Making a Black Baseball Graphic

To those who have come before and those who continue to pave the way, thank you. #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/3sJ09TiHgz

— MLB (@MLB) February 1, 2020

MLB posted a graphic celebrating Black History Month with a collage of great black American baseball players (and Derek Jeter.*)

It was basically fine, other than the confusing centre piece, but the omissions were problematic. Namely:

Missing- Rickey Henderson. Curt Flood. Cito Gaston. https://t.co/jjuQH4RJ8T

— Joanna (@HumandChuck) February 2, 2020

So, I made one.

Starting from the top left:

First Row: Barry Bonds; Larry Doby; Dave Parker; Joe Carter; Ferguson Jenkins ; Derek Jeter; Ken Griffey Jr.

Second row: Ozzie Smith; Rube Foster ; Jackie Robinson; Cool Papa Bell ; Lou Brock; Curt Flood.

Third row: Jim Rice; Ernie Banks ; Josh Gibson; Frank Thomas; Willie Mays.

Fourth row: Joe Morgan; Cito Gaston ; Roy Campanella ; Henry Aaron ; Dave Winfield ; Tony Gwynn; Bob Gibson.

Fifth row: Lou Whitaker; Andrew McCutchen; Frank Robinson; Oscar Charleston; Reggie Jackson; Dusty Baker.

Sixth row: Willie McCovery; Tim Anderson ; Satchel Paige ; Mookie Betts; Eddie Murray; David Price; Rickey Henderson; CC Sabathia.

There at one point, but somehow disappeared:

Willie Stargell, Don Newcombe, Barry Larkin and this guy:

Yes, Buck O’Neill is laughing at me.

Not included at all, black Latinos. That’s another graphic.

I did this picture because I felt the MLB one didn’t really capture the true history of black baseball and how African American players have truly shaped this game.

I started with Jackie Robinson and built out from there, going both backwards with Negro League players (Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Rube Foster, who started the Negro Leagues) and forwards to his direct baseball descendants: Doby, Mays, Robinson, Banks, Campanella and Hank Aaron.

Hank Aaron is closest to Jackie because Aaron pushed what Jackie started to the next level by dethroning Babe Ruth as home run king. A black player overtaking a record held by the most celebrated white player in the history of baseball was a significant declaration about the sea change that had taken place over the previous two decades.

After that, I just looked at “best players of this decade” lists and started playing around. In the Hall of Fame and won the World Series and/or MVP pretty much guaranteed a spot. Or if I felt they either should be in the Hall of Fame and weren’t, or they had a significant impact on the culture of baseball, they got in.

Curt Flood is both of those things and it’s one of the reasons it was so completely egregious that he wasn’t on the original graphic. Free agency has dominated every conversation about baseball, and sports in general, since the 70s and you can draw a line directly to Flood v. Kuhn.

Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. are the defining players of the 90s, so they are on opposite top corners. Griffey was actually on the other corner at one point, but it looked like he was trying to lick Larry Doby’s ear and it’s not that kind of collage. The 90s are obviously key for me because that is when I first started watching baseball and my team won the World Series. Twice.

Joe Carter and Ferguson Jenkins are grouped together because of Canada. Reggie Jackson stands with CC because they are both Yankees. So is Dave Winfield, but I put him in a Padres uniform because that was a hell of a lot of pinstripes. I tucked Tony Gwynn in with his fellow Padre, but it was a chore to find a picture of Gwynn without the bulge of chew in his face that eventually killed him.

I chose that picture of CIto Gaston because it was Cito at his most Cito. The white panel hat, the satin jacket, the ‘stache. That is a man who is going to steal your signs and laugh about it while his players circle the bases. Also, can MLB just start giving that man some respect already?

I included the picture of Ozzie Smith doing a back flip for the same reason I chose the picture of Griffey with his hat on backwards, and a picture of Dave Parker at all (even though Parker should, in my opinion, be in the Hall of Fame): style and iconic swagger.

Speaking of Hall of Fame style and iconic swagger, the other egregious player left off the MLB graphic was Rickey Henderson.

I wanted an action shot, and I liked the one I chose because it showed what a specimen he was (his legs look fantastic), despite the fact that he is clearly scampering back to first.

It does, however, look like Satchel Paige is looking Rickey back to first. This was not on purpose and I only just noticed it after I had finished.

