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Aaron Upset At Astros' Lack Of African Americans


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While it's true that there exists a double-standard with regards to race, that is, if a white person of prominence were to have made the exact same comment in reverse, they would've been demonized forever, it does help to understand Aaron's unique personal history and the racial hatred that he was the target of. As they say, hate begets more hate and one can only absorb so much before it changes a person, usually for the worse.

Here's an excerpt from an ESPN biography;

The chase to beat the Babe heated up in the summer of 1973. So did the mail. Aaron needed a secretary to sort it as he received more than an estimated 3,000 letters a day, more than any American outside of politics. Unfortunately, racists did much of the writing. A sampling:

"Dear ______ Henry,

You are (not) going to break this record established by the great Babe Ruth if I can help it. ... Whites are far more superior than jungle bunnies. . My gun is watching your every black move."

"Dear Henry Aaron,

How about some sickle cell anemia, Hank?"

The letters came from every state, but most were postmarked in northern cities. They were filled with hate. More hate than Aaron had ever imagined. "This," Aaron said later about the letters, "changed me."

The summer of '73 ended with Hammering Hank at 713 homers after hitting a remarkable 40 in just 392 at-bats. He was 39.

In his first at-bat in 1974, Aaron homered off Cincinnati's Jack Billingham, tying Ruth. His eyes got teary as he rounded third base. That night he called his mother. "I'm going to save the next one for you, Mom," he said.

On April 8, 1974, the largest crowd in Braves history (53,775) came out to witness history. Aaron didn't disappoint. In the fourth inning, he ripped an Al Downing pitch into the Braves bullpen, where it was caught by reliever Tom House. As Aaron rounded second base, two college students appeared and ran alongside him before security stepped in. The new home run king was mobbed at home by his teammates.

A quarter of a century later, Aaron still has the record -- and the hate mail. "I read the letters," he said, "because they remind me not to be surprised or hurt. They remind me what people are really like."

After retiring as a player, Aaron became one of the first blacks in Major League Baseball upper-level management as Atlanta's vice president of player development. Since Dec. 1989, he has served as senior vice president and assistant to the president, but he is more active for Turner Broadcasting as a corporate vice president of community relations and a member of TBS' board of directors. He also is vice president of business development for The Airport Network.

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I still remember living in North Carolina at 14, watching that game on TBS. Atlanta was the closest big city, so we rooted for the Braves. I am glad that, at that young age, I and my friends were blissfully unaware that people could be so cruel, especially over a sporting event.

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That is pretty bad what happened to Aaron, unfortunately there are bigots that do that, and then people just carry it on.

Sort of like the spoiled egg theory in a way.

I just wish that every race could respect the other races and they could all do what they pleased in peace. Maybe one day.

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I'll prolong the argument. First off, I believe the comments are taken out of context. Hank said teams (and the Astros (he mentioned the Astros since he was sitting in Minute Maid Park, not because he thinks we are the major offender)) need to do something about the problem. That's a far cry from saying the Astros need to go out and sign black players. The "problem" he is referring to is the pipeline of talent that no longer includes a proportionate share of African Americans. African-American kids aren't drawn to baseball anymore for a number of reasons, many of the reasons fixable. What Aaron is asking for Baseball to do is go out there and fix it.

Think about Houston. How many baseball diamonds are inside the city limits? How many basketball courts are there? It has nothing to do with racism and everything to do with accessibility. If you're a kid and you live a few blocks from the basketball court and 5 miles from the nearest baseball field, what sport do you think you're going to get good at?

Baseball can fix this by putting more money into little league programs. They do it all over Central and South America. The Astros have a million dollar complex in Argentina where kids come to play and learn the game. The good ones get drafted by the 'Stros and other teams when they're 16 and get sent to the minor leagues. Why don't they have that here?

Very insightful HeightsGuy, and especially applicable to this forum.

