The idea that a major league team in this day and age would consider race when putting together its roster seems laughable to me -- it's hard enough to get into the postseason without limiting yourself to only a portion of the talent pool. Nevertheless, that's a complaint being lobbed in the direction of the Red Sox by the Boston Globe, which based a story around the fact that a handful of Latino fans have noticed that there are fewer players who look like them in prominent roles:
"I've always been a Red Sox fan. That's not going to change. I want to be a Red Sox fan," said Javy Fernandez, a 22-year-old Dominican-American who owns a market in Dorchester. "But I get more excited when I see my people - people of my ethnicity - play on my team. It makes you feel like you're playing on the team also."Red Sox assistant GM Jed Hoyer insists the front office is "completely colorblind" when making moves, and given the team's track record of playing deep into October, it's hard to doubt him. Even Mike Lowell, one of two Latino players in the regular lineup, doesn't think this is a discussion worth having.
"I really throw race and heritage and background out the window," he said, sitting in front of his locker. "It's hard for everyone to get to this level, and I don't think it's worth getting distracted over 'This team has more Latinos' or 'This team has more African-Americans' or 'This team has more white people.' I think you might be distracting yourself over something that's pretty trivial."Let me get see if I have this straight: Latino fans have noticed but say they're still going to be fans, the assistant GM denies it's something the front office thinks about and the Cuban third baseman calls the racial makeup of the team trivial.
Would we be having this discussion if it involved any other team? Probably not. The Red Sox have an embarrassing history of discrimination as the last team in the majors to welcome a black player to their roster, but they've come a long way since then. Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez were the face of the franchise for many, many years, and their departures can easily be traced to declining performance. Meanwhile, the team's best starting pitcher, Daisuke Matsuzaka, hails from Japan, as does their top setup man, Hideki Okajima.
The Red Sox are a diverse team, but more importantly, they're a winning team. There's a time and place for these sorts of questions, but nit-picking a championship-caliber roster isn't one of them.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-23-2008 @ 5:29PM
Ben said...
Imagine if white people were complaining that the Mets have fewer and fewer people who "look like them". Its shameful that the Boston globe would run a piece based on such hypocritical racism.
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9-23-2008 @ 8:52PM
outofmarket said...
They were, and it was the most idiotic thing ever.
9-23-2008 @ 5:42PM
antonio vazquez said...
they r racism
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9-23-2008 @ 7:13PM
Brian said...
Why is the Boston Globe making such a big deal that the Red Sox are fielding a predominantly white team? Funny, no one is saying anything about the New York Mets having a predominant Latin team. The reality is whatever the Red Sox are doing is working. They have won 2 World Series titles in the last 4 years with contributions coming from guys named David Ortiz (DR), Mike Lowell (CUBA via Miami), Manny Ramirez (DR via NYC), and Pedro Martinez (DR). Not to mention, werent the Red Sox willing to trade 2 white guys for Johan Santana (VEN) last winter. They let Pedro go because they felt (and were correct) that Pedro's arm wouldnt last 3 years. Manny was traded because he was a clubhouse cancer who overstayed his welcome (despite the fact he was earning 20 million a year- no white guy ever made that money playing for the BoSox). The Boston Globe should not be adding fuel to a fire that hasn't been lit.
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9-23-2008 @ 8:13PM
presido said...
Where are all the black folk at red sox games thats what the real problem is!!!
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9-27-2008 @ 11:14AM
Ben Ryner said...
Minorities have been priced out of games because of the price of tickets and parking
9-23-2008 @ 10:14PM
dannyrobert1 said...
love the sox
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9-23-2008 @ 10:19PM
wayback said...
So, Javy Fernandez says he roots for people who look like him. OK, it's not the Sox who are racist...it's people like Javy who are racist. I root for the Sox whether they are caucasian, African_america, Latino, Asian, or whatever.
Javy has a real problem and should seek counseling.
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9-23-2008 @ 11:17PM
Alessandra said...
Ummm...why isn't anyone complaining that the Anaheim Angels are too black??
I'm white. I don't identlify with them.
They must be a racist organization.
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9-27-2008 @ 10:33AM
ralphgmiami said...
Chris Green just walloped a grand slam homer out of the park! He's right that the Red Sox's history has blatant racism. Yes Jason Bay doesn't bring you the headache that Manny Ramirez did. However, Bay is not a lifetime .300 hitter that Man Ram is. What I think has fueled some speculation about racism is that Jed Lowrie is treated like the second coming of Cal Ripken, Derek Jeter, Robin Yount rolled into one. It was the same when J.D. Drew first signed with the Soxs. He got all the publicity (there were even Mickey Mantle comparisons in the papers) until Big Papi and Man Ram started hitting. This year, Lowrie has been the media darling. Pedroia should be getting all the ink. I don't know if it has to do with racism as it's more like the media favoring their own player who is easy access during an interview. Boston is a city that is very cold toward blacks and minorities. I'm a Yankee fan and I don't care what color a player is as long as it can get my Yanks back on top in October.
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9-27-2008 @ 11:01AM
Dang said...
Only the Globe would base a story on what a "handful" of Latino fans think. We have a "handful" of fans walking around with aluminum foil on their heads to block out alien mind control waves. Let's write about that next.
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10-19-2008 @ 8:43PM
ron gannon said...
the boston celtics are too black! This globe is another liberal orginization hiding behind a paper trying to insight debate which make news. Media days are numbered. The public is tired of there worthless efforts to create news
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