Alex Rodriguez Admits Using Banned Substance
Today in an exclusive interview with Peter Gammons of ESPN, Alex Rodriguez admitted 
using a banned substance somewhere between 2001-2003. Some of his words:
“And I did take a banned substance and, you know, for that I’m very sorry and deeply regretful. And although it was the culture back then and Major League Baseball overall was very … I just feel that … You know, I’m just sorry. I’m sorry for that time. I’m sorry to fans. I’m sorry for my fans in Texas. It wasn’t until then that I ever thought about substance of any kind, and since then I’ve proved to myself and to everyone that I don’t need any of that.”
I want to see the entire interview before fully commenting but I have a big problem with the 104 other names not being disclosed and once again an individual taking all the heat.
Bud Selig needs to make himself accountable for presiding over an era that will NOT be blamed on a couple of men. Are we really that stupid and insecure? Is Griffey the only name that would shock left?
Michael Phelps is happier than hell this story broke huh?
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February 9th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
I REALLY don’t understand why this is an issue.
February 10th, 2009 at 12:40 am
MF
I’m with you. WHo the hell wants to watch a bunch f smallish dudes hit ground rule doubles? And steroids don’t make your swing tight, nor lift the weights for you.
February 10th, 2009 at 12:48 am
And nobody’s giving back any money, Kev. Let’s move on, for the love of God.
February 10th, 2009 at 1:53 am
This is an issue because “traditionalists” want Barry Bonds numbers erased. It’s as simple as that.
He raised the bar waaaay too high for these fools and told them to kiss his Black ass while he was at it.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Mizzo…
You are absolutely right. To me, Alex Rodriguez is ‘collateral damage’. However, there is an underlying contempt and/or envy toward A-Rod by the mainstream media (not on the same level as Barry Bonds), but its there.
A-Rod was not under any federal pressure, but ESPN raised the stakes during the Febraury sweeps period and quickly pivoted away from the Michael Phelps story which was a major inconvience for the mainstream media for a few days. **Damn tthose European tabloids for publishing that incriminating picture of Phelps smoking from a pipe and distracting us! (saracasm off)
ESPN didn’t want to break Phelps and undermine his accomplishments as a swimmer, but the ESPN and mainstream media machine wanted to break another minority athlete. A-Rod is already in a fishbowl in New York and not saying anything about it would have affected him..
These tests were from the 2003 season BEFORE baseball had its official steroid policy… and those tests were supposed to be SECRET..Why weren’t the tests destroyed, because they intended to use them or leak the info at a later date… when I say “them” that includes Bud Selig and the George Bush Justice Department. Where is Bud Selig in all of this? Bud Selig should be fired …
Once baseball adopted their official steroid policy a few years ago, it should have been over, but it always came back to BARRY BONDS… GETTING BARRY AT ALL COSTS.. even if the extended dragnet brings in other players…
Baseball is not ‘pure’ and Babe Ruth with all his imperfections or Ty Cobb are not the greatest player of all-time. African-Americans were kept out of the game for decades until the 1940’s and over the last fifteen years there had been a systematic whitewashing of the African-American athlete from baseball. It was baseball’s way of reducing the number of uppity colored players such as Albert Belle, Rickey Henderson or Gary Sheffield from the clubhouses.
February 10th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
I’ll bet the players who were staunchly opposed to entering this agreement of confidentiality are plenty pissed right now.
February 10th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
i know I’m tired of hearing about it.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Couldn’t agree more on what you guys said.
Patrick well said brotha.
Like I have been saying for years the government has no problem approving milk and meat for our consumption from steroid filled animals. Yet somehow its an issue when a player shoots some roids up their @ss.
The government is a freaking joke.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
The punk @ss media too.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Who the hell does baseball think it is to not hold everyone accountable?
Why is the government going after the players and not Selig?
Oh, you lied to us so go to jail. Go directly to jail!
Bull crap.
Didn’t Selig testify? I want to see that transcript.
This is the most absurd bs since the House Committee on Un-American Activities hearings in the 1950s and will be seen as such in the very near future.
Congress has a whole lot more to worry about than who was juicing.
This is all about preserving HIStory.
The moral hypocrisy in all of this is laughable.
Rob Parker and Dave Zirin represented today. Thank you brothas.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:59 am
Cosign everything you said Mizzo.
Also how is Rob Parker doing? IS he with another newspaper now?
