Latinos, Latin Americans, and Major League Baseball
A Migration to the North: History and Prevalence
Latinos in Baseball – Discrimination and Identity
The plight of Latin Americans in Major League Baseball is becoming increasingly documented. While ballplayers represent an atypical economic experience, they also face discrimination and racialization similar to that of the general Latino population. The process of discrimination in baseball began many years ago. For more on history, CLICK HERE. Recruitment and sports reporting are two areas where Latinos are facing the most discrimination. These difficulties help shape the Latin identity in baseball, and transfer onto the population of its fans.
Yet, there has been minimal academic attention given to the current conditions faced by Latin American ballplayers. Most of the influential reporting has been conducted by mainstream news organizations such as the Washington Post and Hispanic Magazine. NACLA did produce a report in 1999 that led to administrative changes, but these were more in reaction to public outcry and did not produce lasting effects. More on this can be found later.
Leading Off
Most people do not consider Major League Baseball to be a multinational corporation with human rights violations in numerous countries. But there are no “corporate codes of conduct” that large companies devise. The MLB's lack of regulation in Latin America caused one report to denounce the rise in Latinos in major league baseball as taking advantage of a “strategic asset.”(3)
Players born in the United States and its territories, such as Puerto Rico , are drafted into the major leagues. Many prospects get agents and negotiate enormous salaries and signing bonuses.(6) The amateurs are provided protections against dishonest team recruiters and Major League Baeball administrators.(3) Owners are required to pay Japanese players comparable wages to compete with the prestigious leagues in Japan, which have a good infrastructure and large fan base.(6) There is an intricate process between the Japanese or Korean league commissioners and the commissioner of the MLB.(3) Also, most Asian players come from Japan or South Korea, which contain much less poverty than any Latin American country.
However, the few leagues that still exist in such countries as Colombia , Mexico , Venezuela , and the Dominican Republic are under funded and inadequate. There are no agreements between Major League Baseball and the Latin professional leagues.(3) Thus, team owners can essentially pay these prospects fractions of salaries they would be receiving had they been born in the United States or Japan . If a player born in the U.S. receiving $150,000 for signing were born in the Dominican Republic , he would have gotten only $4,000. The salaries even out once Latinos reach a higher status, but it is harder for Latinos to reach that standing.(6) In addition, before 2001 the minor league contracts were not required to come with Spanish translation. So many prospects could not even read the contracts, let alone understand them.(3)
Still, some Latinos do make it in the amateur draft. Nevertheless, Leticia González notices that the Latinos that enter the draft show significantly less chance of being stacked, which is being overrepresented at certain positions.(28)
There is a rule that says recruited prospects must be seventeen years old. But it has never been enforced, and Major League Baseball organizations have routinely scouted players as young as ten years old. If they are unable to do this, then they hide prospects in the team “academies.” These bypass international laws requiring special provisions for juveniles.(3)
Baseball academies, recruiting complexes set up by MLB teams with the assistance of Latin minor leagues, contain some of the worst conditions in Latin America . A few teams have nice facilities, but since there is no regulation on any living conditions, some of the academies are atrocious. One account describes a Cubs prospect who was not provided enough water, bathrooms, and medicine necessary for adequate sustenance.(3) One author compares the academies to a sugarcane farm in which Americans can buy goods cheaply, refine it abroad, and ship it to the United States.(6)
In addition, Major League Baseball encourages buscones , which are essentially “street agents,” to find Latin prospects for their teams. This system has raised many questions, but the MLB pretends to have no responsibility in the regulation of the buscones . Moreover, there is no mandatory testing for steroids like they have in North America . The commissioner argues that it is too complex and costly to initiate a testing system.(3) This sheds light on where baseball truly wants to spend its money.
The Sosa Paradigm and the Sporting Press
The biggest prejudice facing Latino ballplayers is treatment by sportswriters. One factor of this is few baseball reporters are Latinos, despite the growing number of Latinos in major league baseball. Jaime Jarrin, an Ecuadorian who has broadcasted Los Angeles Dodgers games for over twenty years, claims that there are less than ten full-time baseball “beat writers” fluent in Spanish in English newspapers in US, and maybe even less than five.(1)
The press and team publicists have taken great steps to Americanize players. They modify Spanish sounding names to Anglo ones: Roberto to “Bobby,” Mateo to Matty, and Dagoberto to Bert. The moniker “ Chico ” was used in place of almost any Spanish-sounding name. Even Jesus Alou was forced to change his name after the clergy in San Francisco did not realize Jesus is a popular name in Latin America , and thought he intended to conjure up images of the Christian savior.(10)
Another feature is the chauvinism of the English Language press. Efforts to increase the “intellectual disenfranchisement” of Latino players involve highlighting the Spanish pronunciation, called “accenting,” in both writing and video. Quoting Spanish-speaking or Latino athletes verbatim in a news article is an effective way of accenting the players. It moves the focus away from what the respondent means to how they are saying it. This practice can accumulate to a point where the average fan sees Latinos as inarticulate and stupid.(1) But this process is not just a recent occurrence.
