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June 03, 2005
 Hispanic
Ball Players On Steroids—It's Your Fault!
By
Joe Guzzardi
When you hang around the
immigration reform movement as long as I have, one
day you will say to yourself,
"I have heard it all."
But no sooner will you utter those
words than you’ll realize that you spoke too soon.
Another whopper is always right around the corner.
Today’s jaw-dropper comes from an
unlikely place—the
sports page.
Eliezer Alfonzo, a catcher with the
San Jose Giants, the single-A affiliate of the
San Francisco Giants, is of the mind that Hispanics
have to be much better baseball players than anyone else
on the field to get a fair shot at making the major
leagues.
Said Alfonzo, a Venezuelan,
"Latin players have to work
a lot harder than white players because we’re coming
from elsewhere to take their jobs. When they do
something, we have to do it three times as well."
Alfonzo’s comments were included in
San Francisco Chronicle reporter Jorge Ortiz’s
May 6 story "Culture
Gap Draws Attention: High Portion of Latinos caught in
web of drugs, steroids."
Ortiz reports that some minor league players, desperate to put up big
numbers so that the major league parent team will call
them up, often turn to steroids.
According to Ortiz, a player’s sense of urgency coupled with the
over-the-counter availability of
steroids in his native Latin American country
explains the high percentage of Hispanic steroid users.
And Ortiz theorizes that some Hispanic players feel
slighted and
are looking for an added edge may "juice up,"
unaware that the substance he is using is illegal in
the U.S.
Whatever the reason, Hispanics—mostly from the
Dominican Republic or
Venezuela—represent slightly more than half of the
47 minor league players who tested positive in recent
drug tests.
But Dr. Larry Westreich, a consultant to baseball Commissioner Bud Selig,
said that the league has intensified its educational
efforts.
Widely distributed printed materials and videos in English and Spanish
warn players about banned substances as well as the
physical and legal consequences of using them.
But there are many, many flaws in the premise—indirectly stated by
Alfonso and advanced by Ortiz— that racism keeps Hispanics out of the major leagues.
First, Hispanics are decidedly not being held back because of race—or
any other reason!
In fact, they’re forging ahead. Baseball has integrated faster than any
professional sport save perhaps basketball. Major league
teams now include black, Hispanic, and Asian
players from dozens of countries.
According to the recently released
Racial and Gender Report Card on Major League Baseball,
baseball received an A or better for
opportunities for players, managers and coaches.
Ironically, Hispanic players—who make up 25 percent of the major-league
and 42 percent of minor league rosters—have advanced at
the expense of
black Americans.
While Hispanics in major league baseball have steadily increased,
blacks—who statistically dominated baseball in the
1980s—have just as steadily declined. Only 10 percent of
major league players are black Americans.
Second, more than any other industry, baseball thrives on
statistical performance. Any player who can hit,
field or pitch better than another player will soon find
his way to the major leagues.
Outstanding players produce winning teams. And winning teams generate
tens of millions of dollars in profits for owners,
television networks, radio stations and print media of
all types.
In what way would the San Francisco Giants, managed by Dominican Felipe
Alou, benefit by not fielding its best team—whether or
not it included Alfonzo?
Third, only 829 players are on the 2005 major league baseball rosters.
That means that of all the kids playing in youth
leagues, on college teams and in the minor leagues, only
an infinitesimally small percent will wind up in the
major leagues.
Finally, baseball’s marketing strategies encourage the presence of
Hispanic players especially in
communities with a
large Spanish speaking population.
The new owner of the Los Angeles Angels, Arte Moreno spent more than
$146 million over the winter of 2003 to sign Vladimir
Guerrero, Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar.
These are great players. But Moreno, a fourth generation Mexican
American, wanted Spanish speaking stars for his Los
Angeles-based team.
As an occasional baseball fan and as a long time advocate for common
sense in immigration, the whole argument presented by
Ortiz/Alfonzo is maddening.
Think about it. Here’s Alfonzo—a pretty
good player, by the way—living in the U.S. with a
minor league contract with one of the storied franchises
in baseball…and he’s bitching!
Conditions for baseball players of all stripes to reach the major
leagues have never been better. The doors are wide open.
And if you don’t believe me, then listen to what Baltimore Orioles
superstar
Miguel Tejada has to say about
opportunities for today’s young players.
Talking about what playing baseball was like as a kid growing up in the
Dominican Republic, Tejada told Sports Illustrated:
"Before we just had the
dirt, no fence, no dugout, nothing. When I was coming
up, you had to fight with what you had: broken shoes, no
gloves. Now kids have opportunities—all the major league
teams have academies because they know there is a lot of
talent."
That’s the bottom line: if you can play, you’ll be discovered no matter
where you live. But it is up to you to make the most of
the chances you get.
Two things off the field will help you get to the top. Stay away from
drugs. And don’t bellyache.
Let your bat do the talking.
Joe Guzzardi [email
him], an instructor in English at the Lodi
Adult School, has been writing a weekly newspaper column
since 1988. This column is exclusive to VDARE.COM. |
