we need more black players! i loved preston wilson! the first game he played as a cardinal he hit a home run. he won the world series and we didn't. preston wilson > astros.
^ I wonder what happened to this baby? How old is he/she ? Does he know that his image is used all across the internets? As for the topic : The Astros are definitely racists. But they are racists against white people. It is the soft racism of lowered expectations, however. That is the reason why Jason Lane is still around. The bar was set too low for people like him and even though he sucks he has met those racist expectations. You don't expect much from whitey...
At the start of the 2006 season there were LESS THAN 80 blacks on the 40 man rosters for the entire league. There were a few articles discussing the lack of blacks in baseball as a whole and the development of some inner city programs. This is a league wide issue, not an Astros being racist issue. It is hard to argue with the success the Astros have had with their rosters over the past 12 years. I can guarantee you if players like Willis or Crawford were available, they'd go after them. Considering the huge dollars they've offered Beltran and Lee the past coupleo f seasons, they'll consider any and all options.
Why is there a league wide isuue when there are less blacks in MLB than there was 20 years ago and there is not one in the NBA when there are less american white players than there was 20 years ago.
Why? It's true. I am Russian American and white people are becoming a minority. I know in Houston they are. I used to live in San Francisco and it was more asian/white there, but it's like 90% more to live there.
The issue, as seen by MLB, is that not enough is being done to draw inner city youths into discovering baseball.
Basketball and football are a lot more accessible than baseball. You can play football almost anywhere as long as you have a ball. You can play basketball anytime you want, whether you are alone or with a lot of people. With baseball you need bats, gloves, balls, a diamond, at least 7 people... I played all three organized sports from the age of eight until I graduated high school and baseball was, by far, the most boring...
And that is the crux of the issue. In most suburban areas there are a number of sports field complexes that have baseball fields, soccer fields, etc, yet the inner city doesn't have similar amenities. There tends to be a lack of organizations with adequate facilities to allow inner city youths to hone their skills. That is what MLB is trying to address. Clearly, the more top athletes that participate in a sport, the more compelling it is to watch.
Well, you haven't seen the color or lack there of the past years, however, I think its putting the best team on the field, whether or not its a white or minority, IMHO... I don't think they intentionally go after a specific race and to suggest that is ridiculous...Where's Michael Irvin when you need him...
I am African-American and have encountered many racists in my time but to tell you the truth, I was PISSED when Hank Aaron made that accusation a couple of years ago. Especially with all of the true racism, even death threats, he encountered during his playing career. I just don't see it...for one, it's a business--anyone who doesn't go after the best players, regardless of race, is a fool. Secondly, looking at the makeup of the major leagues in general, it's clear that there are not many African-Americans, period. I'd be much more offended if we had a "token black guy" who sucked on the roster just to appease the masses--I WANT TO WIN!
but not on most American baseball fields... don't think Uncle Drayton is a racist (I mean, our highest paid player is not white), but who knows? We did try to get Tejada as well...
Actually Omar Minaya IS a racist. He has actually stated he wants to build a team with as many Latin players as possible. That is racism. The Astros pasty pale roster is more a factor of the times (at least with regards to black players.) Black players are becoming a rarity in baseball, at least good ones. As far as a lack of Latin players on the big league roster, I think it's just because they don't scout well. They spend a ton of money in Latin America scouting talent, but those guys don't really pan out for them. They just are getting the wrong guys.
I'm still of the opinion that Drayton McClane is prejudice and I think it is a shame that there aren't more African Americans playing on the baseball diamond. I myself am a hispanic born and raised here in Houston. This past summer I worked with an organization named Harlem RBI in East Harlem, NY. The purpose of the org. is to promote inner city baseball for troubled youth starting as early as 8 years of age. Needless to say, the majority of the kids in the program and on my team were African American/Hispanic. I will say this, the Yankees and the Mets are HUGE sponsors of the program. Aside from the organizational support Carlos Beltran donated $500 for every RBI he hit this past season. He even spent time with the kids and held a clinic for a number of them. In Houston there is also an RBI sister organization, but not nearly as large. In fact I know that while the Astros do support it minimally, they could do A LOT more. That lack of support for those types of organizations I think comes from the fact that there are few inner-city ball players on our roster. While that may be the case on any MLB roster I still think it is a mistake to overlook the talent there, because these kids do have a lot of talent. Someone in this post made the comment of Omar Minaya toying with racism because of his desire to build a roster with Latin American players. IMO, this comment was more of a front seeing as he is the first latin american GM in baseball history. His pride was only bound to show up with that kind of comment. The real problem is that even with comments like that the Mets still hold a very diverse roster. Even if "Whites" are the minority here in Houston or even in NYC the true "minorities" are those inner-city kids with no field or funds to play the game. And while a team like the Mets largely supports efforts to reverse that trend the Astros seem to be standing on the fringe. The Venezuelan Academy was a start but there seems to be very little attention paid to homegrown inner-city potential. Is that a coincidence....
