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Around SBN: More Televised Winter Baseball, Please

42

So, I'm not really one to go on a tear around here, and as you can see if you so choose, my commenting is inversely related to the amount of schoolwork I'm assigned and I hardly ever put up a fanpost. Unfortunately, when I read THIS article, I got pretty chapped. 

A quote from that article:  "By request of Commissioner Bud Selig [...] all big league players and uniformed personnel have been asked to wear the late Hall of Famer's famous No. 42 on the field when the 30 teams celebrate the occasion."

First of all, I have all the respect in the world for Jackie Robinson, and in no way am I biased towards or against any particular social, cultural or ethnic group.  A couple years back, on the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut in the majors, I thought it was really neat when Griffey asked to wear 42, and that it was a meaningful and thoughtful tribute.  I was less enamored last season when entire teams took the field wearing 42 (Tampa? Seriously?).  This most recent permutation of Griffey's originally good idea has gone way, way too far. 

I've always been under the impression that when someone has their number retired, that number belongs to them, on that team.  So, when MLB retired his number throughout the sport in 1997, one could argue that it was a statement that 42 belongs to Robinson throughout the game.  Here's the point:  This was a man who, upon his trade to the Giants, retired.  Two days from now, the rival team that he hated so much will all be wearing his number, along with everyone else in baseball.

I think this is pretty tasteless.  It cheapens the retiring in the first place, which wasn't a bad idea initially. At this point, the widespread nature that this has become is a little bit of a disservice to Robinson, and it's all Selig's fault.  What a Jackass.

Poll
Is this idea of Bud's for you?
I love the concept!
9 votes
Nice thought, but not the best idea.
54 votes
Indifferent
30 votes
Bud, Go to Hell.
66 votes

159 votes | Poll has closed

This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.

Comment 63 comments  |  1 recs  | 

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I don’t have a problem with baseball honoring Jackie by retiring his number for all-time, even though he was a Dodger and hated the Giants, etc. His impact on the game and beyond it was so significant. I also don’t have a problem with current players wearing 42 on April 15. History and tradition is a huge part of baseball and for current players to understand and recognize and appreciate the achievements and milestones of players that came before them is something good.

My only reservation about these Jackie Robinson tributes is that they are seemingly becoming more and more like cultish worship. It’s like he’s baseball’s Jesus. Maybe that’s an apt analogy (paying for future sins, etc), but it is also something that could get a bit creepy. Also, it is starting to smell a little PC-ish and we really have too much of that.

But if players want to wear 42, then great. If they don’t, no one should think any less of them. But when the Commissioner “requests” that everyone wear 42, it is like the Godfather requesting some favor, i.e., it isn’t a request, it is mandatory. It is sorta heavy-handed if it gets that far. Maybe I feel that way because I hate Bud Selig and basically anything he does seems totally phony and contrived. However, this kinda thing is fine with me if it remains a nice gesture, rather than some obligation to avoid scorn.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on Apr 14, 2009 1:10 AM PDT reply actions  

I also have a fair amount of disdain for Selig, which is probably part of why this tribute doesn’t sit that well with me. The game will be better when he’s no longer commish.

"Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time."

by Azantor on Apr 14, 2009 9:13 AM PDT up reply actions  

Rec! Your idea is far superior to Mr. Selig’s one. I have more to say but I will direct it towards nostocksjustbonds.

Keeping on SWOOPing in the free world! Also, by the reflexive property of the rubber/glue playground comeback, I enjoy wearing hats on my ass.

by SneakToBetterSeats on Apr 14, 2009 2:11 AM PDT up reply actions  

Tributes just set back the arrival date of a true post-racial society.

Fred Lewis can stand under my umbrella.
31 May 2007, 21:38 EST - the last time Matteh's career W-L wasn't below .500
We are at war with Los Angeles. We have always been at war with Los Angeles.
Lowering the Quality of Internet Discourse Since 1985™

by S.F. Giangst on Apr 14, 2009 6:16 AM PDT up reply actions  

Disagree. They hasten it. You could argue it’s overcompensating on the way, but I don’t see “set back” as an argument.