Even though dark-skinned Latinos were integrated over fifty years ago, and light-skinned Latinos for over a century, Latins have always faced problems communicating with English sportswriters. Vincent Nava, probably the first Latino born in the United States to play professional baseball, was quoted verbatim many times. It was common for the press to write, “I'm hokay” in instead of “I'm okay.” There was a major controversy when the public thought Puerto Rican Vic Power was calling his opponents “sons of bitches,” and not referring to “some of their pitches.” Even more recently, the legendary Puerto Rican Roberto Clemente was quoted as, “I no play so gut yet…” and “Me like hot weather…”. The late Pittsburgh Pirate star responded with “I never talk like that; they just want to sell newspapers.” (1) Actually, sportswriters benefit from bastardizing the linguistic variations of Latinos. Foreigners are easy prey for reporters who are looking for that good quote audiences remember.
Sammy Sosa is Dominican right fielder for the Chicago Cubs. When he swung the bat against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on June 3, 2003 , the bat broke. After umpire inspection revealed there was illegal cork in the bat thought to improve power, Sosa was thrown out and received a seven-game suspension. Major League Baseball inspected his other bats, which tested negative for cork, and Sosa maintained he accidentally picked up equipment used for batting practice. However, the incident still caused a huge ripple effect, and news coverage showed a sharp divide between Sosa critics and Sosa supporters. One of the first questions that came into play was the legitimacy of the home run race in 1998, when both Sosa and Mark McGuire broke the record for most homers in one season. This topic was doubly significant since Sosa was a Latino who was considered a member of the Black community. Some baseball enthusiasts even questioned putting trust in the national pastime in “Latino, a foreigner, a Black man, or, worse yet, a man who embodied all three.”(1)
However, a more disturbing episode surfaced after the controversy. An Associated Press wire story that day quoted Sosa as saying, "But when you make a mistake you got to stood up for it," and “I just apologize to everybody that are embarrassed." Terry Taylor, AP sports editor, claimed he accepted the story due to “poor editing.” (1)
Cleaning up quotes entails that sportswriters and editors correct the grammar and clarity of their interview responses while retaining the original meaning of the quotes. It is guided by an assumed “common sensibility.” Journalists do not only clean up quotes for foreigners. It is common practice when interviewing athletes, politicians, and spokespersons. In fact, MLB executive vice president Sandy Alderson, a Harvard University Graduate, admits to benefit from it.(1) Conversely, the Sosa incident epitomizes the racial bias apparent in the media.
After the Sosa affair, Latin players became afraid of giving interviews to English reporters. They decided that not appearing in print at all was better than answering questions and dealing with mockery. This had confirmed the worst fears of many prominent players. Pedro Martínez had the courage to speak up because he was a seasoned veteran who was born in the Dominican Republic but went to college at Ohio Dominican. Martinez claimed that it was important the press did not treat his fellow Latinos fairly since they are such an influential force in the American psyche. He did not want the public to think that the misrepresentations of their Latino athletic idols provided a sound basis for finding Anglo-American heroes.(1)
Latin players called for the Major League Baseball Player's Association, their union, to provide interpreters for Latinos during interviews. But the MLBPA suggested that the players only give interviews in Spanish and let the wire services translate it. The Associated Press apologized for the Sosa incident, however, and the MLBPA dropped the demand for interpreters.(1) The entire story was effectively dismissed by mainstream journalists and fans as an attempt to cover up the illegitimate bat.
