The recent controversy over the Arizona law has created an interesting spillover effect in the sports world. Those that know me know I am a huge baseball fan and a historian. Allow me to talk about history for a moment as it pertains to social issues. In short, sports has been on the forefront of social change and that has been a good thing for our country.
Most of you are familiar with the Jackie Robinson story. What you may not be familiar with is the fact that Branch Rickey (the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers) was in a race against the clock. Rumors were running rampant that Congress was about to act to desegregate other parts of society after desegregating the military. Rickey not only stood up to the criticism but wanted to beat the government to the punch. So, he signed Jackie Robinson in 1946.
Sports often mirror society and provide a social context that most of us can relate to. Baseball had African American managers and executives before most of industry had. Their record certainly wasn't perfect. Al Campanis went on television and said that blacks didn't want to manage. He was given every opportunity to correct his gaffe and he never did. Even the hometown Houston Astros were a part of that history when they made Bob Watson the first black general manager in baseball history.
Unfortunately, I'm not as big on basketball history, but they integrated after MLB. The Harlem Globetrotters were a serious basketball team before they were the sideshow entertainers we know of today. Donald Haskins started a group of African American players to beat Kentucky in the national championship game. All of these are events we know very clearly in our history and they all came on the sports fields and courts. Like it or not, sports has always been on the forefront of social change.
Some would argue that the Phoenix Suns shouldn't get involved in the controversy. Some would argue that the owner is angering some of his customers with his political stand. That may be, but some issues are more important than any potential fallout at the gate. I'm sure some Dodgers fans stayed away when Jackie Robinson was signed. The move won them that many more fans. These things take time. In the long run, the Suns will be more successful. They are on the right side of history.
I wish baseball would take a stand and pull the 2011 All-Star game from Phoenix. Advancing into Central America, the Carribean, South America, and Asia was the final frontier for baseball (unless there are some aliens that can hurl it 100 MPH). Arizona's anti-immigrant stance is understandable in some ways given the crime wave in Arizona. They chose to give into their basest fears. If sports had been afraid to lead social change we might have never known Hank Aaron, Reggie Jackson, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, or Kareem Abdul Jabbar. With this law they may be scaring off another generation of great Americans. These immigrants may not be able to shoot, pitch, or kick a ball, but some of them might be great artists, scientists, or ordinary people capable of extraordinary acts of bravery and selflessness. If we are willing to shun 100 good people for every one bad one then shame on us.
Illegal immigration is a problem. There are people here from all over the world, that are circumventing the law. It isn't just people from Central and South America, there are illegal immigrants from all over.
Aside from the obvious mileage racists will get out of this issue, there is the problem of controlling our borders. If we are going to continue with separate countries and governing bodies throughout the globe, each has to control who enters or leaves their sphere of influence.
If we lived under one world government, then great, immigration wouldn't be a problem. But, humans have decided to segregate the entire world, and built systems of finance and societal controls around that.
The real problem with illegal immigration is that there are real concerns involved, and none of them involve race. They involve security, health, finance, and social stability.
I stole it from Dennis Miller, so it is all fair.
Scott wrote, "If we are going to profile then we might as well weld that torch on lady liberty and turn it into a giant middle finger."
A classic Scott! I am soooooo stealing that! ;-)
Great stuff on this post and your comments Scott!
A lot of the focus is on Arizona because of prior bad acts. They had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the twentieth century; they were the last state to make MLK Day an official state celebration. If it takes a sports boycott to get the attention of leaders so be it.
Mike Schmidt of the Phillies said, in an interview, that the only pitcher that ever scared him was J.R. Richard. Here's a story that confirms that.
Schmidt had just returned to the dugout after being struck out by Richard. Greg Luzinsky moved over next to Mike and said, "What'd he throw you?"
"Don't bother me," Schmidt replied, rather disgusted.
"C'mon, giver me some help," Luzinsky begged.
"I don't know what he threw me, there," Schmidt admitted, reluctantly.
"Whadya mean you don't know", Luzinsky asked badgeringly.
Schmidt turned and said, "He threw me four pitches. I didn't SEE any of them."
Paige was a great one and it is a tragedy that he not only didn't get to pitch in the ML during his prime, but that the Negro Leagues didn't keep accurate records. Supposedly, he would call all of the fielders off the field when he pitched against Josh Gibson so they could have a true mano y mano. Of course, the Gibson story is one of the tragedies of that particular era in history.
I'll up that one......
Walter Johnson was pitching and was particularly dominant on that day. At the end of the game it was getting dark and foggy (remember, no lights back then) so his catcher took a trip to the mound and told Johnson to pretend to throw the ball and just hold it on the last pitch of the game.
Johnson did it and the umpire called strike. The hitter looked back and screamed that the ball was low. Supposedly a true story.
Satchel Paige is an oldie but goodie having played in ML with the KC A's at the reputed ripe old age of 59. I think he claimed he was actually 69 or sumpin' like that.
Scott as a historian you might have particular interest in a writer called Harry Turtledove. In the fiction/fantasy genre he writes alternate history. A few years ago he wrote a series of books starting with "So Few Remain" about the second 'war between the states' the Confederates having won the first one and then forming the Confederate States of America. The guy is a serious historian and writes some pretty good stuff about historical characters.
funnyy story...
