Total Pageviews

Thursday, September 27, 2012

"You Don't LOOK Hispanic!"

One of the many great things about sports is that people of different races, religions, and ethnic backgrounds can play together regardless of their differences.  Gone are the days when Jackie Robinson was spit on by racist fans. Blacks and whites, Hispanics and Canadians, Christians and Jews - they can all play together in unified harmony.  Rivalries exist between cities and their teams - not races and their skin colors.

But despite integration, some ethnic groups still like to single themselves out, and they do so with plenty of pride.  For example, each February during Black History Month, the media floods us with movies, biographies, and stories of great African-American people in history.  In September, which is Hispanic Heritage Month, different cities around the country have "Latino Festivals," baseball teams have "Hispanic Heritage Day" at their ball parks, and newspapers feature stories of Hispanic activists who have made a difference in their communities.  We like blending in with the masses, but we also take pride in who we are and from where we came.

In commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Major League Baseball polled a "series of experts" to put together the "All-Time Latino Team."  Being a proud Puerto Rican, I was very interested to see how many of my fellow islanders had made the list and if I agreed with everyone who was selected.  As I read down the list, I pretty much agreed with the "experts" on the different legendary players chosen.  It wasn't until I got towards the end that my face got red, my eyes bulged out of my head, and I got downright angry.  I was so taken aback by two of the selections that I had to go down to the basement so my kids didn't see how upset and wound up I was (I know; it's only a list, but you know me - I'm pretty passionate about all things baseball).  Here is the All-Time Latino Team - see if you can guess what set me off:

Manager - 1994 Manager of the Year Felipe Alou.  It was probably between him and Ozzie Guillen, so I was OK with Alou.

Right-handed pitcher - Juan Marichal.  With his career ERA of 2.29, he deserves to be there over Pedro Martinez.

Left-handed pitcher - Fernando Valenzuela.  Yeah, I can see that, even though "Lefty" Gomez and Johan Santana could have made it too.

Relief pitcher - Mariano Rivera hands-down.  That guy is some sort of alien or superhuman or something.  I wouldn't be surprised if he came back after his knee injury and pitched game 7 of the World Series this year.

Designated hitter - Edgar Martinez, whose .312 career batting average and .418 on-base percentage make him worthy of being on the list (though some would argue that "Big Papi" David Ortiz is also qualified).

Catcher - 12-time All-Star Iván Rodriguez.  Hello!  No-brainer!  If "Pudge" hadn't been selected, I would have exploded.  Javy Lopez, Yadier Molina, Jorge Posada and Manny Sanguillen would have also been good choices, but Iván deserves it, hands-down (actually, one hand behind your back and the other  framing the next pitch!)..

First base - Three-time National League MVP, Albert Pujols.  I'm OK with this one.  It would have been nice to see Orlando Cepeda or Vic Power, but Albert is a true talent, so he deserves to be there.

Second base - 2011 Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar.  Another no-brainer, though Robinson Canó is turning out to be just as good.

Third base - Alex Rodriguez.  Sigh!  Whatever.  I was still feeling OK at this point despite not being a fan of A-Rod.  Plus, A-Rod is not worth my time, so I refused to stress out about that one.

Shortstop - Nine-time Gold Glover Luis Aparicio.  That's fine, though Omar Vizquel is the best shortstop of my generation.  Still feeling OK with the list so far.

Right field - Roberto Clemente.  Duh!  Again, if he had not been chosen, I would have had such a fit that I would have requited a massive dose of sedation.

OK, now here's where I have a problem with the list.  The other two outfielders selected were Ted Williams and Reggie Jackson!  Who???  What the heck?!?  Since when are THEY considered "Latinos?"  Apparently Ted Williams' mother was "of Mexican descent," and Reggie Jackson's father was half Puerto Rican.  What about current players like José Bautista and Carlos Beltrán?  Or past players like  Minnie Miñoso, Vladimir Guerrero, Rubén Sierra, Bernie Williams or José Cruuuuuuz?  Ted and Reggie... really???  Ted Williams admitted that he didn't speak Spanish or seek to embrace the Hispanic culture in order to prevent prejudice or tension (a valid point back in the day, if you're a coward!).  Reggie Jackson speaks some Spanish and his first wife was Hispanic, but at no point during his time playing winter baseball in Puerto Rico was it publicly acknowledged that he was a Latino.  I thought "If they're considered Hispanic, then I'm the 'reina de Inglaterra' (Queen of England, for those of you who don't "habla español)."  So I went to bed in a tizzy, promising myself to write about it the next day.