Misquotations by sportswriters reflect an ability to speak or defend themselves on the part of the players. Yet, since they cannot verbally defend themselves, some Latin players feel the need to fight as the only other rational response. This makes them seem more physically violent. Former New York Yankee Reggie Martínez Jackson, whose mother is Mexican, would switch to Spanish if he did not want to answer questions of the English language press. Rico Carty, a first baseman from the Dominican Republic who played with many teams over a career that spanned 16 years during the 1960s and 1970s, claimed that if any player got frustrated with the complexities of language, they were labeled as “Hot-head, hot-blooded Latins.”(1)
If a Latino cannot deal with the lack of Spanish-speaking interviewers, then the burden is on the player to assimilate. Manny Ramírez, a Boston Red Sox outfielder who became a naturalized citizen, states, “No, baseball does not need us...no, we need baseball.”(1) This can have devastating effects on spectators, especially children, who see their favorite stars rejecting Latino heritage as inferior to the mainstream American culture.
There is some language instruction at the academies, but not nearly enough to make significant advances. Pedro Martínez claims that no one at the academies helps prepare prospects for the media. Dominican and current Red Sox hitter David Ortiz argues that it takes time to translate in his head, but interviewers want answers right away.(1) This exemplifies the double standard in baseball – Latino players expected to be perfect at English, but reporters don't make any attempt to learn Spanish.
Following a 100-win season and a first place finish in the National League West, manager Felipe Alou confirmed:
In my case, the only problem I ever had was sometimes with the American press. If I do a bad thing or if we are playing bad, print I am doing bad and we are playing bad. But if we are doing well and if we have a great season, I think they have to be honest and accept we had a great year. Last year, we had a great season and it seems like the manager did not have a good season.(5)
It appears that the blatant criticism of Latino players and managers is restricted to English-speaking press in the United States . In fact, Spanish-language newspapers like La Prensa , El Mundo , and La Opiñion rarely attack the Latino players.(10) Perhaps this is because they want to counteract the Anglo-American journalists and present a balanced story at least to bilinguals. In addition, the Spanish newspapers track players from all Latin American countries, not just their own nationality. The adoration for Cuban Roberto Clemente is a prime example of this unity.
Other Discrimination and Identity Issues
There are many other examples of bigotry for Latinos playing in the major leagues. Out 3,468 total major league All-Stars between 1933 and 1999, only 392 were foreign born. Michigan itself produced 102, more than either the Dominican Republic , Puerto Rico, or Cuba.(4). Is Michigan an athletic powerhouse, or are certain ethnicities ignored or eliminated?
Racial discrimination is by no means an artifact from the past. The Houston Astros have based their roster in the last few decades primarily on Anglo players such as Nolan Ryan, Jeff Bagwell, and Craig Biggio. These players are good, and while this does not outwardly seem the product of prejudice, the history of the Astros reveals a different story. Cuban-born Roman Mejias was the team's first Latino star, was traded after only one season for an Anglo-American that had produced significantly lower numbers. Houston's management has had a fear of Latin players ever since.(29) These types of actions are the result of general societal feelings, as Texas in the 1980s and 1990s experienced a great increase of Mexicans and those with Mexican ancestry, along with other Latinos. But instead of gearing rosters and attention to this community, the Astros have systematically complied to the whites fear of Latinos taking over their treasured leisure activities. Whites in power shape Texan history, which revises events such as the Battle of the Alamo to suit the Anglo-American viewpoint. Thus, Houston baseball is not only a reflection of the fears of the “other,” but in fact promotes ethnocentrism as it relates to the national pastime and, more generally, interpersonal relations.