February 11th, 2009 at 7:46 am
I’m more upset with most of the mainstream led by ESPN though about the so-called furor over the so-called Steroid Era in baseball. This sanctimony from guys like Jayson Stark, Lupica, Wilbon, et.al is just getting under my skin because of all the hypocrisy behind it all. Big Mac was caught with andro back when he clocked 70 but it was all pooh poohed at the time as nothing more serious than od’ing on creatine.
It is not a national tragedy if Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, or even Roger Clemens or Barry Bonds juiced because the real tragedy/scandal is the millions wasted diverting attention from what the neocons under Bush/Cheney did the last eight years. The crime is the cold cynicism of ESPN trotting out Alex Rodriguez for the high-tech firing squad during the sweeps as Patrick alluded to. I have little love for A-Rod one way or the other the bitch-assness of the media towards athletes like him, Bonds, Iverson, Kobe, even TO and Adam Jones needs to stop. Give it up, those guys hit the genetic jackpot and you didn’t. Whether they urinate away all their talent or not it is not their place to play gotcha every single minute or every single day with these guys’ lives.
Times are hard and now more than ever sports are needed as a respite from a failing economy known more for lost jobs, foreclosures, and bankruptcy. People did what they had to to get where they wanted. If they have any guilt over the “shortcuts” they took then let them take it up with their makers and not Peter Gammons.
I’m glad I stopped watching baseball seriously when the owners colluded to keep Barry Lamar out of the majors. A pox on them.
February 11th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Harvey,
There is a sanctimonious attitude among many of the baseball writers in regards to keeping the sport ‘pure’. As I said earlier, baseball isn’t pure, but its the last bastion of professional sports that white athletes have an opportunity to dominate or be perceived as dominate or the best in their sport. The media lynching of Barry Bonds and naming the era the Steroid Era is something that 50, 60 ,70 year old school baseball ‘journalists’ Bob Costas, Bob Ryan, Mike Lupica, Woody Paige tried to brand in an effort to undermine and invalidate everything since Hank Aaron broke the HR record in 1974.
Despite the love from increasing number of sportswriters in regards to Hank Aaron, but is it truly genuine? I don’t think so. Aaron had notoriety, but Micky Mantle and Mike Schmidt were viewed in a more favorable light than Aaron and some said they were better than Aaron. When Aaron was pursuing the HR record and history, Bowie Kuhn disrespected Aaron by not attending a game in which he could have broken the record and many sportswriters downplayed Aaron’s feat of consistently in lauded Babe Ruth, Gehrig, Koufax and others as the best. Aaron had to face death threats (daily) and didn’t know whether a sniper was going to shoot from out of the stands if he hit that HR. Just six years prior Robert Kennedy and MLK were gunned down by assassins.
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the late 1940’s, but the league was predominately white and that’s the way MLB and the media wanted it to stay. However, as other sports begin to integrate (completely) such as college basketball in the 1960’s or the NBA or even NFL football, baseball became one of the few sports in which the impact of African-Americans could be restricted.
Jackie Robinson changed the game with his speed, and in the 60’s Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and Aaron took it to another level by combining speed, power and defense. And when Aaron started to challenge Ruth’s record is when the media ‘elite’ became uncomfortable. By the 1980’s , African-Americans were comprising close to one-third of a major league roster.
Baseball changed because of the black athlete. I became a baseball fan in the 1980’s, and remember watching the St. Louis Cardinals with Vince Coleman, Willie McGee and Terry Pendleton. Their style of play of stealing bases changed the game even more and on top of that within a couple of years, you had Albert Belle, Frank Thomas, David Justice, Rickey Henderson, Ron Gant, Joe Carter, Daryl Strawberry, and the list goes on and on…
Players were getting BETTER, bigger and stronger…not exclusively because of STEROIDS, but because workout regimens became more of a focus…. And the era of Babe Ruth being the best came into question.. Barry Bonds was a Hall of Fame player in 1996, but some perceived him to be a Hall of Fame ‘ass-h—’… David Justice received similar treatment in Atlanta by the media and GM John Schuerholz (who didn’t draft Justice–Bobby Cox did as GM in 1986) quickly traded him away two years after he hit the game winning HR in 1995 for the Braves lone championship. Remember Kenny Lofton? He has great stats, Hall of Fame stats, but perceived as bad for the clubhouse by the media…
The Bush Justice Department colluding with Bud Selig to undermine the achievements primarily of black and brown players was his way of CLEANSING THE LEAGUE..Additionally, Hispanic players were used as Gary Sheffield had alluded to help whitewash rosters and the affect of that started in the early 1990’s (remember the strike of 1994?) The percentage of African-Americans on MLB rosters started to drop significantly and THIS WAS BY DESIGN…In Atlanta, the Braves had NINE BLACK PLAYERS on their championship team in 1995, but by opening day 2007, there were NONE…
Once it became obvious there were no GREAT WHITE HOPE (ala McGwire) that was going to challenge the HR record, and that a minority will break that mark (Bonds, A-Rod, Sosa, etc.), this is when Selig colluded with the federal government after Bush was elected to invalidate the last twenty years and call it the Steroid Era…with the help of ‘journalists’ such as Costas, DeFore, Lupica, Ryan, Paige and the ESPN ‘media machine’…
MLB got official steroid testing in 2005/2006, but Selig wanted more..he wanted to put Barry Bonds in jail and take his career away, and was willing to spend tens of millions of the TAXPAYER’S MONEY TO DO IT… I am not a Bonds’ fan, but he has fought this from DAY ONE..and I think years down the road his media lynching will be seen for it was and Selig will be seen in a more negative light.. Look at our history: Jackie Robinson was court-martialed in the 1940’s, Jack Johnson was vilified, Ali was put in jail for his protests in the 1960’s..