So it's now the next day, and I've had some time to ponder.  What makes one person more "Hispanic" than another?  Is it the quantity of "hispanicness" in your genetic makeup, or the quality of your life and the way you were raised?  I am 100% Puerto Rican, with parents whose ancestors date back to the native Taíno Indians who lived on the island before Christopher Columbus arrived or back to the Spanish "conquistadores" who brought African slaves with them and settled on the island.  But it's not so cut-and-dry for other Hispanics.  My kids, for example, have a Puerto Rican mother and a white-as-can-be father.  Are they any less Hispanic than me?  How about the people I knew when I lived in Massachusetts, whose parents were both Puerto Rican but they themselves were born on the mainland and had never been to Puerto Rico - are they less Puerto Rican than Roberto Clemente, who was of African lineage?  They speak the language, eat the food, and listen to the music of their fellow Puerto Ricans, but are they less "boricua" because they've never been to Puerto Rico?  Don't try to tell them that they are - they will run you out of town while furiously waving their one-starred flags!

I guess what bothers me the most is that, while Williams and Jackson were great players in their time, did they embrace their Hispanic heritage?  Were they Latinos first and foremost?  Do they know the National Anthem of their country and proudly fly its flag?  They don't have to be fully bilingual nor do they have to eat re fried beans (which I don't eat myself); they just need (or needed, in Williams' case) to embrace their culture, take pride in their heritage, and represent their ethnicity with dignity.  While some would argue that ethnicity should not matter, It does matter to those of us who take pride in ours, and if you don't want us to single ourselves out, then don't be putting together an all-time greats list that singles out a certain ethnicity.

Stay tuned for my analysis and opinion after Major League Baseball releases its "All-Time Jehovah's Witness Team" and "All-Time Vegetarian List."

Monday, September 24, 2012

Our Last Trip to the Ballpark (maybe!)

This past Saturday, my husband and I went to our fifth and final Nationals game of the regular season.  It was a warm afternoon, and Nationals Park was packed with over 40,000 fans hoping to watch Nationals’ pitcher Gio Gonzalez earn his 20th win of the season, this time against the Milwaukee Brewers.  Yes, the “Brew Crew” was in town, the team leading the Majors with 150 stolen bases and an impressive 188 home runs (despite losing Prince Fielder in the off-season).  The team with Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks, and Jonathan Lucroy.  This was a great day to be at the ball park.

Gonzalez and the Nationals did not disappoint.  Not only did Gio pitch 7 great innings with no earned runs and 5 strikeouts, but the Nationals’ bats were on fire, with Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond both hitting 3-run homers in the same inning against former Nats’ pitcher Liván Hernandez.  Poor Livo’s fastball doesn’t go over 85mph and his curveball travels slower than a car on the interstate at 63mph.  Time for Liván to retire, perhaps?

The Nationals beat the Brewers by a score of 10-4 and have a “magic number” of six in order to clinch the National League East division.  Gio Gonzalez has undoubtedly been one of the reasons the Nationals have spent most of the season in first place in their division, and is a top contender for this year’s Cy Young award.  I did recently hear former Red Sox player Nomar Garciaparra comment on TV that Gio doesn’t deserve the Cy Young award because he pitches for a winning team.  He believes that the Mets’ R.A. Dickey, a “one-trick pony” with a knuckleball that hitters have started to decipher, should get the award because he’s pitched well despite playing for a losing team.  Sorry, Nomar – you don’t know what you’re talking about, you fool!  It’s going to be a toss-up between Gio and the Reds’ Johnny Cueto – who both pitch for winning teams (the Reds just clinched the NL Central). 

