You don't have to agree with everything Gary Sheffield recently said regarding differences between African-American and Latino players. His theory that teams avoid signing African-American players in preference to Latinos because the former demand respect, and the latter can be intimidated, is a simplistic view of a complex issue. But say this about Sheffield. He may have gotten the answer wrong, but the question right.
Why is major league baseball drawing so much talent from Latin America and so little from America's inner cities?
When I studied economics in college (only to later find to my horror the rumors that women went for econ majors were a cruel hoax) our professors taught us to believe that whatever the issue, whatever the question, all decisions were driven by financial considerations. So let's start there.
Gary Sheffield believes major league executives can't deal with assertive African-Americans. My alternate theory is that baseball executives are much more bothered by the agents who represent African-American players than the players themselves. Which brings us to baseball rules on player acquisition that are long overdue for change.
High school and college baseball players from the United States go into an amateur draft. The higher the pick, the higher the pay. The higher the pay, the higher the development cost risk if the player doesn't make the big leagues. Conversely, players from outside the United States are not part of the draft and can be signed for whatever the player and his representative believes is appropriate.
Playing Sheffield's game, where he contrasts an executive looking at an African-American player and a Latino player with the same stats and skill set, I'll stipulate that teams will prefer to sign the Latino. What's the difference? A couple hundred thousand dollars, or the gap between what the drafted American player will make based on established asking prices based on draft position and what the free agent Latin American makes without the benefit of that position. It's as simple as the chance to sign first round talent at fifth round prices.
Given a choice between dealing with agents like Scott Boras, who will take American players through protracted holdouts and possibly send them back into the draft the following season, and the opportunity to sign a Latin American player with comparable skills but lesser representation, teams will (as Sheffield alleges) pick the foreign player every time.
Is this evidence of racism? Sheffield is correct in saying that teams are influenced by cultural biases and sterotypes but wrong in generalizing about black players. You can't say, as Sheffield does, that all young inner city athletes question authority any more than you can say that all white players are passive or drug free.
But if you go back through history, you'll see that baseball (and all sports) have always drawn alot of talent from the poorest neighborhoods. The dream of fame and fortune in athletics is as strong a motivator for inner city youth today as it was to tough kids from immigrant neighborhoods at the turn of the last century.
Born into grinding poverty many Latin American players will, in fact, go the extra mile. They will often sign for less money, work very hard to play baseball in America, and being in a new country and often unfamiliar with the language are not (as Sheffield points out) in a position or inclined to question authority.
Another cultural disadvantage for African-American players is the abundance of low cost scouts in Latin America and their relative scarcity in the United States. Play good ball in Latin America and there are dozens of scouts and an informal network of bird dogs to take a look at you. But if you're 17 and playing in a bad neighborhood in East St. Louis your chances of getting a white scout with a three state territory to come into your neighborhood and write a report on you isn't that good.
If Sheffield chose his words poorly, he is dead on when he says "this is a baseball issue". Baseball has an economic incentive to find African-American players for fans to embrace. They have a business incentive to expand the pool of baseball talent. And teams have, if their annual pronouncements on Jackie Robinson Day mean anything at all, a moral imperitive to act.
Funding inner city youth teams helps. Hiring more minority scouts is important. And leveling the playing field by making Latin American players draft eligible would certainly take away the incentive for the type choices Sheffield believes, rightly or wrongly, teams are making.
A major league official said, when asked about Sheffield's comments, "consider the source". I hope baseball does, simply because it can't afford not to listen to one of the last African-American baseball stars. At least, while there still are any.
After the rosy glow of Christmas morning fades we usually begin to think about the gifts we bought. Did we really need to spend $400 on the new computer gaming system that's only marginally better than the $200 system we bought 2 years ago? Then there are the gifts that you look back on and just can't figure out why they were needed or wanted. Which brings us to baseball's free agent market. A few observations:
Pennants aren't won with free agents: One player doesn't turn a team around and when it happens it's usually a younger position player who changes the dynamic in a lineup. Think Miguel Cabrera with the Marlins, Andruw Jones in Atlanta, or Albert Pujols with the Cardinals Free agency is about aging pitchers who are treated by general managers like the first women at the docks after the fleet comes in from a six month cruise. The only difference making hitter in this year's market was Paul Konerko who resigned with the WhiteSox. At $12 million a year for 5 years he is probably a little overpriced but not by much.