Who’s next on the media hit list? Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard, etc?
February 11th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Patrick:
This is the first time I’ve heard anyone mention Kenny Lofton as a candidate for Cooperstown. He has some solid numbers. I’m not ready to jump into the abyss with you — yet. Do you know which HOF players to whom he compares favorably?
February 11th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Lofton was an impact player during a 10 year stretch, exclusively during the 1990’s. He passes the longevity standard and in terms of being the best at his position for a decade one can make that argument. The majority of the teams that he was a part of went to the playoffs. And for his 16 year career Lofton, hit .300.
I am a Braves fan, but Kenny Lofton’s career was interrupted by John Schuerholz in 1996. Lofton hated his one year in Atlanta and gained a reputation as a Milton Bradley-type malcontent. Our GM John Schuerholz was beginning to purged minority players off the Braves roster. The slow purge began in 1997, but it really started to affect the Braves after Chipper got his big contract. The Braves haven’t been to a World Series since 1999. It was immediate, but very subtle. Lofton was traded to Atlanta in order to get David Justice and Marquis Grissom out of town. Schuerholz didn’t want to give long-term contracts to minority/African-American players and for a TEN YEAR STRETCH (1994-2004) didn’t draft any African-American players.
No big contracts went to minority players. He did it for Chipper, Smoltz, Glavine, Maddux during the 1990’s, but players such as David Justice he did not. Jermaine Dye was also traded that same year for Keith Lockhart and Michael Tucker (short-term non-impact fixes)…
Temple, the player that resembles Lofton is Tim Raines… Raines received votes as a candidate, and even RON GANT got consideration (.260 career hitter, nearly 400 HRs)
LINK: http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/12/01/atlanta_braves_ron_gant.html
Since World War II, the only players to combine for as many runs, hits and steals as Lofton are Lou Brock, Joe Morgan, Ricky Henderson and Tim Raines. Of the four, Brock and Morgan are already in the Hall of Fame, Henderson will be a first ballot Hall of Famer in 2009 and Raines is a potential Hall of Famer who got more than 24 percent of the vote in in his first year of elgibility in 2008.
Lofton’s career most resembles Raines’, and his induction into Cooperstown may hinge on whether Raines gets in or not. The two have similar career statistics, though Raines played in almost 400 more games and had more than 700 more at bats than Lofton:
G AB H R 2B 3B HR AVG SB
Raines: 2502 8872 2605 1571 430 113 170 .294 808
Lofton: 2103 8120 2428 1528 383 116 130 .299 622
It should also be noted that Raines never won a gold glove, while Lofton won four.
Other Kenny Lofton notables..
* 6-time All-Star (1994-99)
* 4-time Gold Glove Award (1993-96)
* Top 5 MVP, (4th) in 1994
* 5-time league leader in stolen bases (1992-96)
* Led league in hits (1994)
* Led league in triples (1995)
* Led league in at-bats (1996)
* Led league center fielders in assists, (14) in 1992
* Holds the MLB record (tie) for runs scored in the first inning in a season, (18) in 2000
* Holds the American League record for stolen bases by a rookie, (66) in 1992
* Holds the MLB record for post-season stolen bases (34)
* Holds the MLB record for most different teams played on in the playoffs (6)
* Drove in the NLCS winning run in 2002
* Baseball Weekly Top 10 Outfielders of the 90’s
February 11th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
That’s very impressive stuff.
