Ken Rosenthal: "The Red Sox look very white"

[BoSox21]

Will non-white free agents shun the Sox?

by Ken Rosenthal

 

The Red Sox look very white.

 

The trade of left fielder Manny Ramirez and loss of shortstop Julio Lugo to injury left the Sox with a predominantly Caucasian roster.

 

Why bring this up now, with the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series? Well, the free-agent market will open in about a month. The makeup of the Red Sox's roster could be a concern for players they pursue, whether it's this off-season or in the future.

 

Of the Red Sox's current players in the ALCS, the only African- American is outfielder Coco Crisp.

 

The only Latin Americans are designated hitter David Ortiz, who is from the Dominican Republic, and utility infielder Alex Cora and reliever Javier Lopez, both of whom are from Puerto Rico.

 

Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury is Native American. Pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima are from Japan. Reliever Manny Delcarmen is of Dominican descent, and injured third baseman Mike Lowell was born to Cuban parents in Puerto Rico.

 

The Sox's composition is surprising in an era in which rosters are more diverse than at any point in the game's history, even as the number of African-American players continues to decline.

 

Full Article from FoxSports.com

 

Only 8% of players in MLB are African-American, which averages to two per 25-man roster. Yes, the Sox only have one but from my count, the Angels have six: Matthews Jr., Hunter, Figgins, Anderson, Kendrick and Oliver. The fact that they skew the average means that there are several other teams who are under the average.

[TheKilo]

Completely irresponsible journalism from Rosenthal. I expect this out of CHB and his ilk.

 

Manny quit on this team, and forced a trade. (Dominican descent)

 

Lugo is hurt but to my knowledge is still on the 40-man (Dominican descent)

 

Colon ran away and hid in the DR, not their fault.

 

If we look at the 40 man, these are the non-white players:

 

David Ortiz

Julio Lugo

Hideki Okajima

Daisuke Matsuzaka

Javier Lopez

Manny Delcarmen

Alex Cora

Coco Crisp

Devern Hansack

Argenis Diaz

Bartolo Colon

 

11 out of 40, and you could classify Ellsbury and Lowell as non-white as well.

 

If you look at soxprospects.com's top 25, the following are of non-white descent:

 

Stolmy Pimentel

Oscar Tejeda

Luis Exposito

Che-Hsuan Lin

Argenis Diaz

Michael Almanzar

Yamaico Navarro

Felix Doubront

 

Completely irresponsible journalism.

[TheKilo]

And Ellsbury should be listed as non-white as American Guardians are a minority.

 

So 30% of the 40-man roster is non-white.

[jacksonianmarch]

Its the sox fault that inner city black kids are choosing basketball or football over baseball. Got it.

[Gom]

Kill Ken Rosenthal.

 

Jew.

[BoSox21]

I don't get this article though, Rosenthal is basically saying "The Sox have a lot of white guys, I'm not saying they're racist, they just have less minorities than other teams....but I'm not saying they're racist, I'm just stating the facts."

 

I think he's clearly got an agenda here, I'm just not sure why or how come.

[Mr Crunchy]

Evidently we have forgotten the legacy of Thomas Yawkey, Pumpsie Green, the Tim ""Ill never play in Boston"" Raines saga and the other bitter memories of my youth that translated our town, my f***ing town into a racist hell hole.

f*** Ken Rosenthal

 

But in fairness to the race baiting **********...

 

this is the place where they broke into Bill Russels house and s*** on his bed while destroying his trophies

Wilmington realtors wouldnt show him houses

Dee Brown was nearly murdered by Wellseley cops looking for a 5'8 avg built black man.

The place where Willie Mays 1st tried out

The last baseball city to intergrate.....

The homes of Carson and Revere Beach

Judge Arthur Garrity

Busing

Louis Day Hicks and the late great Albert O'Neil.

 

Ken Rosenthal mustve written this after Yom Kippur cause he has a lot to atone for now and I guess its time to threaten him with a sock full of double d batteries.

[VA Sox Fan]

Maybe Rosenthal is upset b/c we only have one player of the Jewish faith (Youk).

 

There are so many stories out there and he stirs this pot again? What a joke....fk him!

[TheKilo]

Yet, fairly or not, Ramirez's messy divorce with the Red Sox could raise suspicions that the team prefers a certain type of player — unassuming, conformist, white. The current makeup of the team's roster might create similar notions, even as the Red Sox say that nothing could be further from the truth.

 

i mean, seriously? What a joke.

[MANNYHOF24]

How can he not be fired for these comments? This is completely unprofessional.