"[Greg] Vaughn is in a funk so deep, George Clinton wearing a miner's helmet couldn't find him."
- Jim Baker, ESPN.com, May 2002

by achiappanza on Apr 15, 2009 9:34 AM PDT up reply actions  

Devil's advocation

I think the idea is that in a post racial society, one’s ethnicity would be a non-issue and that having celebrations with an explicitly racial element are counter productive to bringing about said society. They are in fact the product of a ‘racial’ society and a continuation of identity politics which perpetuate divisions in society by reinforcing peoples’ us/them mentalities.
(Steven Colbert mocks plays with this idea by claiming he has evolved to the point where he is unable to distinguish his guests’ ethnicity.)
I may be way off, so feel free to contradict me. Wait, where am I? That may be the most unnecessary instruction ever given…

Hi, I am Johnny Disaster.

by Johnny Disaster on Apr 15, 2009 5:55 PM PDT up reply actions  

Hah!

I think you have put your finger on the goal of the melting pot era of the 60s, in which the liberal view is that in the future, we don’t see race.

The current view is more that America is a stew, not a melting pot, and that celebrations of our cultural makeup (Karnival, Obon festival, Pride, etc.) are great things. What we want to avoid is disadvantaging anyone based on a stereotype instead of the person.

"[Greg] Vaughn is in a funk so deep, George Clinton wearing a miner's helmet couldn't find him."
- Jim Baker, ESPN.com, May 2002

by achiappanza on Apr 16, 2009 10:16 AM PDT up reply actions  

I think a post-racial society has to be in our sights before we can worry about setting back that date.

Progress has been coming in baby steps, but we’re nowhere near that point.

The risk of people forgetting what people like Robinson endured is far greater. What worries me is how many people think of prejudice and segrgation as “ancient history”.

My adopted Giant: "Raptor Jesus" Guzman

by Goofus on Apr 16, 2009 7:39 AM PDT up reply actions  

The fact that some people believe that the Holocaust is a hoax is enough reason to justify that fear.

"[Greg] Vaughn is in a funk so deep, George Clinton wearing a miner's helmet couldn't find him."
- Jim Baker, ESPN.com, May 2002

by achiappanza on Apr 16, 2009 10:17 AM PDT up reply actions  

there will always be prejudice, but right now, it is at an all-time low.

Also, racial segregation, in the legal sense, is history, not ancient, but not coming back either.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on Apr 16, 2009 10:57 AM PDT up reply actions  

this

Mischievously implosive purple pitching staff.

by SloIsLonelyForTheOrange on Apr 14, 2009 6:25 AM PDT up reply actions  

That would be a perfectly reasonable idea, and then it would retain some meaning. While I agree that raising awareness about Jackie Robinson’s story, I just don’t think that an entire league of 42’s is the best way.

"Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time."

by Azantor on Apr 14, 2009 9:19 AM PDT up reply actions  

Is this idea of Buds for you?

Keeping on SWOOPing in the free world! Also, by the reflexive property of the rubber/glue playground comeback, I enjoy wearing hats on my ass.

by SneakToBetterSeats on Apr 14, 2009 1:51 AM PDT reply actions  

I have no idea what this is a picture of; and I didn’t inhale.

"Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time."

by Azantor on Apr 14, 2009 9:14 AM PDT up reply actions  

FORBIDDEN!

"You ask for game winning hits, I give you Eugenio Velez"

by The Gene Hackman on Apr 14, 2009 11:15 AM PDT up reply actions  

Good god!

Not dried plant material! Anything but that!

"The BB's are out. The BB's are being arseholes to me." - Brian Wilson.

by hairball on Apr 15, 2009 11:28 AM PDT up reply actions  

I voted go to hell Bud, really just because I don’t like him.