I don’t know that it’s Hall of Fame stuff, but it demonstrates conclusively that Lofton was a far, far better player than my collective memories will allow. He was a true Yankee-killer while leading off for the Cleveland Indians.
For my tastes, a career singles hitter just has to have a higher BA than .299. Carew’s average was .328. That’s the high-rent district. Lofton’s not in the penthouse. At .299, he’s looking for the elevator. Still, that makes him a far better hitter than most who’ve played this game.
His base stealing totals were arguably deflated because of the prolific hitters he played with in Cleveland. One could argue that if they deflated his steals, they inflated his hits and runs scored. Lofton’s high for SBs in a single season is only 75. Raines topped that number 3 times. Vince Coleman (King of the Tarp) topped that total four times. Admittedly, none of those guys hit in front of Thome and Ramirez and Belle, but, it is what it is.
It’s been a long time since there has even been a discussion of a player with his unique skill set for the HOF. This is very compelling stuff. I’m really glad you brought his name into the conversation. My first reaction (based on the absence of power numbers, relatively modest stolen base totals (titles, notwithstanding), low OBP (.372), and the number of dominating players contemporaneous to Lofton) is to say Lofton was always good, but never great. I bet he’s pissed that his career BA is .299.
I did some crunching (thanks for the inspiration) and looked at Lofton vs. the league during his prime years of 1992-2003. I selected those years based on his # of runs scored. 1992 — 96 runs at age 25…2003 — 97 runs scored at age 36. He had a very nice run (no pun intended). During that period he was 6th in runs scored behind guys who all had home run power — Bagwell, Bonds, Biggio, Sosa, Bernie Williams. He was 12th in hits (That’s not so great, especially since it was countered by a high number of walks.) However, he was first in steals and triples. That means that Lofton was clearly the top speed guy of the decade.
He has more career runs scored than Jeff Bagwell and Joe DiMaggio; more than Roberto Alomar and Sammy Sosa; more than Schmidt and Carew. That’s heady company.
Kudos, again, for coming up with a great name who deserves no less consideration that players like Phil Rizzuto. His defense and legacy as a winner could be decisive. I’d feel stronger if he was higher up in the hit parade.
February 12th, 2009 at 2:37 am
Patrick
Thanks for the info about the Braves because when I watch baseball that is the team I do root for. I moved to ATL in ‘94, the year after the Bravos went from worst to first and a seven-game World Series loss to the late, great Kirby Puckett and the MN Twins. Between ‘94 and ‘97, that team had all of the town in its hands whether male/female, Black/white, young/old but after Glavine and Justice combined to beat Cleveland in Game 6 for the only title in a fourteen season span something changed.
The something was the trade of Justice and Marquis Grissom before the start of the ‘97 season during spring training for Kenny Lofton right when everything was set for a repeat series victory. Lofton didn’t want to be in ATL and losing Justice especially made the Braves a bland, bloodless team that tried to ride the Big 4 of Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and Avery/Mercker to a title. Justice gave that team a swagger because he was an outspoken Black man in the Deep South playing white America’s pastime and not afraid to live like a Hollywood celebrity with a movie-star wife all the while calling the fans out for their lack of support.
I saw how Lofton was made the scapegoat for that team not repeating that season and that manufactured reputation as a clubhouse cancer has dogged that man the rest of his career. If he does get HOF consideration believe me some hack will bring up his time in ATL as a negative against him.
Getting rid of all the homegrown African-American talent on the Braves while turning a blind eye in the media to Bobby Cox’s domestic abuse, Chipper Jones’ outside child, and of course John Rocker cooled Black Atlanta’s love affair with baseball. I stayed a fan because I really liked the pitchers along with Andruw Jones and Brian Jordan when they played there. That excitement though that was generated in the days of Gant, Justice, Pendleton, and others was gone though. Gone though because Scheurholtz was given a free hand to bring in less talented position players who were the same color as him.
The shame of it all was that the good ol’ boys down in GA/AL/MS who followed the Braves thought it was alright to get rid of those uppity Black guys because they could be replaced with grinders who would keep the production up without all the quote unquote drama. The only thing that kept up was the great pitching and the division titles while the WS became a thing of the past.
Another funny thing, Patrick, is that if you remember ATL sports at that time but it was right around the mid-90’s that all of the players with personaliy on the various sports teams were helped out of town. Justice, Prime Time, ‘Nique were traded and allowed to walk in those years. The juice was squeezed out of the pro sports landscape then leaving nothing but dried husks but every time a transcendant player has come along since then he’s usually ran out of town because he’s not corporately button-downed enough for the delicate sensibilities of the sons and daughters of the Confederacy.