Don't Drink and Sign: Obviously general managers are tanked up when they sign multi-year deals with pitchers over 30 years old. There can be no other logical explanation Think of it this way, would you rather have a nine year old BMW or something newer and more serviceable?. GM's take the used BMW every time, then spend most of the year following the deal explaining why they did and trying desparately to trade away their mistake. As Kenny Rodgers once said, "you've got to know when to walk away and when to run." The Tigers didn't know that and signed a 41 year old Kenny Rogers to a $16 million 2 year deal. Last year he struck out 87 batters and walked 53. Don't rush to buy tickertape in Detroit.
Oh, What A Relief It Isn't: Consistent middle of the lineup run producers are as scare as compassionate conservatives or liberals with children in the military. Relief pitchers arrive in cartons that aren't counted in the warehouse. You lose one, break one, don't sweat it. We'll mail you another one tomorrow, no charge. Yet the Phillies, after getting out from under Billy Wagner's contract, are paying Tom Gordon $18 million over 3 years to be their closer. Yes, that Tom Gordon, the 37 year old setup man whose strikeouts fell below IP for the first time last season.
Then again, the Cubs are paying $3.7 million a year to Scott Eyre and $4.0 million to Bobby Howry on the theory that their bullpen problems last year weren't somehow related to Dusty Baker's handling of his relievers. That's $7.7 million that isn't available to sign a center fielder and leadoff man ("where have you gone Johnny Damon, the Cubs nation turns it lonely eyes to you..."). How about Jose Mesa as a $2.5 million closer in Colorado. That should be more fun that an arsonist in a fireworks factory.
You Shouldn't Be Ashamed To Save Money On A Generic: Brad Ausmus calls a good game and can throw a little. He cost the Astros $7.5 million over two years. They could of had gotten the same type catcher in Gary Bennett for $800,000 or Einar Diaz for $625,000. The Cubs could have passed on Eyre and gotten Mike Myers to fill the same role for $1.25 million (which the Yankees did).
A Smart Shopper Can Still Find Quality Merchandise For Less: The Saint Louis Cardinals are going to get close to 100 RBI next season from Juan Encarnacion for $5 million. They have Bennett coming in as a veteran catcher for $800,000. And they got Braden Looper back for $4,500,000 giving them a top setup reliever and insurance for Jason Isringhausen. The Yankees of all people made three smart signings without much expense. If Octovia Dotel ($2 million) comes back strong he can pair with Myers to make it tough on opponents in the 7th and 8th innings. The Bernie Williams signing ($1.5 million) is a relatively cheap price to pay for a quality hitter and veteran backup. Put it in context. That's just $250,000 more than the Giants are paying Jose Vizcaino to come off their bench.
It's Not The Top Salaries That Are Excessive, It's Those Just Below. The Yankees get Damon for $13 million. A 34 year old Brian Giles cost San Diego $10 million. A.J. Burnett cost the Jays $11 million annually. Kenny Rogers comes with an $8 million price tag to Detroit. Rafael Furcal changes the Dodgers offense for $13 million. Ramon Hernandez doesn't change the heartbreak that is an Orioles season for $6.87 million a year.
Small Town Homies Don't Play That: A serious flaw in the system is that teams like the Pirates and Royals overpay for players like Joe Randa and Mark Grudzielanek just to fill positions. The Reds, Brewers, and Twins are not now nor ever will be places agents will try to move players to. Most major league teams sell game worn jerseys for charity at inflated prices. The Marlins leave the player in the jersey and donate them to more fortunate teams in larger markets.
And so it goes. The rich get richer, the GM's get dumber, the Orioles get no respect, the Astros are used to up the bid before the player signs elsewhere, and everything Scott Boras touches turns to gold. Here's hoping some year GM's learn to keep their pockets in their wallets and spend some money on scouting and development or at least ready cash for mid-season trades.