One of the many things that are remarkable about this history is how the lines can be so clearly drawn through the different eras. I’m always fascinated at how close these players feel, even though decades separate them. And maybe that happy little accident with Henderson and Paige was a subconscious nod to that.

I posted the graphic on Twitter and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. There was a guy, in a now deleted tweet, who wanted to know how I could be disappointed by something that wasn’t directed at me.

It didn’t upset me but I did think about it for a bit. And I realized that that MLB graphic wasn’t actually aimed at black Americans, even though it featured black Americans. It was aimed at the wider baseball fandom. And by wider, I mean whiter.

If MLB wants to educate the wider baseball community, they should probably think about what they are actually saying and what they are trying to achieve.

But that, of course, is a big “if”.

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*I am totally just kidding. I have no issue with Derek Jeter. I just don’t know why he is in the centre of the MLB graphic. Congrats on the HOF thing, though. In the words of Rochester ladies with permed bangs from 25 years ago who used to sit on the 200 level at the Rogers Centre when the Yankees were in town circa 2005, “I love you, Derek Jeetah.”

Also,

If I missed someone you feel is important, I did it on purpose because I don't like you.

— Joanna (@HumandChuck) February 5, 2020

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Today’s Walkup

Silk & Soul: Buy/Listen - https://lnk.to/SilkSoul!ytiwish About the album: Silk & Soul is the thirteenth studio album by American musician Nina Simone releas...

Dusty Baker's Glass Cliff

To replace A.J. Hinch, the Houston Astros went for a traditional baseball man in Dusty Baker.

This, on its face, is a good move. Baker has 1,863 managerial wins and he is highly respected in baseball circles. He is beloved by Joey Votto.

But looking at what lies just underneath the surface of this, things get a little dicey.

There has been a fight brewing between those who believe in analytics over everything and the more old-school scouting-based baseball. The Astros, long considered to be the ultimate example of this new technologically-advanced style of baseball, hiring an old-school baseball man like Dusty Baker is a clearly calculated move to cleanse themselves of their high-tech cheating reputation is blatant in its symbolism.

The details of the deal emerged this afternoon:

Houston: You have a new manager. Dusty Baker signs a one-year deal with 2021 option to lead #Astros. Here are statements from owner Jim Crane and Baker. pic.twitter.com/Kd8DAsUw03

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 29, 2020

The option is a team one and the terms make me a little sad. He’s one of the most successful managers available, and this just indicates how desperate he is to work. What does that say about the state of baseball?

I was also reminded of the glass cliff. The theory of the glass cliff usually applies to women in corporate culture, but the fundamental idea applies here too.

Per Wikipedia:

The glass cliff is the phenomenon of women in leadership roles, such as executives in the corporate world and female political election candidates, being likelier than men to achieve leadership roles during periods of crisis or downturn, when the chance of failure is highest.

The Astros are a mess and their reputation is in the gutter, neither of which are the fault of Dusty Baker. Baker is hired to scrub up the reputation, act as a symbolic shift in culture. If the Astros don’t do well (or, more specifically, get killed by the Oakland A’s), Baker can be jettisoned and any failure can be laid at his feet, rather than owner Jim Crane, who was ultimately responsible for the Astros' culture that became so problematic in the first place. The Astros will then be able to point at Baker and say, “See, we tried the old-school way. Let’s try soulless tech again!” It also gives them time to find their “real” manager.

Again, hiring Dusty Baker isn’t a bad move and for his part, he clearly wants to work. The Astros are an experienced and very talented team, likely to be very fun to manage. This is a playoff calibre team to be managed by a guy who gets teams to the playoffs.

I applaud this move, as I would applaud any team that would hire Baker, but I do so with a bit of angst.

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Today’s Walk Up

Doing a bit of research on Baker, I find this New Yorker article from 2015. The article talks about a book Baker wrote about his trip to the Monterey Pop Festival as an 18 year old in 1967. The trip was a gift from his mother, a lady who also nicknamed him ‘Dusty’ when he was a toddler because he was constantly dirty.

Baker was enthralled by Jimi Hendrix:

When I think back on it now, the look on Jimi’s face between songs that day was a look I know all too well: It was the look of someone who has just hit a home run. To fans the feeling you have when you hit a home run must seem like the ultimate in self-congratulation or exultation, and there is some of that in there, especially with certain homers, but most of all the feeling you have is a kind of calm exhilaration and wonder, a sense not that you had done_ something in launching that ball over the fence but that you were part _of something, the swing of your bat striking a ball rushing your way and connecting to make something special happen. You almost feel that the bat did the work, it feels so light in your hands, the swing feels so easy. Hendrix had that exhilarated look of being as amazed as all of us at what was happening with his guitar.