Baseball became America's Game at a time when much of America was rural. As someone who grew up in a farming community, I saw firsthand that there were ample opportunities for young people to play baseball. Many small towns had informal leagues, often sponsored by local businesses. Land was cheap, people were involved with their communities, and lawsuits were unheard of. Kids would create their own baseball fields on vacant lots or large lawns. This way of life is increasingly rare in America. Mr. Wilson isn't amused when Dennis the Menace hits a home run through his living room window. Is it mere coincidence that Ray Oswalt is from rural Mississippi? I don't think so.

On the other hand, basketball is less demanding of space. Even the barest urban parks can find it in their budgets for a few hundred square feet of asphalt and a basketball hoop. Thus the discrepancy.

Racial imbalance in sports is directly related to the opportunities that young people are given. I hope that Mr. Aaron will use his considerable influence to promote access to sports facilities to all children - black and white, rich and poor, male and female.

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Midtown, there are not baseball fields everywhere, far from it. I'll bet there are 100 basketball courts in Houston to every baseball field.

There is also a second part to the equation, and that's advertising. The NBA does a stellar job of advertising itself at the community level. Every year they sponsor numerous 3 on 3 tournaments in almost every midsize and large city. They showcase their stars and build up rivalries (can you say Shaq-Kobe). Shoe companies jump on that bandwagon, playing nonstop commercials with the biggest stars. Kids respond to that stuff. Kids want to grow up to be T-Mac, not A-Rod.

Another important part of the equation is equipment. One of the reasons baseball has turned into a suburban sport is the cost just to play the game. To play basketball, all you need is a pair of shoes, shirt and shorts that you wear all the time anyway, and a basketball. With all the courts out there, there is little need to organize so you don't have to pay to play in leagues, and since there are no leagues, kids can show up at any time and just play.

To play baseball you have to buy cleats, glove, bat, and since baseball fields are scarce they are all taken up by leagues, kids that want to play also have to buy a uniform and pay fees. Houston does have free youth sports programs, but there are eligebility requirements. Also, since you can't just walk up and play, you have to join teams with schedules to adhere to; you have to go to set practices just to play in games.

All of this adds up to roadblocks, none of which are racial in nature, more socio-economic, which is why you don't see Aaron saying the Man is keeping black kids away on purpose. All he is saying is that he sees a problem with the number of blacks in the sport of baseball that the MLB should be working to help fix.

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Heightsguy, NBA advertises to little kids, to be like Mike, when they wanna be like Iverson, with the bling-bling, and rollin on dubs. Black kids see Basketball as a way out of the Ghetto, and other bad neighborhood surroundings. Basketball courts are smaller and cost far less to maintain than a baseball diamond. Basketball is easier to organize and easier to play for some children than baseball. There are just as many black children that live in the suburbs, as there are in the inner city. I think it might be the parents job to encourage or at the very least ask their child if they would like to try baseball. Of course, it takes a little more money to get a kid suited up for baseball than basketball.

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There are just as many black children that live in the suburbs, as there are in the inner city.

Dream on, TJones......

Other than that, what you are saying is true, and is exactly what Aaron and others are saying. What they are asking Major League Baseball to do is invest in the inner-city youth of America just like the NBA does. MLB is starting to get it though, they have opened up an academy in LA which could be a model for all midsize and large cities:

Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy

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I pray one day, people would just stop pointing fingers...

Just because a baseball team has more white people then black, OMG! KKK!!!! NAZI NAZI! And just because a basketball team has more black people then white, OMG OMG BLACK PANTHER!!!

Come on!

Why can't we all just go on with our lives. Theres more important things to worry about. Like, instead of worrying about how many colors of the rainbow are on a team, tv show, or anything for that matter, how about our education system?

This is getting out of hand. People are so quick to point fingers, (in any direction as far as race goes). Its not the 60s, theres a new battlefield to fight. Like gay marriage! horray! or how about them terrorists?

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I pray one day, people would just stop pointing fingers...

