One of the many great things about sports is that people of different races, religions, and ethnic backgrounds can play together regardless of their differences. Gone are the days when Jackie Robinson was spit on by racist fans. Blacks and whites, Hispanics and Canadians, Christians and Jews - they can all play together in unified harmony. Rivalries exist between cities and their teams - not races and their skin colors.
But despite integration, some ethnic groups still like to single themselves out, and they do so with plenty of pride. For example, each February during Black History Month, the media floods us with movies, biographies, and stories of great African-American people in history. In September, which is Hispanic Heritage Month, different cities around the country have "Latino Festivals," baseball teams have "Hispanic Heritage Day" at their ball parks, and newspapers feature stories of Hispanic activists who have made a difference in their communities. We like blending in with the masses, but we also take pride in who we are and from where we came.
In commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Major League Baseball polled a "series of experts" to put together the "All-Time Latino Team." Being a proud Puerto Rican, I was very interested to see how many of my fellow islanders had made the list and if I agreed with everyone who was selected. As I read down the list, I pretty much agreed with the "experts" on the different legendary players chosen. It wasn't until I got towards the end that my face got red, my eyes bulged out of my head, and I got downright angry. I was so taken aback by two of the selections that I had to go down to the basement so my kids didn't see how upset and wound up I was (I know; it's only a list, but you know me - I'm pretty passionate about all things baseball). Here is the All-Time Latino Team - see if you can guess what set me off:
Manager - 1994 Manager of the Year Felipe Alou. It was probably between him and Ozzie Guillen, so I was OK with Alou.
Right-handed pitcher - Juan Marichal. With his career ERA of 2.29, he deserves to be there over Pedro Martinez.
Left-handed pitcher - Fernando Valenzuela. Yeah, I can see that, even though "Lefty" Gomez and Johan Santana could have made it too.
Relief pitcher - Mariano Rivera hands-down. That guy is some sort of alien or superhuman or something. I wouldn't be surprised if he came back after his knee injury and pitched game 7 of the World Series this year.
Designated hitter - Edgar Martinez, whose .312 career batting average and .418 on-base percentage make him worthy of being on the list (though some would argue that "Big Papi" David Ortiz is also qualified).
Catcher - 12-time All-Star Iván Rodriguez. Hello! No-brainer! If "Pudge" hadn't been selected, I would have exploded. Javy Lopez, Yadier Molina, Jorge Posada and Manny Sanguillen would have also been good choices, but Iván deserves it, hands-down (actually, one hand behind your back and the other framing the next pitch!)..
First base - Three-time National League MVP, Albert Pujols. I'm OK with this one. It would have been nice to see Orlando Cepeda or Vic Power, but Albert is a true talent, so he deserves to be there.
Second base - 2011 Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar. Another no-brainer, though Robinson Canó is turning out to be just as good.
Third base - Alex Rodriguez. Sigh! Whatever. I was still feeling OK at this point despite not being a fan of A-Rod. Plus, A-Rod is not worth my time, so I refused to stress out about that one.
Shortstop - Nine-time Gold Glover Luis Aparicio. That's fine, though Omar Vizquel is the best shortstop of my generation. Still feeling OK with the list so far.
Right field - Roberto Clemente. Duh! Again, if he had not been chosen, I would have had such a fit that I would have requited a massive dose of sedation.
OK, now here's where I have a problem with the list. The other two outfielders selected were Ted Williams and Reggie Jackson! Who??? What the heck?!? Since when are THEY considered "Latinos?" Apparently Ted Williams' mother was "of Mexican descent," and Reggie Jackson's father was half Puerto Rican. What about current players like José Bautista and Carlos Beltrán? Or past players like Minnie Miñoso, Vladimir Guerrero, Rubén Sierra, Bernie Williams or José Cruuuuuuz? Ted and Reggie... really??? Ted Williams admitted that he didn't speak Spanish or seek to embrace the Hispanic culture in order to prevent prejudice or tension (a valid point back in the day, if you're a coward!). Reggie Jackson speaks some Spanish and his first wife was Hispanic, but at no point during his time playing winter baseball in Puerto Rico was it publicly acknowledged that he was a Latino. I thought "If they're considered Hispanic, then I'm the 'reina de Inglaterra' (Queen of England, for those of you who don't "habla español)." So I went to bed in a tizzy, promising myself to write about it the next day.
So it's now the next day, and I've had some time to ponder. What makes one person more "Hispanic" than another? Is it the quantity of "hispanicness" in your genetic makeup, or the quality of your life and the way you were raised? I am 100% Puerto Rican, with parents whose ancestors date back to the native Taíno Indians who lived on the island before Christopher Columbus arrived or back to the Spanish "conquistadores" who brought African slaves with them and settled on the island. But it's not so cut-and-dry for other Hispanics. My kids, for example, have a Puerto Rican mother and a white-as-can-be father. Are they any less Hispanic than me? How about the people I knew when I lived in Massachusetts, whose parents were both Puerto Rican but they themselves were born on the mainland and had never been to Puerto Rico - are they less Puerto Rican than Roberto Clemente, who was of African lineage? They speak the language, eat the food, and listen to the music of their fellow Puerto Ricans, but are they less "boricua" because they've never been to Puerto Rico? Don't try to tell them that they are - they will run you out of town while furiously waving their one-starred flags!
I guess what bothers me the most is that, while Williams and Jackson were great players in their time, did they embrace their Hispanic heritage? Were they Latinos first and foremost? Do they know the National Anthem of their country and proudly fly its flag? They don't have to be fully bilingual nor do they have to eat re fried beans (which I don't eat myself); they just need (or needed, in Williams' case) to embrace their culture, take pride in their heritage, and represent their ethnicity with dignity. While some would argue that ethnicity should not matter, It does matter to those of us who take pride in ours, and if you don't want us to single ourselves out, then don't be putting together an all-time greats list that singles out a certain ethnicity.
Stay tuned for my analysis and opinion after Major League Baseball releases its "All-Time Jehovah's Witness Team" and "All-Time Vegetarian List."
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