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The Changeup for January 8, 2020

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As if there wasn’t any more proof why one shouldn’t scroll through Reddit at two in the morning.

That cuts deep.

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Ryu

I was happy when the Jays signed Ryu Hyun-jin to a four-year deal in December.

It will probably be disappointing, but no more disappointing than any other deal involving a human being. We are fallible creatures. We disappoint.

Beyond just thinking that Ryu is talented and has the potential to be a key part of this team going forward and also just being happy that the Blue Jays did something, I love it when a Toronto sports team remembers that Toronto is a truly global city. In 2011, there were  64,755 Koreans living in Toronto, a small city’s worth of people.

The potential here, just from a marketing perspective, should excite the Rogers people to no end.

I already suggested what Sportsnet should be doing:

I'm just going to gift you content, Sportsnet. Send Ryu to Koreatown with a camera crew. Have him explore. Talk to people. Toronto is multi-cultural city. Show it.

— Joanna (@HumandChuck) December 23, 2019

Over here, giving ideas away for free.

By the by, Daniel Kim is a great follow for your Korea and baseball crossover needs.

As expected, yesterday’s press conference at Roger Centre was biggest news of the day in Korea! #BlueJays #mlb @bluejays #toronto pic.twitter.com/vnJ2IUolvX

— Daniel Kim 대니얼 김 (@DanielKimW) December 28, 2019

My favourite bits from the media day were Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins looking vaguely disquieted when Ryu’s agent, Scott Boras, pointed out that the Blue Jays are owned by one of the richest owners in baseball. The calls were coming from inside the house.

Boras on #Bluejays owners, Rogers Communications: “I think it’s really about winning. The wealthiest ownership group in baseball sits right here.”

— Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) December 27, 2019

This follows Boras calling out the Blue Jays at the GM meetings in November 2018:

"Toronto is a wonderful city, it’s been a great franchise, they’ve drawn three million fans," said Boras. "They’ve lost near a third of their fan-base due to the ‘Blue Flu’ of not bringing attractive players that their fans find interesting to their market."

The other was Boras grooving (if it can be called that) to Charlie Montoyo just wailing on the bongos.

What do you get when you mix K-pop with bongos? pic.twitter.com/xKuJE9nhuO

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) December 27, 2019

Turns out being rich AF doesn’t buy you rhythm.

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Cheaty-Cheats

If there is one thing that is contributing to the ennui I feel in writing about baseball, it might be this. It is sort of odd that a cheating scheme that involves multiple teams and multiple methods doesn’t excite me, because normally I would eat the intrigue up, but here we are.

The Athletic reported this week, using three anonymous sources, that the Red Sox used the video replay equipment to steal signs.

According to the report, players would wander into the replay room during games to decipher sign sequences. That information would be relayed to a runner on second base. The runner would signal to the hitter whether the incoming pitch was a fastball — right foot off the bag first — or an off-speed offering — left foot first. This system only worked with a runner on second or sometimes first.

The 2018 Red Sox were a juggernaut that won 108 games and the World Series. They were scary good.

Sign stealing, of course has a long history. I have no real issue with the practice if it involves just human observation of behaviour. I do draw the line at using technology to do it.

It is hilarious, however, that this involves tech that MLB inserted into the game. They put video rooms just off the dugout and didn’t anticipate that teams would use the ready-available information to gain an edge? Put the video stuff in another part of the stadium. Or in a truck in the parking lot. MLB did put an in-person attendant for the post-season in 2018 and that practice continued into the 2019 season.

It will be interesting to see what this does to Alex Cora, who is now involved with both the Astros’ cheating scandal (where he was the bench coach in 2017) and now the Red Sox. I don’t know if his managerial dynamo reputation, earned by winning the World Series in his first year as a manager, will be tarnished.

Per Tara Sullivan of The Boston Globe:

For someone who prided himself on building his playing career from the streets of Puerto Rico through hard work and smarts, and turned that into a growing reputation as a manager, it would be a tough badge of disgrace to wear.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. As the Sullivan piece points out, the Red Sox have a new GM and ticking clocks are often put on managers who were hired by the old regime. The Red Sox stood pat this offseason (which was atypical in the face of a surging New York Yankees) and their big power move has been to hold on to Mookie Betts. For now.