Just because a baseball team has more white people then black, OMG! KKK!!!! NAZI NAZI! And just because a basketball team has more black people then white, OMG OMG BLACK PANTHER!!!

Come on!

Why can't we all just go on with our lives. Theres more important things to worry about. Like, instead of worrying about how many colors of the rainbow are on a team, tv show, or anything for that matter, how about our education system?

This is getting out of hand. People are so quick to point fingers, (in any direction as far as race goes). Its not the 60s, theres a new battlefield to fight. Like gay marriage! horray! or how about them terrorists?

But using that logic, why do we care about Astroworld leaving Houston, downtown shopping, Houston's image, (some folks, as you know can get pretty uptight about these topics). Surely there are more pressing issues going on in the world that we could concern ourselves with, many of which you have already listed. This was simply an observation made by Hank Aaron and he spoke on it. I don't think Hank Aaron or anyone else on this board was insinuating MLB is full of (if I may use your words) Nazis, or KKK.

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But using that logic, why do we care about Astroworld leaving Houston, downtown shopping, Houston's image, (some folks, as you know can get pretty uptight about these topics). Surely there are more pressing issues going on in the world that we could concern ourselves with, many of which you have already listed. This was simply an observation made by Hank Aaron and he spoke on it. I don't think Hank Aaron or anyone else on this board was insinuating MLB is full of (if I may use your words) Nazis, or KKK.

Any biz owner, be it baseball, basketball, oil company, shoe store, is foolish to hire anyone because of their color. You hire the best people for the job. Period. It is a nonissue as far as how many of what is on any team, Jeeze, get a life and worry about something that matters. Did Sheila Jackson Lee start this thread?

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I dunno Jason...

With your logic, I should care why white kids don't play basketball.

Using my logic, you should be able to question and have a discussion over just about everything we discuss on this board without someone saying, "Thats dumb, we should be discussing AIDS". I was simply trying to point out that every topic on the board could be deemed miniscule if you put it up against something like oh...... WORLD HUNGER. Which he was trying to do.

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I don't think the sport of "curling" has enough black competition in it. We need to do something about this. :huh:

I don't know where you people are getting this from, I never once complained about there not being enough Blacks in baseball. As a matter of fact, read my post further up the page, from like two days ago. Read it, really the status quo is ok with me. Btw, as Heightsguy mentioned earlier in the thread, the title of this thread is misleading and Hank Aaron's comment were taken out of context.

Also MidtownCoog, I mentioned AIDS, (and this is my original gripe) because what Montrose1100 tried to do was dismiss Hank Aaron's comments with a "We should be worried about more important things instead of this" type of comment. This is true, but half the topics we discuss on this message board are of no "real" importance. I could troll every thread and chime in with something like, "Who cares about Astroworld, what we should really be concerned about is AIDS awareness in Houston".

Catch my drift?

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I can understand what Hank Aaron is talking about, because let's face it, the dude went through a LOT of racism during his career (I think someone touched on that earlier).

But that being said, this is NOT 1973. Black players have as much a chance at being an Astro as white, latino, or asian. If Hank Aaron wants to come out of retirement and hit a few home runs for us, we ain't stopping him.

Heck, I'm black (Jamaican-American). If HAIF approves, I'll gladly come back to Houston and play for the Astros to make Hank Aaron happy. I suck at baseball though. I'll be proud to strikeout consistantly just to integrate my hometown team. My only contribution would be when I taunt the pitchers into hitting me with a pitch or two a game, and set a team record with my on-base-percentage.

But seeing that I'd be the only brother on the team, I demand that I get paid as much as Clements. 'Cause if I don't, Mr. Aaron won't be too pleased.

And one more comment. Damn the Atlanta Braves. What I most don't understand about Hank Aaron is that he can sit there and call the Houston Astros out with the race card when his old team, the Braves, produced a quality player like John Rocker.

