Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
June 05, 2007
Ozzie Guillen Gets it Right

Ozzie Guillen makes the most intelligent response to Gary Sheffield I've seen. It's not race, it's economics:

Guillen also told the newspaper that he believes there are more Latin players in baseball than African-Americans because players from Central and South American and the Caribbean can sign as free agents while American players have to go through the draft.

"It's not that they can control us; maybe when we come to this country, we're hungry," Guillen told the newspaper. "We're trying to survive. Those guys sign for $500,000 or $1 million and they're made. We have a couple of dollars. You can sign one African-American player for the price of 30 Latin players. Look at how many Latin players have won Cy Youngs or MVP awards the last couple of years, how many Latin players have been in the All-Star Game; it's quantity and quality."


Posted by David Pinto at 01:37 PM | Baseball | TrackBack (0)
Comments

The issue of "Latin" or "Hispanic" versus "Black" is somewhat misleading. Many "Hispanic" players are of African ancestry, and are as "Black" as Gary Sheffield or any other American-born "Black" player. Fortunately for players of all races, baseball has reached the point where what gets you on the field is talent, not the color of your skin.

Posted by: Cameron King at June 5, 2007 07:14 PM

I think the issue for the best black athletes has absolutely noting to do with economics or control. The issue is patience. They don't have to spend any time in the minor leagues before that can get to the major leagues and get the big bucks in basketball or football. If they are good enough to go these directions (and most of the potentially best beseball players are) then that is what they do.

To me the solution to this is simple. MLB needs to invest in NCAA Baseball and make NCAA Divison I equal to AAA, Division II equal to AA, and Division III and NAIA equal to A. MLB needs to provide a path directly from college to MLB just like the NBA and NFL do or they will never start getting back the top black athletes.

Posted by: giantsrainman at June 6, 2007 12:36 AM

NO, Rainman, MLB does not. Black youth has the option and makes a choice; how is that bad? More to your point, baseball does not translate to NCAA competition on the same level football and basketball does, never will. The lack of competition from black athletes will drop the level of the game, but if that is the trade that halts the NBAization of the game so be it. The key is choice, if the option is open to all then let it go.

Posted by: abe at June 7, 2007 09:16 AM
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