I agree, the Jackie Robinson tributes aren’t terrible, but it sort of cheapens the whole thing.

by MonkeyChow on Apr 14, 2009 7:52 AM PDT reply actions  

But.....

what about life, the universe, everything?

by paboperfecto on Apr 14, 2009 8:17 AM PDT reply actions  

I came here for this.

Brett Pill - Lord of the double.

by malarky on Apr 14, 2009 8:31 AM PDT up reply actions  

I was expecting an organizing of Towel Day at ATT. It will be Memorial Day this year. Who doesn’t like towels and aprons?

by ptizzy on Apr 14, 2009 8:47 AM PDT up reply actions  

Mostly Harmless

Aha Ford Prefect – I knew you well.

Jonathan Sanchez. He's left-handed, like Barry Zito. His fastball breaks 80, unlike Zito.

by Aadik on Apr 14, 2009 8:36 PM PDT up reply actions  

What would Mariano Rivera do?

Wear a number other than 42?

They say some players get out of bed hitting; Pablo Sandoval doesn't wait that long

by bgunn on Apr 14, 2009 8:43 AM PDT reply actions  

WWMRD?

He’s probably not super enamored with the idea either…

If you choke a smurf, what color does it turn?

"Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time."

by Azantor on Apr 14, 2009 9:20 AM PDT up reply actions  

“choking a smurf” = euphemism?

"The BB's are out. The BB's are being arseholes to me." - Brian Wilson.

by hairball on Apr 15, 2009 11:30 AM PDT up reply actions  

Is it really much of a tribute

when your team makes you do it? I know it’s not an official mandate, but a formal request from the commissioner’s office seems all but that.

It seems much more meaningful to me when a player will do it on his own accord out of respect for Jackie.

STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.

by UnleashTheGore on Apr 14, 2009 9:38 AM PDT reply actions  

I agree

And I could see how some players might not want to change numbers. If I was in MLB, I would probably be reluctant to change my uniform number, not that I don’t respect Jackie, but there are other ways even if you want something visible on the field (uniform patch, wristband, etc).

Less arm, more talk. Raisingcain is a GAMER.
Adopted Giant: Henry Sosa

by raisingcain on Apr 14, 2009 7:57 PM PDT up reply actions  

Some guys around the league wore 42 in years prior too. The majority were black guys but I can recall some others wearing 42 as well.

I think it’s fine. It’s a nightmare if you’re scoring the game, but everyone in baseball, from the players to the fans, owes something to Mr. Robinson. He made baseball a game for everyone.

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Apr 14, 2009 10:53 AM PDT reply actions  

I get the feeling they’re celebrating MLB, not Jackie Robinson. But like others said, even a clumsy gesture is still a gesture.

Idea: On April 15th each club celebrates the first player that broke their team’s color barrier. This way MLB can celebrate MLB like they want to, and more players get recognition that they deserve. They could schedule a day off for the Yankees & Red Sox.

El Presidente Larry Baer's epitaph
"Nothing important ever happened without me."

by ResDog on Apr 14, 2009 12:57 PM PDT reply actions   1 recs

Now THAT is a good, and novel, idea. Excellent suggestion!

Sergio Romo: striking out professional hitters since 2005. And winner of the 2012 NL Fireman of the Year Award!

by Lyle on Apr 18, 2009 11:58 AM PDT up reply actions  

It's interesting...

because Bud Selig can do no wrong, yet honoring Jackie Robinson is never wrong… does not compute… does not compute…

/xanthan exploads

FIRE BRIAN SABEAN... UNLESS HE KEEPS DRAFTING WELL. .. AND SIGNS UNDERRATED PLAYERS LIKE AFFELDT OR PHELPS. .. OR ALRIGHT WHO'S PLAYING WITH THE ALIEN MIND-SWITCHING RAY?
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game currently in early planning stages.

by zenbitz on Apr 14, 2009 1:00 PM PDT reply actions  

I am intrigued by your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Apr 14, 2009 2:50 PM PDT up reply actions  

doesn’t baseball already pour millions into RBI?

