The Racial Divide - Divided As Ever

Nothing like a good race issue to get me interested in my blog again. Last week, while listening to sports talk radio or watching ESPN's Sportscenter I heard a story that my favorite wannabe gangster on the ball field can't wear his hat like a million dollar professional C.C. Sabathia of the Cleveland Steamers (see below) says their needs to be more blacks in baseball and that baseball needs to do more to recruit young black players. Really. Look, before you my faithful reader (and I do mean that singularly) go ahead and label me the David Duke of the blog world, hear me out here.



MLB has lots of programs in effect to bring the game of baseball to inner city youths. However they face several obstacles that the "crusaders" seem to want to ignore. In the city, basketball is king. Football is right behind it, but baseball just doesn't have a solid foothold. Anytime I fly over the inner city I really don't see too many baseball diamonds. I mean I understand they take a lot of space in space crunched areas (and don't talk about football fields, because you have high school football. high school baseball cannot even come close to competing there), where a group of basketball courts fit in nicely. However, MLB has its program - Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) and each individual team also run their own programs as well. Short of forcing kids to play baseball, what exactly can be done? Its kind of like forcing teams to have a token black candidate interview for an NFL head coaching job. According to Captain Cheeseburger, if he was a kid watching MLB today, he wouldn't play because he doesn't see enough black players.

"They don't see us playing," Sabathia said. "When I grew up, I was a pitcher and I liked the Oakland A's. I liked Dave Stewart. I was a big left-handed hitter, so I liked Dave Parker. You had Barry Bonds playing in San Francisco, guys like that. There were a lot of guys to look up to."

If he was a kid today, would Sabathia be playing baseball?

"No way," he said. "That's the truth."

I can understand that to a point. However, when look at the common sense side of things, if you have the talent to be a big leaguer, why not take it? Lets look at the facts. The money is phenomenal. Its not near as good as the NBA, but its a lot better than the NFL. Contracts are guaranteed, unlike the NFL. The Players Union is the biggest Mafia Family on the planet meaning you can probably commit a double homicide and get off quicker than Ray Lewis. Career longevity is probably the greatest advantage. Usually longer than the NBA and way better than the NFL. In the NFL when a player is hitting the downside of his career, he is entering his baseball prime...and his body is still in one piece. Longer career with greater money equals greater riches. If kids don't see that or don't want to go that route (if they have the talent), hey its a free country.

I know Captain Cholesterol runs his own youth league baseball programs, but maybe he should put more effort in recruiting his fellow black multi-millionaires to give back as well. Maybe if the black youth see these "few" players active in their communities and promoting baseball, they would be more encouraged to participate? I mean I don't hear Justin Morneau crying about their not being enough Canadians in MLB. I don't hear Andruw Jones crying there are not enough Dutch players in MLB. I don't hear Glenn Williams bitching about their not being enough Aussies in MLB.

I could take this even farther. Since I have been referencing the NBA, where are the white players in that league? They are as few and far between as blacks are apparently in baseball. I don't hear Steve Nash, or Dirk Nowitski or that other good white guy throwing up fits that the NBA needs to recruit more white players and open basketball centers in the rural areas. Why not? Because that would be considered racist. I'm just not down with the racial double standard. Everybody should have the right and the chance to play whatever they want, work where ever they want to work etc. I know its not a perfect world, but the double standard doesn't help anything.

So C.C. Next time you feels like opening that sewer of yours, maybe you should try and throw a speed bump in-between your brain and your hole. If your tilted hat to the side might as well be wearing a fedora and carrying a glock instead of a glove ass wants things to change, then be part of the solution more than you already are, instead of just complaining about something. Offer actual solutions, not just lip service. Also, take a look around baseball, and other sports before you whine about the majority of who is playing what.