The American media has a tendency to create a perfect story for the Latin Americans coming the United States . Cuba is one of the countries that best support this ideal. Joe Cubas, a sports agent born in working-class Miami , has brought dozens of Cuban defectors to the United States , including El Duque and Livan Hernandez. However, respected outlets such as 60 Minutes , GQ , and the New York Times only represent the positive aspects of his life story and exclude the negative parts.(30) Their portrayal as Cubas ' clients' fulfillment of the American Dream ignores the capitalist undertones in the narrative. They contrast the freedom and wealth of the United States with the poverty and repression in Cuba . In contrast, none of the accounts mention that the average ballplayer in Cuba makes only a little more than everyone else, while in the United States players make much more than the average individual. The phrase “we are all equal, just not sports stars” is not conveyed anywhere. Basically, the athletes may finally be getting paid more, but the thousands of Cubans without that natural talent find themselves in a different situation. While Fidel Castro and his oppressive regime should by no means be glorified, it is important to realize that the earnings baseball players from deprived Latin American areas receive are denied to the majority of other immigrants.(30) Jane Juffer questions, “does baseball only serve to create the illusion of upward mobility?”(31)
The hiring of minority managers is another area where Latinos are discriminated. A cross-generational study of outfielders and managers found that even though nonwhites had better offensive numbers than whites, and most minority baseball players were outfielders, the number of outfielders becoming managers was not proportional to the percentages of nonwhite outfielders compared to whites.(32) Racist critics do not leave the managers alone once they are hired, though. Felipe Alou confirms that Latino managers have to the prove a certain “mental capacity” and cannot “have any problems with the language, or with the fans, or with the players or the front office because we are scrutinized…to see if Latino managers are for real.”(5)
There are many contradicting studies on discrimination in relation to baseball cards. One recent analysis observed that race does not affect card price of current players, but does affect card price of retired players.(33) One the same note, a study found that Latinos waited twice as long to gain entrance into the Hall of Fame than white players.(34)
On the other hand, there are some encouraging reports. A study found that race had no effect on career longevity for Hispanics. The researcher attributed this outcome partly to confusion about nonwhiteness.(35) This displays that the Anglo-American masses cannot distinguish those of Latin ancestry. The Sammy Sosa incident was partly aggravated by fans, “ lumping together U.S.- born Latinos with Latin Americans under the rubric of ‘Other.' ”(31) If this is carried out into everyday practice, then the normal fan will assume to feel threatened by anyone who represents a different heritage. Many of these statistical analysis studies grouped together “Black” and “Latino” into one “minority” group.
Compared to players from Japan , Latinos receive much less help from the teams in assimilating to American culture. For example, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén thinks there are more programs available, but notices teams bring interpreters for Japanese players, but not Latinos. The New York Yankees released the interpreter for Orlando “El Duque” Hernández, after five seasons with the team. Hernández offered to pay the translator's salary, but this was rejected; the team asserted that he should have learned English in that time period. The Cuban defector had to rely on Hispanic teammates from countries like Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic.(1) This contributes to the idea of many Americans that all of the countries in the Caribbean are the same. But in fact, Hernández had trouble understanding some of the idioms and slang from the types of Spanish spoken by the other Latinos.
The Future
As discussed earlier, NACLA's criticism of major league baseball led to a few structural changes. MLB opened an office in the Dominican Republic overseeing Latin American operations, there were proposals to enforce age restrictions and stage a worldwide draft, and other memorandums. But while seemingly positive, these changes look more impressive than they actually are. Because the modifications were made only after the public outrage generated from journalists like Steve Fainaru of the Washington Post and the NACLA report, the MLB did not really have its heart behind it. They did not follow through with most of the proposals, the Dominican office is understaffed and underfunded, and the draft proposal is dead. While the MLB did provide minimal sanctions against buscones , it only applies to the Dominican Republic and diverts the responsibility away from major league baseball, citing anti-trust laws. Moreover, most importantly, requirements for the baseball academies, such as providing trainers and medical supplies are regarded as “non-bonding recommendations.”(3)
Pedro Martínez, the former Boston Red Sox ace who recently signed with the New York Mets, thinks that Major League Baseball is doing more with cultural education, including printing brochures and holding clinics, but notes that Latinos are still not recognized for their efforts in transitioning to American life. Rafael Palmeiro, a Cuban on the Baltimore Orioles' squad, suggested that teams have a moderator to monitor the interview, or at the very least, a reporter needs to be prepared for a Spanish interview with a translator.(1)
Major League Baseball has actually established a quota on Latin Americans in conjunction with Immigration and Naturalization Services, which has now moved to the Department of Homeland Security. They limit each organization to thirty work visas to bring in players.(1) This type of restriction only exists in baseball, and it shows that the MLB is threatened that Latinos will invade the security of baseball, and essentially, America .
Some baseball enthusiasts consider the increase of Latinos in the MLB as bad, but ignore the reasons why so many came. They look at racial and other broader aspects, and not on-field performance. All of these factors mentioned on this webpage contribute to the notion of a Latin player as the “other.” This creates a system of fear and prejudice that works far beyond the confines of baseball.
This is why the need for rising above the hate. Samuel Regalado writes, “ Latins have always felt a sense of mission that had accompanied their careers as players.” (9). Perhaps Tony Peña put it best:
We Latinos, we share the same love for each other," Peña said. "It does not matter where you are from or where you are born if you are Latino. For example, when Oscar De La Hoya fights, I'm rooting for him. I'm not Mexican or Mexican-American. When a Latin American reaches a certain point of success, we all root for him or her because he is opening the door for others in the future.(36)