The crime stats don't support the Arizona contention. As I stated before, the financial burdens are created by the constraints of the problem (money in goes to the feds, money out comes from the state) and the rest of the propaganda is bs.
Thought you might enjoy my favorite baseball story.. (Allegedly true)
Roy Campanella was batting against Bob Feller for the first time. Feller's first pitch screams in and pops in the catcher's mit. "Strike one" the umpire calls. Roy looks back at the unpire as if to question the call. Yhe umpire shakes his head up and down.
Next pitch comes in at a 103mph. POP! "Strike TWO" the umpire says. Campanella peers back at the umpire again. The umpire shakes his head again indicating that was INDEED a strike.
Feller winds up and throws the next pitch. A fastball any pitcher would envy. POP! in the catchers mit again. Bat still on Roy's shoulder. Campanella turns to the ump and says, "Now, that one sounded a little low".
Scott wrote: Now, if I'm pulled over for speeding, running a red light, or if I've robbed a bank then it is reasonable to check at that point.
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I am hoping THAT is what will be done. Right now, most police and sheriff's department are NOT INVOLVED in immigration enforcement AT ALL. There is no reason we cannot enlist their assistance at the "point of arrest" to help this problem. Not only are they catching a criminal, their catching a criminal illegal immigrant. 2 Birds.....
I'm not saying there are easy solutions to the problem. This is why I wrote the piece I did a few days ago. I say the Suns are on the right side of history because this law (or the carrying out of the law) turns us into something we never should be. Whether the legislators in Arizona intended this or not, this turned Arizona into a state that profiles. Be prepared as I get on my soapbox....
If you have a pocket copy of the constitution get it out and take a look. I have one on my Iphone so I'll tell you. Nowhere in that constitution does it define citizenship nor does it say that only citizens are entitled to the civil liberties encompassed therin. Therefore, everyone in this country is entitled to the protection of their persons against unreasonable searches and seizures. "Looking like an illegal" is not a reasonable standard. Now, if I'm pulled over for speeding, running a red light, or if I've robbed a bank then it is reasonable to check at that point.
Again, I think the Arizona legislature intended the second, but the language is such that the former is what is happening. I don't want my police hasseling dark skinned people for any number of reasons. First, it is illegal as I stated above. Secondly, I get pretty dark in the summer thank you. If I'm all skuzzed out from mowing my lawn and look unsavory then I could be hasseled with. Last, when police are hasseling law abiding citizens or residents then they are not watching my back for non-law abiding citizens that are abusing me or my property.
Most importantly, if we are to be the shining city on a hill as Ronald Reagan used to call us then we need to act like it. If we are going to profile then we might as well weld that torch on lady liberty and turn it into a giant middle finger. Maybe change the inscription from "give me your tired, your poor, and your hungry" to "go fuck yourself" because that is basically what the carrying out of this law looks like.
Well, let me go with the short and long response.
Short response: Buy the Hall of Fame Index when it gets released before the end of 2010. Interested parties can contact me for more details.
Long response: All numbers have context. I think the movement to put asterisks next to numbers is gross overreaction. You cannot compare players directly between different eras. There are just too many variables. The color barrier is just one of those. Pitchers before 1920 could LEGALLY throw a spitball (or shineball as they called it back then). In the 19th century, baseball tinkered with the number of balls that constituted a walk. In a couple of seasons, walks were counted as hits. They've raised the mound and lowered the mound and even tinkered with the distance between home plate and the mound.
When I measure a player against another I measure them in terms of dominance. How much did they dominate the competition they had. If you want to talk greatest then I say we go to a bar and throw a few back.....like I said, anyone interested buy my next book when it comes out.
You know I am a fan. But I think Arizona did the only thing they could after 30 years of the federal government doing nothing to curb the flow of illegals into the country. Although it effects everybody, the border states are really taking it on the chin. Education, health care, the criminal justice system, all unduly burdened and failing miserably due to this unfettered immigration. I know some of my colleagues will disagree with me. I just don't see any choices here. We MUST reign in this problem, whatever it takes.
If you read my previous posts on this issue, I am FOR granting limited amnesty to almost anybody who HAS a regular job and has been here for a while. I don't see a problem, considering the magnitude of this problem, with this "stop and cop" method. For the border states, it's not a cure, but it's a start.
Scott, on the subject of Robinson breaking the color barrier in MLB, I heard something on one of our local sports talk shows that I thought was interesting and would like to get your opinion on.
The caller’s premise was that baseball records set before 1947 should be kept separately or carry an asterisk. The reason being that the pitchers and hitters before that time weren’t pitching and hitting against the best players of their era, just the best white players.
Would Ruth, Gehrig, and Cobb have accumulated their same numbers if they had to go against the great Negro League pitchers, and would Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson have had the same stats if they had to face hitters like Josh Gibson?
I guess the flip side is would the hitters and pitchers in the Negro Leagues have been as good if they had to go against Johnson, Mathewson, Ruth, Cobb, and Gehrig.
Your thoughts?