Man, let me stop because I’ll be here all night with this.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:20 am
Harvey,
Bobby Cox was general manager during the 1980’s and Aaron was the Braves’ vice president and director of player development. These guys were responsible for the drafting and development of players such as David Justice, Ron Gant, Brian Hunter, Tom Glavine, Steve Avery and in Cox’s last year as GM, he drafted Chipper Jones..additionally Cox had brought in Lonnie Smith, who had a rebirth in Atlanta and instrumental in the 1991 World Series.
Schuerholz was more of a caretaker, and after he became GM in 1991, Hank Aaron’s role was greatly diminished. That was by design and a sign of things to come.
Schuerholz was not a popular guy, and I am not exaggerating. He had a poor relationship with the majority of the African-American players and all of the players that Cox/Aaron drafted and signed eventually were traded or cut before their sixth year with the Braves.
Here’s an example. Lonnie Smith had said at one time that we wanted to kill Schuerholz..
LINK: http://deadspin.com/sports/baseball/lonnie-smith-wanted-to-shoot-john-schuerholz-212899.php
…. Smith blamed Schuerholz, now the Braves general manager, for blackballing him among other major league teams’ officials. Smith says Schuerholz never believed he had given up drugs in 1983, when he spent 30 days in a rehab clinic, and told other general managers Smith was a troublemaker with a dangerous history. Smith, who left Kansas City on bad terms after the ’87 season, spent much of the next year begging teams to give him a chance. When it did not happen, Smith bought a dime bag of marijuana and decided Schuerholz’s crime was a capital offense.
“If I couldn’t get back to baseball,” Smith says, “I was going to take him with me. I was going to fly out there, wait for him in the parking lot of the stadium and pop him. If I got caught, I got caught. If not, I’d come on back home.”
2. David Justice
As a Brave, he was traded during the final week of Spring Training 1997 and on ESPN, Justice stated, “I love the Braves, so when [Braves president] John Schuerholz looked me in my face and told me ‘I’d bet my house and my family that you won’t be traded’ that’s good enough confidence for me coming from a General Manager, and then out of nowhere, one week later I’m gone.”
3. Brian Jordan… Schuerholz used the kill two birds with one stone strategy in maneuvering African-Americans out of Atlanta. Just like in 1997, he had no intention of signing one-year Atlanta rental Kenny Lofton to a long-term contract despite trading Justice and Grissom , two other African-American players who weren’t seen as ‘franchise’ players by Schuerholz.
When Jordan heard about being traded for Gary Sheffield (another temporary player in Schuerholz’s eyes), this is what Brian Jordan said..
LINK: http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jan/29/sports/sp-jordan29
“It’s like he stabbed me in the back. He said, ‘We made a trade today and we got Sheffield.’ I was like, ‘Wow! Cool. Improve the team. That’s awesome.’ Then he said, ‘You were involved in the trade.’ And I said, ‘You gotta be kidding me.’
–Brian Jordan, Dodgers outfielder, on hearing the news from Schuerholz
“I’m still really just shocked. There’s no loyalty in business. There’s a way to do things, and a way not to do things. To find out like that? My agent didn’t even know. It’s a stab in the back but another lesson to learn. They put me on a mission.”
–Jordan
4. Andruw Jones was put on waivers in the summer of 2006 and he was mad..and said this about Schuerholz..
“I know they wouldn’t do this with Chipper or Smoltzie,” Jones said of long-time teammates Chipper Jones and John Smoltz. “But they aren’t in the situation that I’m in. They can say no to a trade.”
*****
Schuerholz should have been fired three years ago, but he continues to hang on to his job.
I don’t think even Ryan Howard would have survived in Atlanta under Schuerholz..Howard would have been traded just like Jermaine Dye (1997) was before having any impact on the major league level.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:29 am
..And also A-Rod had said in an interview that he grew up watching the Braves on TBS and respected Bobby Cox… he was very close to being a Brave, but Schuerholz wanted the power to trade him, and another deal-breaker was when the racist/bigoted comments of John Rocker came out..
A-Rod said Atlanta was too much of a blue jeans and T-shirt town …I believe he was referring to John Rocker’s comments and it was turn-off and I think it resonated AROUND THE LEAGUE that blacks and minority free agents weren’t welcome in Atlanta…and being in the clubhouse with a proud, defiant redneck like Rocker was a NEGATIVE.