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on Apr 14, 2009 3:57 PM PDT up reply actions  

because that’s the impression

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on Apr 14, 2009 4:11 PM PDT up reply actions  

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Or maybe even more, and different, ideas? Bill Veeck once suggested MLB adopt college baseball as a farm program; since high schools all over the country are eliminating sports programs, how about plowing some of that ill-gotten booty from Murdoch’s Blackout Machine into urban high schools for baseball programs?

However, keep in mind you are suggesting tangible, positive change and action as opposed to symbolic gestures. This is MLB.

Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti. "I treat Timmy differently from most pitchers: I leave him alone."

by natteringnabob on Apr 15, 2009 7:13 AM PDT up reply actions   1 recs

Bud Selig just joined the country club I work at.

by wanna Ishikawa? on Apr 14, 2009 3:06 PM PDT reply actions  

Hey, this isn’t about Hitchhiker’s!

by Natto on Apr 14, 2009 3:28 PM PDT reply actions  

I think honoring Jackie Robinson, a Republican, on Tax Day is a splendid idea.

by Sabertooth on Apr 14, 2009 5:26 PM PDT reply actions  

There are things more important about J.R.

than his political affiliations

"The BB's are out. The BB's are being arseholes to me." - Brian Wilson.

by hairball on Apr 15, 2009 11:31 AM PDT up reply actions  

I’d rather have everyone on the team wear #25.

Without killing anyone
We won it 3 times

by ChrisHero on Apr 14, 2009 5:51 PM PDT reply actions  

We miss you around here, E.

I always agree with you at least 25%, sometimes up to 95%. (I’m sure you appreciate — and share — the phenomenon of not agreeing with anyone 100%.) I don’t expect the rest of the season to go like the first week did, but I do hope we’ll read more of you either way. Take care of yourself, hear?

Forsan et heac olim meminisse iuvabit... Maybe.

by Mayor of 311 on Apr 14, 2009 9:04 PM PDT up reply actions  

I miss me too sometimes

I get misplaced all the time. Its not as bad as it used to be though. I generally turn up in a predictable place. In front of the refrigerator. In a hammock. Putting my foot through TV screens whenever Hairston comes to the plate. Burning the chicken so I can order pizza instead. Or dozing off in a fictitious bullpen far far away.

And nobody should worry about disagreeing or agreeing with me. I do both semi-equally, most, if not some, or even a little of the time. Disagree with myself, that is. I think. Or facsimile of thinking, thereof. Whatever. Sigh. Exhale.

by E Ticket on Apr 15, 2009 7:02 AM PDT up reply actions  

And the last

El Presidente Larry Baer's epitaph
"Nothing important ever happened without me."

by ResDog on Apr 15, 2009 10:44 AM PDT up reply actions  

Both! Two places at once! A true Doublemint gum type of guy

by E Ticket on Apr 15, 2009 1:45 PM PDT up reply actions  

I’m just glad you’re back.

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Apr 15, 2009 11:32 AM PDT up reply actions  

Why thank you :)

I think you will have a great time covering the San Jose Giants. Probably the spot to be if you want to be around some of the happier professional baseball story(ies) to come out of the Bay Area in a long time.

by E Ticket on Apr 15, 2009 2:06 PM PDT up reply actions  

Are you prEdicting the future there , O Sardonic One?

If so , when will the future end?

NL West TempestTeapot
Nothing matters , and what if it did?

by victor frankenstein on Apr 15, 2009 5:47 PM PDT up reply actions  

I think by definition that the future does not end except at the end of time. Which in the SF Giants universe, the end of it, appears to be near on a nightly basis, lately. We shall see my good Doctor.

by E Ticket on Apr 16, 2009 7:15 AM PDT up reply actions  

Having watched the game last night, I thought all the 42s played well.