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But using that logic, why do we care about Astroworld leaving Houston, downtown shopping, Houston's image, (some folks, as you know can get pretty uptight about these topics). Surely there are more pressing issues going on in the world that we could concern ourselves with, many of which you have already listed. This was simply an observation made by Hank Aaron and he spoke on it. I don't think Hank Aaron or anyone else on this board was insinuating MLB is full of (if I may use your words) Nazis, or KKK.

Let me ask you this JASON, if Larry Bird, came out and said that the NBA doesn't have enough Whites and that the NBA needs to look into getting involved in some programs in Suburbia to help promote it. How fast do you think Al Sharpton, and Jesse Jackson would be on TV saying how proposterous,and racist Larry's comments were. C'mon chief, step into the real world. Everyone knew what Aaron was getting at. Turn a blind eye if you want. Go ask a few black children which sport they rather play, see how many want to play baseball. I've coached little league, most all children want to play at first, then they realize it's not nearly as easy to hit that little white ball going 40 mph, as it is to stand under the basket and heave it up. B)

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Go ask a few black children which sport they rather play, see how many want to play baseball. I've coached little league, most all children want to play at first, then they realize it's not nearly as easy to hit that little white ball going 40 mph, as it is to stand under the basket and heave it up. B)

Are you saying black kids aren't talented enough play baseball, so they take the cop-out and go play basketball?

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Here is a timely essary on the new NBA anti-bling code:

The code, delivered in a short memo on Oct. 17, boils down to this: No bling.

Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce agreed, saying, "When I saw the part about chains, hip-hop and throwback jerseys, I think that's part of our culture. The NBA is young black males."

Stern's problem is that much of the public, including many of us in the black public, have had about enough of the bling and the ka-ching-ching (big money) and the head wraps, throwback jerseys, baggy pants, medallions the size of hubcaps and all of the other gangsta fashion that the NBA's young stars have brought in from the street.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl...outlook/3426494

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Let me ask you this JASON, if Larry Bird, came out and said that the NBA doesn't have enough Whites and that the NBA needs to look into getting involved in some programs in Suburbia to help promote it. How fast do you think Al Sharpton, and Jesse Jackson would be on TV saying how proposterous,and racist Larry's comments were. C'mon chief, step into the real world. Everyone knew what Aaron was getting at. Turn a blind eye if you want. Go ask a few black children which sport they rather play, see how many want to play baseball. I've coached little league, most all children want to play at first, then they realize it's not nearly as easy to hit that little white ball going 40 mph, as it is to stand under the basket and heave it up. B)

I just wish the Astros could hit. I don't care what color they are. Making contact would be great.

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Here is a timely essary on the new NBA anti-bling code:

The code, delivered in a short memo on Oct. 17, boils down to this: No bling.

Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce agreed, saying, "When I saw the part about chains, hip-hop and throwback jerseys, I think that's part of our culture. The NBA is young black males."

Stern's problem is that much of the public, including many of us in the black public, have had about enough of the bling and the ka-ching-ching (big money) and the head wraps, throwback jerseys, baggy pants, medallions the size of hubcaps and all of the other gangsta fashion that the NBA's young stars have brought in from the street.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl...outlook/3426494

What a great article. What makes it even more concrete is that a black man wrote it. Even better than that is how he reminds us that just ten years ago, when we were watching greats like Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, or Karl Malone - not a single one of them were sporting "bling-bling" to sell out arenas, improve their persona, or to win the hearts of fans. I remember watching post game interviews and they would dress back into their suits for the press conferences.

Now if we could just nip pro-football in the bud. Great Post Coog.

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Let me ask you this JASON, if Larry Bird, came out and said that the NBA doesn't have enough Whites and that the NBA needs to look into getting involved in some programs in Suburbia to help promote it. How fast do you think Al Sharpton, and Jesse Jackson would be on TV saying how proposterous,and racist Larry's comments were. C'mon chief, step into the real world. Everyone knew what Aaron was getting at. Turn a blind eye if you want. Go ask a few black children which sport they rather play, see how many want to play baseball. I've coached little league, most all children want to play at first, then they realize it's not nearly as easy to hit that little white ball going 40 mph, as it is to stand under the basket and heave it up. B)

LOL, I got "Chiefed"

Anyhow...

