A-ROD Ain't No Baby Ruth

To dope the racer is as criminal, as sacrilegious, as trying to imitate God; it is stealing from God the privilege of the spark.  
Roland Barthes



Is there anything Roland Barthes hasn't commented on?  In this instance, Barthes makes a very prescient observation regarding the competitive environment of athletics as it would unfold in the decades that followed.   Barthes is quoted (above) in 1964, speaking about performance enhancement in relation to athletes.  One of the reasons elite athletes are culturally revered is their 'super-human' or Demigod-like abilities; they can do things physically that the average person cannot and for this, we praise them.  They elevate the games we played as children to such great heights they become an art form, rather than mere child's play.  Most of us don't care whether our bodybuilding next door neighbour is juiced, or whether Sly Stallone injected his butt with steroids while training for Rock IV, but our sports heroes?  God forbid!


Now, let me preface this by saying I am very much not a fan of Alex Rodriguez.  Though he finally won a championship last year with the New York Yankees, for me, he is an incredible player who put his own personal/statistical accomplishments ahead of his team's success.   I believe he would have been a great player without his use of PEDs, but he abused his privilege as a professional baseball player and for that, his statistics should be documented with an asterisk.  Would George Herman Ruth be the historical figure he is today,  had he abused PEDs in the 1930s?  Imagine that, The Babe, a mere mortal.    

That's more like it.

It always seemed odd that when the Jays brought in General Manager J.P. Ricciardi in the fall of 2001, the team gradually got lighter and lighter - yes, I'm talking about skin colour.  Though he was forced to trim payroll during his tenure, Ricciardi nevertheless reduced his Latin American scouting budget down to six figures (in baseball terms, that's a pittance), and sometimes - according to Ricciardi's former lieutenant Keith Law - withdrew money from that budget to pay signing bonuses to American college players.  To the best of my knowledge, the only baseball player drafted by Ricciardi during his tenure that was not White, is Ricky Romero; the current ace of the Jays' starting pitching staff.   Now, I have nothing against college players.  When they become draft eligible, they're generally more advanced in the development and therefore, easier to project as players, unlike high schoolers who are more raw, but present a higher potential to become stars.

After jettisoning the future core of the Jays middle infield in Felipe Lopez and Cezar Izturis (both Latin American), Ricciardi let All-Star Carlos Delgado walk in 2004.  He also traded African American Orlando Hudson after the gold glove second baseball jokingly called him "a pimp" in reference to his fancy suits.   My detractors may point to the signing of African American center fielder Vernon Wells as proof that Ricciardi wasn't preferential to White players however, Wells' contract was more the result of then President Paul Godfrey's insistence then Ricciardi's.   Other than African American Frank Thomas, I don't recall Ricciardi signing any players of colour during his eight year reign of incompetence.

What I am getting at is the fact that since Ricciardi was fired, the new Jays regime - under young G.M. Alex Anthopolous - quickly began drafting and investing in players from diverse backgrounds.  They are plowing moneys into scouting staffs in Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican.  They acquired African American Fred Lewis off waivers from the San Francisco Giants, just traded for Yunel Escobar, are keeping Jose Bautista, signed Cuban shortstop Adieny hechavarria, etc...   It's a new Jays philosophy that markedly different from that of the previous regime and harkens back to the Jays of the 80s and 90s who were stacked with Latin American All Stars like Tony Fernandez and Roberto Alomar.

In an article written by Toronto Star baseball columnist Richard Giffin, he talks with Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston about the culture change in the Toronto clubhouse:

Gaston has also been impressed with the changing culture in the clubhouse, going from solid, stolid, bland and boring to diverse, vibrant and multi-cultural. 

“It’s good to see,” Gaston smiled. “You’ve seen it the other way. (This is) the way it should be. We’ve got a good clubhouse in there....

I'm NOT going to come outright and say Ricciardi was (or is) a racist, but his drafting record is suspicious at best.

Let's hope the new Jays regime stays the course and develops a championship caliber roster that is as diverse as the city it is home to.

BACK, finally!

Hello everybody (if anybody is out there at all...),

My sincere apologies for the extended absence.  I've finally submitted my thesis paper and after a requisite week's rest, I'm looking forward to contributing to Defending Champions on a regular basis for the foreseeable future.