Rather than promote an environment in which the sport looks more like those who play it, MLB codifies the behavior of its worst and in doing so puts its most vulnerable back in their uncomfortable places.Ī good first step would be to stop the propagandizing in which the league’s website trumpets disingenuous bilge that “MLB rosters feature unprecedented diversity” and instead celebrate the game’s lesser-heard voices so people like Joe Simpson and young players who might think it’s OK to tweet something stupid not only think twice but are educated enough to not even think of doing so.īecause Soto, it turns out, is a bright kid, smart enough to learn fluent English at 19 years old, hopeful enough to believe that his voice might matter.

Allowing this to fester only reinforces that baseball accepts bigotry, that players from the Dominican Republic coming into the game will be side-eyed and that there’s nothing the sport can do, short of sending out its ambassador for inclusion to talk with those whose ignorance goes from lips to microphone or fingertips to Twitter.

native who graduated from Vanderbilt, asks Simpson: “What makes Juan Soto so different?” He urges the Braves or the league to discipline Simpson because, he writes, “If this goes unpunished, then it is acceptable to question the age of every Dominican player with exceptional ability.” Our official response to Braves broadcaster Joe Simpson for remarks directed at DPL alumnus Juan Soto of /mNFdoVKIJZ The rest wonder privately: Why does the game not love me like I love it? The voice of the Dominican player, of the black player, of those who love the game but aren’t adequately represented, is silenced. Part of that, too, is the culture of the game, which preaches silence, which discourages discord, which wants players to stay in line. Taking advantage of Latin players is part of the MLB business model. For decades, it has been despicable: the underpayment of poor and uneducated kids the ugly culture in which trainers take usurious cuts of signing bonuses the doping of pre-teen boys and even the preying on players to take under-market contracts when they do make the major leagues. The injustice to which Boras refers is the treatment of Latin American players by the league. And who is doing it? An American former player.” Without any form of diligent review, a great young Dominican player is damned. After all the years of fighting for player equality and protection of their rights, here we go again. “To bring credibility to the game and its players. “Announcers, specifically former major league players, are brought in to teach the fan,” said Scott Boras, Soto’s agent. Simpson said this as though complimenting Soto’s game – which anyone with a functioning pair of eyes could do – negates the fact that he himself is expressly part of the problem. You might as well just write his name in on the Rookie of the Year award right now.” Simpson offered no such thing after Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo rightly berated him about Soto, instead saying: “He’s a bona fide 19. Simpson, who through the Braves declined to comment, was rebuked more for his ill-advised but ultimately harmless yelling at clouds about the Los Angeles Dodgers showing disrespect via their batting-practice attire. A sport that day after day, revelation after revelation, exposes itself as a place that subtly and not-so-subtly lets people of color know exactly what the ruling class of the game thinks of them. A sport that teems with players whose old tweets are filled with racist and bigoted thoughts and language. No, this is about a sport that gives someone like Joe Simpson a platform to say this. Because, you see, other Dominican players have lied about their age, so obviously Soto, who’s really good, and who, Simpson would go on to say, has “man growth,” must be doing it, too. This is not just about the dog-whistling of a 66-year-old white man who found it perfectly appropriate to imply on a live broadcast that this kid from the Dominican Republic might be lying about his age.

Alfred delia perfect game