It will be interesting to see where the Red Sox, the golden team of the first two decades of the 21st century, go from here.

As for how this all changes video replay in baseball remains to be seen.

Get rid of video replay all together. Life is messy, lean in.

— Drew (@DrewGROF) January 7, 2020

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The Grand Old Game of Stealing Signs

Sniffing around for some information on sign stealing in baseball, I came across a column from a 1990 issue of Maclean’s that mentions Cito Gaston’s talent for stealing signs.

And then, warming to his task, La Russa confesses that when a team such as the Blue Jays gets a runner on second base, “they work hard to steal signs and that really irritates me.”

I will forever love Cito Gaston for many things, things which now include irritating Tony La Russa.

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Ricky Romero

Alexis Brudnicki has been doing great work in her first year at mlb.com. Her latest is a catch-up with Ricky Romero, who talks about his time in Toronto and how it will always hold a place in his heart.

“But the best part I remember is warming up, not even the actual game,” Romero said. “It was completely sold out, when we walked out to warmup, people were already there, it was crazy. Friday night game, Toronto, it’s a big deal. J.P. and I looked at each other and were like, ‘Whoa, this is really cool.’”

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Talkin’ Ball in the Bahamas

Just Bo Bichette talkin' baseball in the Bahamas. pic.twitter.com/uBXCQ2JjiC

— Play Ball (@PlayBall) January 6, 2020

“How smooth do you want to be in the field?”

“As smooth as you!”

Nick Ashbourne wrote about this event last year. Some expressed concern about the baseballs going into the ocean, which is a fair one. My basic and likely not at all helpful Google search indicates that a baseball (made up of a combination of leather, cork and rubber) is, at least in theory, biodegradable.

I could totally foresee this site just becoming a Bo Bichette appreciation site. He’s a sunbeam and so many other things are just dreck.

Serge Ibaka was joined by Bianca Andreescu, Bo Bichette, Penny Oleksiak and Paul "Biznasty" Bissonnette for a very special and entertaining holiday dinner!

Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays is a rookie shortstop who has already added his name to the record books. The 21-year-old is the hottest young player in baseball. Go behind the scenes as UNINTERRUPTED Canada follows the young slugger during his first day in the big leagues and sits down with him and his father, Dante Bichette, a 14-year MLB veteran.

It helps, of course, that Bichette has a chance to be a major star.

These new stats show that Bo Bichette, in only 361.2 finings, had four defensive runs saved. Among 136 shortstops, his DRS total ranked 14th. Of the #BlueJays regular infielders who finished the season, only Bichette had a DRS total above zero. https://t.co/xaBF93ghK5

— John Lott (@LottOnBaseball) January 8, 2020

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Pitcher Turned Lawyer Takes MLB to Court

Another issue that is currently facing baseball is what is going to be done about minor league baseball. Arguments about paying them fairly have transformed into MLB suggesting that

A story came out today about Garrett Broshuis, a former minor league baseball player, who became a lawyer and is taking 22 MLB teams to court over lost wages for MILB players.

On being told in 2009 by the Giants that he was no longer a prospect:

“It was definitely in some ways heartbreaking,” Broshuis said by phone last month from his St. Louis office. “It’s a failure, but at the same time it’s a beautiful failure because you put everything you had into it, and there are beautiful things to do if you come up short.”

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Today's Walk Up

Pony (Release Date: March 22, 2019) Spotify: https://u.subpop.com/2LxyV4M Sub Pop Mega Mart: https://megamart.subpop.com/releases/orville_peck/pony Orville Peck available via Royal Mountain Records in Canada https://www.royalmountainrecords.com/orville-peck Subscribe to Orville Peck's channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi3DjKw4R7Pz8pfPLH-L4wQ Orville Peck https://www.orvillepeck.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/orvillepeck/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/orvillepeck Twitter https://twitter.com/orvillepeck Sub Pop https://www.subpop.com/artists/orville_peck Bandcamp https://orvillepeck.bandcamp.com #OrvillePeck #DeadOfNight #Country Sub Pop Records http://www.subpop.com

Orville Peck sings songs like a honky-tonk on Twin Peaks. This song sounds like a cover to me, but apparently isn’t.

It’s haunting. And not just because he always wears a mask.

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