Orlando Hudson on African Americans, Black Canadians, and Latin Americans in Baseball

Really insightful stuff from the O-Dog. Not going to get on my soapbox, but definitely worth a read.

8 months ago jessef 14 comments 0 recs |

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SOAP! BOX!

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by benk on Sep 14, 2011 12:23 PM EDT reply actions

You know what there is also a lot less of in the bigs since the inception of MLB?

White people.

I’m white and that doesn’t bother me. In fact, it is nice to see players from other cultures making it.

by Sir Real Ism on Sep 14, 2011 1:10 PM EDT reply actions

So essentially Hudson is turning into one of the people he refers to as “they”. The more he harps and hopes (provided these beliefs could make immediate changes) the less opportunity there will be of people from other cultures to participate.

by Sir Real Ism on Sep 14, 2011 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions

On the decline of the Af. Am. ballplayer

…my own view is that it takes longer for the athlete to hone their skills at a very difficult game to master (the hitting or pitching especially). Football and basketball to name two other sports have a very high percentage of the Afro. Ams. and have an easier graduation to the big leagues after 1-2 yrs. of university school and the big money. Not so with baseball. As most often, there is a heavy dose of a socio-economic consideration. There are other issues like the declining numbers of baseball facilities in urban centres and no more stickball in public streets etc. but the quicker path to the big pros is more inviting.

by Bendit on Sep 14, 2011 1:23 PM EDT reply actions

I didn't understand the latin - african american connection he was making

by Bendit on Sep 14, 2011 1:25 PM EDT reply actions

a lot of people from the Caribbean islands, Central and South America are of African origin

A lot of slaves were brought over for Spanish colonies to work in mines, sugar fields, etc. Hudson makes a valid point when he notes that many Latin players have the same origins as African-Americans from North America despite the fact that some speak Spanish while others speak English.

I think there was also a reference that the Negro Leagues frequently had a lot of players from the Caribbean countries as well. I believe there were a lot of Cubans, for example, in the Negro Leagues. They were blocked from playing in MLB as well, so they went to the Negro Leagues.

Hic sunt fortuna dracones

by JaysfanDL on Sep 14, 2011 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Gotcha thanks.

I had blinders on there and happened to be thinking of the Vizquels and Scutaros (non African Latin players).. Not too long ago Tori Hunter on the same subject kinda put his foot in it by pontificating that afro-latins should not be considered the same as afro-americans.

by Bendit on Sep 14, 2011 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Hunter was saying it in a different context

He was talking about how teams don’t want to have to use draft picks and pay signing bonuses for black kids in inner cities when they can sign a bunch of international free agents much cheaper.

For the record, Hunter’s comments were taken way out of context.

"Look at me! I'm Tomokazu Ohka of the Montreal Expos!"

by jessef on Sep 14, 2011 10:14 PM EDT up reply actions

The comment Hudson made about the independent leagues really stuck out for me

It seems that there are guys playing there that are capable of being in MLB but for reasons Hudson can’t explain (right now as a MLB player) aren’t in the Majors. It’s sad to think that personal prejudices can stand in the way of fielding the best baseball team possible but I can’t say that I’m surprised. Unfortunately, the race does not always go to the swift nor the contest to the strong.

Hic sunt fortuna dracones

by JaysfanDL on Sep 14, 2011 1:47 PM EDT reply actions

I find that hard to believe

I mean are the racist types in baseball that much in control? If some ballplayer was a perenial 300+ hitter or 15-20 game winner would a Billy Beane or AA not get him for the ml team? That one sounds suspiciously close to the Bachmann (presidential hopeful) refusing to identify her source who confirmed that her daughter went retarded because she was forced to take that vaccine for uteral cancer!!

by Bendit on Sep 14, 2011 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions

It could be more than racism

Hudson didn’t elaborate, although it seems that was what he was alluding to. I think that other factors, one of which is racism, might prevent some ballclubs from fielding the best possible team. There could be personal issues, poor management, perceived attitude problems, etc.

The one thing that makes me think racism is still an issue is the difficulty Cito Gaston had being hired after he was fired from the Jays. How could a two time World Series winning manager not get a job when candidates with worse records kept getting rehired, and why were the Jays the only team that kept hiring him? There had to be some element of racism there. It may not have been the only factor in him not getting hired, but it was probably a factor.

Hic sunt fortuna dracones

by JaysfanDL on Sep 14, 2011 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Ah Cito

Personally I never particularly thought he was a difference maker as a manager. He may have had behind the scenes skills as a soother of diva ballplayers ruffled feathers leading to the “big” wins I grant but his last year (or next to last) had the clubhouse revolt so what that say? And he was stubborn as heck and too old school alongwith his own personal crosses of racism (I take them as true because of the age in which he experienced them) which he wasnt shy about recounting and probably rightly so as a teaching moment if nothing else. But if I remember correctly, two organizations Cleveland and the White Sox bypassed him for their vacant managerial position. These are not orgs. who have a history of discrimination but rather affirmative in the race area. Larry Doby was the first black in the AL in Cleveland and the current gm of the Sox is a Afr. Am. Now if it were the Red Sox….weeelll that would be another tale. Long story short, I’d like to think that for most, they believed they had better options than Cito at the time. There just is too much of the profit imperative in pro sports these days to bypass truly talented personnel because of their race.

by Bendit on Sep 14, 2011 7:12 PM EDT reply actions

reply to above above

by Bendit on Sep 14, 2011 7:12 PM EDT up reply actions

interesting interview

one thing that occurs to me is that everyone always assumes that young black athletes don’t want to play baseball, usually citing cultural reasons and that they can make it to the bigs faster in other sports. there’s probably some truth to this.

but these things go both ways. because a lot of athletics starts young, I think it’s probably even more likely that parents, coaches, youth leaders, and other adults encourage young black athletes to pursue the other sports rather than baseball because of their own perceived biases and that it’s not necessarily a question of young athletes not being interested in playing baseball.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Sep 14, 2011 9:23 PM EDT reply actions