So anyway, back to Saturday’s game… yes, it was our last one of the regular season, and we opted to not buy tickets for the postseason just yet, since they’re only selling tickets for the division series and we’d rather spend our money on tickets for the NLCS (one of those unfortunate decisions that responsible adults have to make).  We are very happy that we bought a five-game flex plan for the first time this year, and that we were able to watch baseball greats like Stephen Strasburg, Derek Jeter, Joey Votto, and Ryan Braun.  We always had very good seats, and getting in and out of the park (whether we took Metro or parked in a nearby lot) was never an issue.  Despite Saturday’s sellout crowd, Nationals Park is roomy enough where we did not feel cramped or too crowded (something I don’t suspect happens at Fenway, Wrigley, or Camden Yards) and the lines at the concession stands moved quickly (unless the lady behind you takes your food before you can grab it – that witch!)  If you get a chance to catch a playoff game at Nationals Park, go for it.  You’ll get to watch racing presidents, the atmosphere will be electric, and hopefully, like the Nats’ radio announcer Dave Jageler would say, you will witness the Nationals putting “another curly ‘W’ in the books.”

Monday, September 17, 2012

"Steeee-rike one!"

In the 100-plus posts that I've published as Mudville Mom, I have tried to cover many aspects of the game of baseball - my joy in watching a perfectly-executed double play; the hobby of collecting baseball cards; my fascination (or infatuation!) with catchers; and how much I dislike the Phillies and Yankees.  But there's one topic I haven't covered yet, and watching yesterday's Washington Redskins/LA Rams game gave me the inspiration to write about officiating (I won't get into the terrible job that the replacement refs are doing in the NFL - that's a whole other can of worms!).

According to MLB.com, Major League baseball umpires get around $120,000 per season when they start out in the big leagues, and senior umps can earn upwards of $300,000.  Between spring training, a 162-game schedule, and the postseason, being an MLB umpire is a job that takes up most of the year (unlike NFL refs, who can hold other jobs - and if I'm not mistaken, is one of the issues they're dealing with in these ongoing negotiations between the NFL and the referees' union).   So despite not making as much money as the baseball players themselves, umpires are well cared-for while on the road.  Each ump gets a $340 per diem to cover hotel and food, and when they fly, it's always first class. Working a full postseason can tack on an extra $20,000, plus expenses. They also get four weeks of paid vacation during the regular season, which I think is quite excessive when the season is only six months long (I work a 180-day schedule at a high school - imagine if I asked my principal for four weeks of paid vacation during the school year!).

These guys hang onto their jobs, too; on average, there's only one opening for a new big league ump each season.  Joe West, for example, has been umpiring Major League baseball games since the days of Pete Rose and Johnny Bench (34 years) and Derryl Cousins has been calling plays for 33.  Umpiring can run in the family too - Harry Wendelstedt umpired for many years, and his son, Hunter, is an umpire now as well.

But one thing these guy aren't is perfect.  They have been known for making bad calls countless times, most recently in last Saturday's Nationals-Braves game, where the first base umpire claimed that Adam LaRoche's foot was off the base when Martín Prado reached the base, when we know it really wasn't.  The problem is, the reason we know that LaRoche's foot was indeed on the base is because we saw the replay at least six times, including in very slow motion.  Umpires don't have the benefit of replay (except in home run calls, when a team can appeal the call and the umpires go into their clubhouse and review the tape).  Often times the play is so close that they have to make a guess, and other times they have to judge by the sound of the ball hitting the glove instead of by looking at the play. 

While we love to boo and heckle umpires, I think they do a pretty good job overall.  While some people believe that instant replay needs to be expanded and umpires should be allowed to review calls other than in home run situations, I think having them go off into the clubhouse to review every disputed play would make a baseball game last an eternity.  Instead, I do think that they should show a play on a scoreboard's Jumbotron or Diamond Vision or whatever it's called.  That way everyone, including the umpires, can see a replay in a timely manner and umpires can change the call right away.  This wouldn't take long, but then I wonder if umpires would rely on it too much.   Although nothing shatters an umpire's ego more than having to admit a mistake and change a call.