Mrs. Goofus, a casual fan who happens to be African American and doesn’t spend anytime concerning herself with bud Selig, thought it was a very cool tribute.

I think that might have been missed with a lot of the comments above. People focused on selig the bafoon, the phony, etc. for an everyday fan watching the game last night, there was no mention of the league office. There was only discussion of Robinson, what he endured and how he changed the game and helped make america a better place.

If that was the intention of the tribute, then I say “well done!”

My adopted Giant: "Raptor Jesus" Guzman

by Goofus on Apr 16, 2009 7:48 AM PDT reply actions  

Giants Should Not Honor Jackie Robinson

Why should we pay tribute to a player who, as mentioned before, retired when he was traded to us? Robinson deserves credit as a pioneer, but then again, he was picked out by the Dodgers to be the first black player, they easily could have picked a dozen other guys. Why did they pick Robinson? It wasn’t a noble gesture on their part (fuck them) they simply picked him because they thought he would help them win baseball games. Their franchise was a disgrace and they had never won a world championship up until then. That’s why they did it, to win games and make money, the latter of which caused them to leave Brooklyn in the first place and take the Giants with them.
     
     The Giants should have told Selig to shove it, and sent all their players out their with Monte Irvin’s number, since he was their first black player. Maybe all the franchises should have honored their own first black player instead of Robinson. Better yet, the Giants should have sent them all out with 24’s, in honor of their greatest black player of all time, the immortal Willie Mays. If Bud had a problem with that they could have said one of three things:
1. Fuck you Bud, we’re the San Francisco Giants, and we hate all things Dodger.
2. The new clubhouse guy is dyslexic, and he thought they were all 42’s.
3. If you don’t like it, Buddy, next year on Robinson day we’ll send all the players out there with 25’s and honor Barry Bonds instead. Maybe this will finally give him the stroke that frees baseball from his incompetency.

Proud new dad of Edgardo errr Edgar Renteria!!!

by rxmeister on Apr 16, 2009 7:57 AM PDT reply actions   1 recs

This might be one of your weirdest comments ever. It’s in Matt-Cain-doesn’t-know-how-to-win territory.

Adoptive parent of Noah Lowry. Because he was awesome once, and, goddammit, he shall be awesome once again!

I hope.

by Cookyman on Apr 16, 2009 8:07 AM PDT up reply actions  

I actually thought it was my weirdest. I really thought I outdid myself with this one. Sorry I disappointed. By the way, Matt Cain proved again last night that he doesn’t know how to win.

Proud new dad of Edgardo errr Edgar Renteria!!!

by rxmeister on Apr 16, 2009 9:12 AM PDT up reply actions  

1.000 W%!

Adoptive parent of Noah Lowry. Because he was awesome once, and, goddammit, he shall be awesome once again!

I hope.

by Cookyman on Apr 16, 2009 4:43 PM PDT up reply actions  

Robinson didn’t retire because he was traded to the Giants. He retired to take an executive position for Chock Full O’ Nuts.

by Natto on Apr 16, 2009 11:14 AM PDT up reply actions  

anyone who would rather work for a coffee company than play baseball for the Giants, IS Chock Full O’ Nuts

Proud new dad of Edgardo errr Edgar Renteria!!!

by rxmeister on Apr 16, 2009 3:17 PM PDT up reply actions  

-1000

Making this about him being a Dodger seems rather petty. I think what Jackie Robinson did was bigger than Giants/Dodgers and bigger than baseball.

His contribution to our history and the grace with which he endured so much makes him worth honoring.

My adopted Giant: "Raptor Jesus" Guzman

by Goofus on Apr 16, 2009 2:55 PM PDT up reply actions  

yeah, this

GROUGTHINK ALERT
Chatterbalks dot com: Still with jokes. Now with updates.

by groug on Apr 16, 2009 3:05 PM PDT up reply actions  

Yep

Forsan et heac olim meminisse iuvabit... Maybe.

by Mayor of 311 on Apr 17, 2009 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions  

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