Statistical Dump: This is Bothering Me
Reparations.
I don’t like them.
Let me first speak as a Jewish individual that actually has a grandmother who was a survivor of the Holocaust. I don’t think any amount of money, gifts or letters will make up for the fact that her parents were executed along with the rest of her family.
Now, we live in a politically correct culture where many individuals are afraid to speak up.
Let me first say, of course, I feel it was wrong that Black Players played in a separate baseball league from White Players. Unfortunately, this isn’t ‘Back to the Future’ and we cannot go back in time and fix the wrongs of the past. Except that is exactly what the MLB is trying to do with this most recent announcement.
“Negro League statistics from 1920–48 will now be officially classified as “major league,” marking a long-overdue acknowledgment of the accomplishments of players who didn’t have the opportunity to play in the American or National Leagues.”
Frankly, I don’t get it. It was a separate league. These players rarely played against each other. Additionally, Negro League statistics were not accurately kept.
I can just imagine an elderly former baseball player sitting in his underwear, eating ice cream and watching TV with the knowledge that he held a certain record from the past. All of a sudden it gets taken away because of the massive statistical additions from these Negro Leagues. Is that right? Does it really fix what was done all of those years ago?
NO.
Recognizing the wrongs of the past is a great thing. Making sure they never happen again is even better. However, trying to cover up history with these reparations of sorts doesn’t change what happened back in the day. What’s important is making sure that the current MLB is accepting of all players regardless of race, religion or creed. That something as horrible as dividing up because of the way people look never happens again.
One of my favorite players is pitcher Satchel Paige and my Poppa Larry used to tell stories of his famous “Hesistation Pitch.” He played in both the Negro Leagues and on our very own Cleveland Indians, too. Let his story of making the transition, along with those of many others be of inspiration for us these days. Not some half-ass statistical dump that ruins the records of many players of that day.