That was the year 2000. And it’s going on ten years since the Braves have NOT been to a World Series..
February 12th, 2009 at 6:10 am
Amen, Patrick, amen. But not an eyebrow was raised when Scheurholz drafted his son a few seasons ago.
Some good links you put together in your posts and thanks for connecting the dots for me. The Braves under Scheurholz was the laboratory to find out the best way to erase the African-American presence in MLB and as we all can see it worked very well.
Hey, Miz, how about an interview with Justice, Gant, or Lonnie Smith about their views on why their are so few American Blacks on MLB rosters? Justice especially will let fly with his comments.
February 12th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Harvey,
I hope Miz would interview someone like David Justice or Ron Gant….I think they would be GREAT to interview those players and it would provide an inside perspective.
For the past couple of years, Jackie Robinson is talked about and the mainstream media ask why there are few black players….well, its not because young black kids are choosing other sports…(young black kids have always played MULTIPLE SPORTS) its general managers across baseball practicing a form of exclusion and collusion of the perceived ‘uppity’ African-American athlete.
I didn’t mention Ron Gant earlier, but Schuerholz had sent overtures that the Braves weren’t going to sign Gant (who was approaching his sixth year/free agent) to a long-term deal in 1993. Now Gant had an unfortunate motorcycle accident prior to the 1994 season (strike season) and it made it even more easier for Schuerholz to boot him out of town in favor of the over-rated Ryan Klesko (a fan favorite). Gant was an impact player and a 30-30 guy, and rebounded in Cincinnati and became Comeback Player of the Year in 1995.
Harvey, John Schuerholz attempts to restrict, whitewash and/or minimize the impact of African-Americans on MLB rosters wasn’t something that he was doing…other franchises/GMs were practicing this slow whitewashing of the African-American athlete from their rosters.
Tony LaRussa was accused of racism by Gant in an ASSOCIATED PRESS story when he was with the St. Louis Cardinals (1996-98). However, the mainstream media brushed it off.
Gant was traded to Philadelphia during the 1998 offseason and made his remarks about La Russa at the Phillies’ camp in Clearwater, Fla.
LINK: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19990224&slug=2945981
“Rickey Henderson didn’t like him, Royce Clayton didn’t like him,” Gant said. “He treated Ozzie Smith like dirt. Brian Jordan didn’t like him. I don’t know too many people who did like him.”
All of those players are black.
“If he can’t control you as a player, if you’re not a `yes’ player, he doesn’t want you,” Gant said. “If you have your own opinions, he doesn’t want you.”
There’s more… I am not making this stuff up.. A pattern exists and its validated by minority players..
Sheffield spoke about the ‘control’ issue and received a lot of negative flack from the ignorant mainstream media and tried to paint him as a crackpot or ‘Manny being Manny’ or in Gary’s case ‘Sheff being Sheff’…
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2891875
“I called it years ago. What I called is that you’re going to see more black faces, but there ain’t no English going to be coming out. … [It's about] being able to tell [Latin players] what to do — being able to control them,” he told the magazine.
“Where I’m from, you can’t control us. You might get a guy to do it that way for a while because he wants to benefit, but in the end, he is going to go back to being who he is. And that’s a person that you’re going to talk to with respect, you’re going to talk to like a man.
“These are the things my race demands. So, if you’re equally good as this Latin player, guess who’s going to get sent home? I know a lot of players that are home now can outplay a lot of these guys.”
February 12th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
I’ll definitely reach out to those players. I’ve coached baseball on and off for 20 years and this is where it starts.
February 12th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
When I read the above, I am floored. In a Black city like Atlanta, one would think you’d want Black stars to draw people. I would also like to read the thoughts of Justice, Gant, Lonnie Smith, etc.
February 13th, 2009 at 5:13 am
08-08
Don’t be surprised about the inner mechanics of Atlanta because if you go twenty miles in any direction from the Fox Theatre you’ll think you’re back in the late ’60’s. The town has a Black face in politics and will roll out Dr. King when it wants to tout itself as the city too busy to hate to businesses and entities outside of the South but it’s still white hands that control the money and influence. Those of us who live there for awhile find out PDQ though that the city’s more name than game.