One of the reasons that many of us die-hard baseball fans enjoy the game so much is that in many ways, it has gone unchanged over the years.  Yes, the Designated Hitter has only been around for 39 years, and yes, the new Wild Card and playoffs formats are ridiculous.  But the managers don't wear headsets or use iPads - they still tap their ball caps, point to their noses and ears, and brush their shoulders to send signals to their players.  And the umpire is still the big guy behind the plate - the one who decides fair or foul, swing or no swing, go to first or go sit down.  Day in and day out (except for those 4 weeks of vacation), whether you like them or not.  boo them or cheer their call, spit on them or kick dirt on them, umpires will always be there to make the call.  Now whether or not it's the right one... well, that depends for which team you're cheering!

Friday, September 7, 2012

A Tale of Two Teams

Baseball fans in the Baltimore/Washington, DC area have not had much to cheer about in the past few years.  In Baltimore, once Cal Ripken retired, sports fans shifted their attention to football and the Baltimore Ravens.  In DC, the team that came over from Montreal had some pretty lousy seasons, and the hopes of glory faded in 2010 when pitching ace Stephen Strasburg required season-ending Tommy John surgery.

But wait!  Who is that team currently tied for first place in the AL East?  It's the Baltimore Orioles, under the leadership of former Yankees manager, Buck Showalter.  With the never-give-up attitude and 28 home runs by Adam Jones and the recent power surge from the previously-slumping Mark Reynolds, the Orioles are playing meaningful baseball for the first time in about 15 years.  The "birds" are filling their cozy ballpark with excited fans and unveiling statues of past Orioles greats like Frank Robinson, Eddie Murray, and their most recent addition, "Iron Man" Cal Ripken.  Orioles fans, born and bred in the suburbs of Baltimore or in the Charm City itself,  grew up cheering for these legends, and their storied past (forget the 1969 World Series!) has had many loyal fans who love to tell "I remember when..." stories about their team.

Then there's the other baseball team just as far from my house - the First-place-in-the-NL-East Washington Nationals.  They have led the National League in ERA all season long, and the team features superstars like Gio Gonzalez (my pick for this year's Cy Young award - forget the Reds' Johnny Cueto), teen phenom Bryce Harper who has hit 17 home runs in his short time in the Majors, and of course that Strasburg guy who has recovered very nicely from that elbow surgery he had 2 years ago.  But the Nationals don't have a storied past - most people like to forget that the team came here from Montreal, so they have no memories of nail-biting games, pennant races, crazy uniforms in the 1970s (those blue things the Expos wore back then don't count), or slug fests in the early 1990s.  While the Nationals do have die-hard fans, we did not grow up following the hometown hero or the long-time franchise player.  Our only "I remember when" moments refer to the few years the Nationals played at RFK Stadium, which are years we'd rather forget.

Another problem that the Nationals have attracting fans is that many residents of the DC area are transplants from somewhere else.  Many government employees end up here because of work - military personnel from Ohio (who follow the Indians or Reds); NIH doctors who were brought up as Yankees or Red Sox fans; Pentagon employees who can't tell you what team they root for or they'd have to kill you; and IRS employees who don't follow any teams (because they don't have any fun doing anything but auditing us baseball fans).

While the Orioles have no trouble selling out their park, the Nationals have had very few sellouts this season. Go to Philadelphia on a Tuesday night and the park will be full.  Do the same thing at Nationals Park and you're lucky if you have 22,000 people there (and the expensive seats are full of uptight government workers who won't take off their ties and spend the entire time texting during the game).  DC is still lukewarm about the Nationals, which is a terrible shame for a team that has been so consistent and is so talented.  When the Orioles play at Nationals Park, half the stadium is wearing red while the other half is in orange and black.  But when the Nats go to Camden Yards, there is only a handful of Nationals fans who choose to make the quick drive into Baltimore.

Yankees and Red Sox fans are known for being passionate and outspoken.  Orioles fans are notoriously excited any time their team wins anything.  Phillies fans - they're just obnoxious.  But Nationals fans seem to be just "there" - we need to get more excited, more united, more animated.  Why?  Because this team is going to the playoffs, and we need to fill the seats with red shirts and loud cheers.  In this case, quantity is more important than quality - I don't care if you're a bandwagon fan who only wants to root for the Nats when they win (us die-hards will still be here in 20 years).  The team's slogan for this season has been "Ignite your Nattitude," and that's something we need to do more of as the playoffs get closer.