficult ladder to climb...which seems closer to what Shef was saying. But he wasn't referring to economics, rather the respect apparently absent on that ladder.
I really don't know. But it is a curious issue. Maybe Shef is not far off....?
2 comments:
i tead that article to and was intrigued by what sheffield said and why things are they way they are. i wonder if part of the decline in black players has to do with the 'fad' of basketball. that's what kids wanna play these days in the inner city... not baseball. it became more appealing to them... while baseball became slow and not as easy or accessible. being a basketball player is more revered in the african american community.
as far as sheff's comments... ehhh... i doubt that baseball is as racist as he's making it out to be. but then again... i'm in the stands watching... not dealing with general management. so what do i know.
Thinking more about the issue I was also wondering if the problem falls more to decreasing interest or to decreasing opportunity or, as Shef says, institutional racism.
It seems to me that the interest level must play a big role. Why is that? Why have basketball and football become more appealing? Is it a cycle of less African-American faces in the game to look up to, resulting in less interest among kids, resulting in less faces...and so on? At the same time more faces in those other sports? Is there a certain perception of one sport over another...that it seems less attainable or less desirable or less culturally significant to become a baseball player?
Whatever the issue it will be interesting to see how baseball responds to the fact.
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