I enjoyed my time when I lived there but there are still many unresolved racial issues there and when it comes to sports the blue jeans and t-shirt set Patrick spoke of really let loose. It’s a bait and switch when it comes to pro sports there because when the teams are doing awful invariably a young man of color is drafted who’s play on the field, diamond, or court is so exciting he draws out the minority and under 30 white ticket buyers. As the buzz grows, the bandwagon fans come out of the woodwork to be seen doing the Chop during a playoff game at Turner Field or the Dirty Bird in the Georgia Dome. The problems arise because the front office and the coaching staffs think they can refine the talented young man by converting his ‘raw’ skills into their gameplan while trading away able complimentary players or failing to put talent around him. This causes the player to hit a ceiling as the ‘flaws’ in his game are dissected and given as the reason why he cannot lead a team to win the proverbial big one. Inevitably, off the field controversy follows the player while his fanbase is shown the back of management’s hand because said base is not the clientele conducive to a safe, bland sports watching environment. Eventually, the young player becomes a veteran who’s time has passed according to the local sportswriters and it’s time to turn the page and bring in new blood. The now-veteran player is cut, waived, or traded while a new rookie, preferably one of a lighter hue or more malleable personality, is brought in to much hype and hoopla who will close the deal the now-disappeared vet never could. The rub though is that while the rook has some skills he doesn’t have the on-field charisma of the man he replaced and try as he might he can never live up to what came before because he doesn’t generate the excitement of his predecessor. The losing starts again but it is never blamed on the successor or the front office. The bandwagon fans break their ankles jumping off and the next thing you know the radio ads are touting the visiting teams more than the hometeam.
That’s the way the business of pro sports is conducted in the ATL.
Patrick, can I get a witness?
February 13th, 2009 at 6:39 am
So true, Harvey…
The Braves have never been able to recapture the magic of the 1990’s, and Schuerholz’s new formula of whitewashing the impact of African-Americans from the team started to take hold when Brian Jordan was traded to the Dodgers.
To me Chipper has never been a leader, but more of a follower. Brian Jordan was the ‘real’ leader of the Braves’ last team to make it to the World Series, and David Justice and Pendleton were the clubhouse leaders during the early and mid 1990’s. When Chipper was signed to his extension(s) and the injury-prone Mike Hampton signed his contract, Schuerholz should have been fired… Sheffield short tenure in Atlanta preceded the ‘Baby Braves’ concept or the ‘Hometown Guys’ led by Jeff Franceour, McKay McBride, Joey Devine, Kyle Davies, Brian McCann and Scott Thorman. The Baby Braves strategy failed miserably. Franceour was touted as the next Dale Murphy, but he is turning more into the next Brad Komminsk.
Sports Illustrated had wrote an article if I am not mistaken in 2005 that tabbed Franceour as the Natural… However, the Phillies’ Ryan Howard turned out to be the ‘real’ thing and ended up winning Rookie of the Year, became an All-Star and Won a World Series ring with the Phillies… while Franceour hasn’t lived up to his potential and team has failed to make the playoffs for a THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR.
Schuerholz has been under some pressure the last three to four years from Rainbow Coalition about his drafting and managing practices. Jason Heyward (who is black) is a big-time prospect (drafted in 2007) and should get a chance at spring training, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to trade Heyward for a veteran.
Believe it or not, not one homegrown African-American Braves prospect has become a regular in the Braves’ lineup since Schuerholz’s arrival in 1991…Jermaine Dye was drafted in the 17th round in June of 1993, and ascended into a top prospect, but Schuerholz quickly moved him after his 1996 debut, one year later.. Dye became a productive player and won the World Series MVP with the Ozzie Guillen’s Chicago White Sox team.
Currently in the Braves system: Brandon Jones (African-American drafted in the 24th round of the 2003 draft), 26 years, has talent , but he has been passed over and been shuffled back and forth between Triple A and the major leagues the past two years. Schuerholz rather sign 30-somethings who are deemed as ‘clubhouse or chemistry’ guys such as Scott Spezio (who had legal troubles) or Greg Norton or keep trying to use the defensively challenged, one dimensional Matt Diaz in left field. Now they are trying to push Jordan Schaffer as a viable candidate to start in 2009 who got busted with a 50 game suspension in 2008 over banned substances.
February 13th, 2009 at 6:51 am
….”The problems arise because the front office and the coaching staffs think they can refine the talented young man by converting his ‘raw’ skills into their gameplan while trading away able complimentary players or failing to put talent around him. This causes the player to hit a ceiling as the ‘flaws’ in his game are dissected and given as the reason why he cannot lead a team to win the proverbial big one….”