[TheKilo]

Of the other remaining teams in the postseason, the Phillies feature a similar number of non-white players, but two of their biggest stars — first baseman Ryan Howard and shortstop Jimmy Rollins — are African- American.

 

The Red Sox and Phillies have similar numbers of non-white players, but since the Phillies minority players are really good, it's OK.

 

I mean, really.

[Cocos Disciples]

wut

[Mr Crunchy]

Now pay attention

i mentioned when they dumped Manny and several players prior that they were indeed looking for a more corporate look and i named players that were part of the 04 season and afterwards that walked or were allowed to walk or were dumped.

they want an IBM look

a proffesional team of ball players who dont conflict with their image...

i maintain that they desire that certain look and i also dont think race has anything to do with it but lets face it,latin kids and black kids arent to be confused with kevin millar and david wells and johnny damon ..

so rosenthal leading us into this race baiting ******** is undeserving of the sox,theo and this specific ownership group that has 19 different partners,some of which are jews and some of which are christians and none of which i would think would allow the dark days of Tom Yawkey to reappear like a white hooded horseman going to pick up Va Sox fan for the prom.

 

I dont like this a month before free agents declare their intents and the history is there for those who choose to see it,time dont heal all wounds because of ****ing faggots like ken rosenthal

[TheKilo]

Ken Rosenthal, May 27, 2008:

 

The Red Sox are a better example of a melting pot, but they are not just a cultural melting pot. The Sox are a blend of players young and old, gifted and ordinary, wealthy and hungry. The pieces — from Manny Ramirez to Dustin Pedroia, Daisuke Matsuzaka to Jonathan Papelbon — could not be more disparate. But somehow, under the leadership of manager Terry Francona, they all pull toward a common goal.

[a700hitter]

Whenever they cut to Rosenthal during a game, I always have the same comment. He adds absolutely nothing to the broadcast. He never has any interesting information. His rumors are almost always unsubstantiated and turn out to be wrong, and he is not the least bit entertaining. I am convinced that he is married to a network executive's daughter. Plus, he is a short ugly midget.

 

Edit: I guess he must be trying to get himself a controversial image (like Howard Cosell) to get himself some sort of distinction. Cosell, however, had a brain, good sources, and a very distinctive voice.

[BoSox21]

Now pay attention

i mentioned when they dumped Manny and several players prior that they were indeed looking for a more corporate look and i named players that were part of the 04 season and afterwards that walked or were allowed to walk or were dumped.

they want an IBM look

a proffesional team of ball players who dont conflict with their image...

i maintain that they desire that certain look and i also dont think race has anything to do with it but lets face it,latin kids and black kids arent to be confused with kevin millar and david wells and johnny damon ..

so rosenthal leading us into this race baiting ******** is undeserving of the sox,theo and this specific ownership group that has 19 different partners,some of which are jews and some of which are christians and none of which i would think would allow the dark days of Tom Yawkey to reappear like a white hooded horseman going to pick up Va Sox fan for the prom.

 

I dont like this a month before free agents declare their intents and the history is there for those who choose to see it,time dont heal all wounds because of ****ing faggots like ken rosenthal

 

I agree totally with what you're saying. Just about every team is striving to have every guy on the 40-man roster to be an everyday professional ballplayer who respects his teammates, the organization and the jersey. Some, like Rosenthal, allude to it being racism but it isn't because they are minorities that guys like Carl Everett, Milton Bradley, Gary Sheffield, Orlando Cabrera keep getting bounced around.

 

How can anyone even hint that Manny was traded at the very least in part because he's Dominican is beyond me. Rosenthal comes off as a guy who just landed on planet earth, is watching baseball for the first time and was asked to write an article about why the Sox appear to be so white.

[Mr Crunchy]

Howard Cosell was a lawyer and had the most gifted mouth in the history of television.

[VA Sox Fan]

none of which i would think would allow the dark days of Tom Yawkey to reappear like a white hooded horseman going to pick up Va Sox fan for the prom.

 

My prom date was an openly racist skin head, who would never hide behind the white hood......

[Gom]

My prom date was an openly racist skin head' date=' who would never hide behind the white hood...... [/quote']

Thanks...that cleared up a lot of things I thought of with you.

[VA Sox Fan]

Thanks...that cleared up a lot of things I thought of with you.

 

Ok...as long as you noted the sarcasm dude. For the record, never dated a Klansman or a Skin Head. Thank you very much.

[rician blast]

While Rosenthal is a douche, I will admit, very recently, I've started to notice the Sox lack of, shall we say, "color" (and I don't mean specifically blacks), as compared to their opponents. To myself I was wondering if there was something behind it, and I'm left with the thinking that racism is not at play, it's, as some of you have mentioned, an effort to establish a professional, clean-cut, corporate-type of baseball team.

 

Looking back:

-I recall once a teammate was alleged to have stated that Jim Rice was one of the few black players loved in Boston because "he thought he was white."

 

-Ellis Burks struggled here in Boston, thinking that Boston had little concern for the special needs of black ballplayers, that he always felt alone and alienated. Jim Rice had reportedly told Burks "Get your 6 years and get the hell out of Boston."

 

There's a good book, Shut Out, which focuses on the race and baseball in Boston...some mention is made of the Yanks too, who weren't much better about integrating than were the Sox.

 

At any rate, I do remain concerned that perceived lack of diversity in Boston could be a deterrent to certain players signing here in the future, and we don't need a Ken Rosenthal to flame the way he's dome here. If there is truly a problem, and a valid story, report it...but this article is supposition and opinion.

[Thumper]

Seriously? Another color issue in baseball?

 

Whatever happened to signing players for their talent and not for the color of their skin? Isn't that what Theo's been doing?

 

f***ing rediculous. Rosenthal is a JOKE.

[BoSox21]

The most prominent members of the Red Sox since the late 90s have been Nomar, Pedro, Manny and Papi. Three of the four are minorities so seriously....what the f***, Ken?

[ORS]

4/4, Nomar's a hispanic of Mexican heritage.

[Dojji]

That's a bit of revlsionist history, Bosox, since we've also had very prominent Red Sox in that time named Curt Schilling, Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield. But yeah, it's certainly not like we're exactly afraid of players of color or anything.

 

This whole color thing has more to do with a policy in the '04-'05 drafts of going after college players than it does with any kind of racial preference.

 

Players of color include:

 

Javier Lopez, Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, Alex Cora, David Ortiz, Mike Lowell (surprised?) Coco Crisp. Arguably also Kevin Youkilis depending on where you place Jews.

 

4/10 of our top prospects are also minorities (Almanzar, Navarro, Diaz, Lin) with Luis Exposito and Oscar Tejeda as #11 and #13.

[a700hitter]

it was just a totally irresponsible article by Rosenthal, and he should be called to task on it.

[BoSox21]

That's a bit of revlsionist history' date=' Bosox, since we've also had very prominent Red Sox in that time named Curt Schilling, Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield. But yeah, it's certainly not like we're exactly afraid of players of color or anything[/quote']

 

Yea, those guys are, or have been, prominent guys too but I'm talking about the face of the franchise, the guys who appear on billboards and on jerseys 2,000 miles away from Fenway, the faces that pop into your head when you think of the Red Sox. For the last 10 years or so, it's been a minority

[ORS]

Conspiracy Theory Alert!

 

Agents and journalists have a history of setting up mutually supportive alliances in recently. Heyman would probably cut off his pinky finger before he ran Scott Boras through the ringer. Why? Access. The journalists get access to the inside information that they are paid to get, and in exchange they become broadcast platforms for the stuff the agents want to get out in the public perception game. I wonder if there is a prominent African American baseball player going into the free agent market this year?

 

I can certainly see motive for CC's agent here. In a way, this could press Boston into becoming more involved in the CC sweepstakes, depending on how sensitive this group is to this type of PR. What agent doesn't want NY, who's undoubtedly in the game, and BOS both in the market for their player? I wonder what kind of treatment agent Scott Parker has received in Rosenthal's archives.

[Dojji]

I really, really doubt Theo falls for that. If CC comes to Boston it will be because Theo identifies a hole he thinks CC can help the team fill. Which could only happen after the catcher question is resolved, the roles of Justin Masterson and Clay Buchholz are formulated, we get an idea of what to expect from Beckett next year, and Theo is as sure of his depth options as you can be in an offeseason.

[ORS]

Theo will do what ownership tells him to do. Theo's responsibility is on the field. There's a whole separate part of the organization focussed on marketing and PR. If the ownership group feels there's risk in this department given Boston's history, they'll direct Theo how to proceed.

 

Again, this isn't about what is correct. This is about perception. Whether or not the Sox have a racist philosophy is irrelevant if the accuser is capable of swaying perception enough to cause them to react.

 

As for this particular article. It's a shot in the dark with a foundation of shoddy logic. It's full of non-sequitors. I question motive any time I see articles like this, because only an agenda gets someone to stick their neck out like this. Maybe the agenda was to stir the pot and nothing more. There's not much incentive there, to me. It may generate a small buzz, but the benefit will be fleeting, IMO. On the other had, if the agenda was "do me this favor and we'll keep you in the loop", there's a lot more to gain.