Harvey,
It seems this very popular flawed mainstream philosophy happens is applied primarily to African-American impact players in which the media has a contempt for … We have seen it with Donovan McNabb in Philly, Vick in Atlanta, Vince Young in Tennessee, and also Tarvaris recently with the Vikings..
Will Philly do right by Donovan and give him a Pro Bowl receiver? There had been rumors of Anquan Boldin being traded there..and what would a disgruntled Larry Johnson be a nice fit in the Eagles backfield?
February 13th, 2009 at 7:10 am
…”That’s the way the business of pro sports is conducted in the ATL…”
Unfortunately, it’s true especially in relation to the Falcons and Braves organizations..
The Braves and John Schuerholz haven’t lost enough yet to see the error of their ways. Just recently, news stories had floated around in regards to Rafael Furcal returning to the Braves along with Andruw Jones.
They both thought about the idea, then thought about Schuerholz.. and said NO THANKS… And so did John Smoltz who had been critical of Schuerholz over the past couple of years..
However, in regards to Andruw and Furcal, I wonder if Gary Sheffield remarks may have floated around in their heads before coming back to the Schuerholz’s Braves..
“Where I’m from, you can’t control us. You might get a guy to do it that way for a while because he wants to benefit, but in the end, he is going to go back to being who he is. And that’s a person that you’re going to talk to with respect, you’re going to talk to like a man..”
Andruw and Furcal apparently had enough of the Braves’ way of doing business.
February 14th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
at this point i can hardly remember whether using steroids in pro sports is illegal or not
February 15th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
If the government spent this much time figuring out how to improve our education system or to get us off of foreign oil or how to solve the housing issues…..or, take your pick, we would be in better shape as a nation right now. They shouldn’t be doing steroids, but I agree that baseball as a whole knows who did and didn’t and now they are hanging them to dry as scapegoats. Just start all over and wipe the slate clean.
February 15th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
That’d be too much like the realistic, grown-folks thing to do, Jeanne. If they’d legalized PED’s, then they can’t romanticize baseball or hold it up as a mythical ideal that doesn’t exist.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:30 am
GREENIES & AMPHEMEDINES were used by whites for over 100 years or more. when MEN OF COLOR BEGAN BREAKING ALL OF THE OLD DRUG GAINED WHITE RECORDS. it became a problem. to STOP THIS, they LOWERED THE MOUND on BOB GIBSON, ALLOWED RACIST REF TO ABUSE,PLAYERS OF COLOR IN MANY WAYS, IN ST LOUIS WORLD SERIES GAME A UMP REFUSED TO CALL STRIKES BECAUSE HE WANTED THE PICTHER TO EXPLODE ,HIS COACH,COMMISIONER ,ECT ALL SAT & WATCHED IT HAPPEN. THEY BROUGHT IN THE FENCES AS MUCH AS 100 FEET IN SOME PLACES JUST FOR WHITE PLAYERS, WHILE CONSTANTLY ELIMINATING BLACKS FROM THE LEAGUS BY SHUTTING DOWN LITTLE LEAGUE & SCHOOL BALL FIELDS IN & AROUND BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS.HIRING RACIST COACHES LIKE CLEVELAND WHO CREATE DISSENT & ABUSE WITH PLAYERS OF COLOR. WHEN BLACK PLAYERS LEAVE CLEVELAND THEY BECAOME STARS. STARS WHO COME TO CLEVELAND BECOME PROBLEMS. CLEVELANDS LUKE EASTER PARK BASEBALL FIELDS ARE ASSINED OUT TO WHITE PLAYERS ON THE WEST SIDE,WHERE THE HAVE MANY PARKS NOT BEING USED,THEY CAN BLOCK BLACKS FROM HAVING ACTIVITY ANYTIME THEY DEEM EVEN WITHOUT A SUPERVISOR.IN OTHER CITIES NO BASEBALL AT ALL NOW THESE WHITE BOYS HITTING A 237 FOOT HOME IS CALLED A MONSTER SMASH WHEN I PLAYED. THE OUTFIELD WAS 215LF,225CF,215RF, THAT WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL.BONDS WAS ACCUSED OF USING AMPHEMEDINE FOR HALF A SEASON,WHITES RECORDS WAS FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS.HE PLAYED IN WIND BLOCKIN SAN FRANSCISCO PARK WHICH KNOCKED DOWN ABOUT A 100 HR.& YOU CRY FOUL.YOU MUST NOT THINK MUCH OF THE WHITE PLAYER ,THAY ALL THESE CRUTCHES ARE NEEDED TO MAKE THEM STARS ??????????????????????