So are you saying Hank Aaron believes that MLB is doing something sinister to keep Blacks out of baseball? I don't think thats what he said at all. Does he believe MLB could do a better job of promoting the game of baseball the young African Americans and help develop leagues/parks in inner city areas, I think so.

Do I agree with Hank Aaron, yes and no. I don't believe MLB should go out of its way to promote the game to a certain race. If the game is not popular with African Americans, then so be it.

Now, if there are kids who would love to play but there are no parks or leagues in their neighborhoods, then something should be done.

Also, I don't believe young African American kids as a race opt to play basketball instead of baseball because it's an "easier" sport, now that's ludicrous. If that were the case, baseball would have never been popular with African Americans once upon a time.

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Are you saying black kids aren't talented enough play baseball, so they take the cop-out and go play basketball?

Absolutely not, just like any sport, you have to apply yourself to get good at it, I think the flashy style of the NBA players, with their houses on MTV cribs, and dealings into trying to be rap artists, make the NBA lifestyle alot more fun for impressionable young minds, than the ho-hum around the bases that baseball seems to be to them.

I just wish the Astros could hit. I don't care what color they are. Making contact would be great.

They can hit, they just couldn't hold the lead. But, those boys are still bad@$$ !

And, to JASON, I simply made an analogy as to "what if" the same things were said by a whiteguy who was a dominant figure in the NBA. I don;t think that Aaron thinks there is any "sinister plot" I just don't he was thinking about what he was saying. I'm sure he believes in everything he said, and I would defend him for his right to say it. You have to look at the flipside of the coin, and figure, what kind of tremors would that send off if my scenario were to happen. Do you agree or disagree with the analog, and the good ol' Rev. Sharpton ?

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Absolutely not, just like any sport, you have to apply yourself to get good at it, I think the flashy style of the NBA players, with their houses on MTV cribs, and dealings into trying to be rap artists, make the NBA lifestyle alot mor fun for impressionable young minds, than the ho-hum around the bases that baseball seems to be to them.

They can hit, they just couldn't hold the lead. But, those boys are still bad@$$ !

Now, I can agree with that.

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"Aaron, who said Wednesday that the Astros need to make an effort to sign African American players."

"It is very disturbing to see something like this," Aaron said. "And you would think that this ballclub could find at least one or two African Americans, especially in this city. It's very disturbing. I think they need to look at that very carefully. They need to talk to people in the scouting department and everybody else because this needs to be addressed."

Full article here.

Now we're being called a racist team. Does Aaron really think that the Astros are more interested in racial makeup than winning? I used to look up to Hank. He was "the man" when I was a boy. Seeing him in the stands last night was nice but I had forgotten the large chip on his shoulder that he carries around with him. I think Hank is still bitter about the hate aimed at him when he was breaking the Babe's record.

Hank, could it be that African-American boys are playing more basketball than baseball? What about the NBA? Maybe we need to look into the problem of lack of white players. Let's implant a certain percentage of each race onto each team just to keep it "balanced".

Drayton McLane, Tim Purpura, you heard him. Go out and get some African-American players this off season. These white boys can't get anyone home.

No where in the article did I hear Aaron or anyone else call the Astros a racist team.

He said we need to "address" our lack of black players.

IMO, the only thing we need to "address" is winning baseball games.

I don't think any of us particularly care what color they are.

Black, red, yellow, white...[i do draw the line at chartreuse-it clashes with absolutly EVERYTHING!!!]

People need to get a life and stop trying to turn nothing into someting.

B)

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No where in the article did I hear Aaron or anyone else call the Astros a racist team.

He said we need to "address" our lack of black players.

IMO, the only thing we need to "address" is winning baseball games.

I don't think any of us particularly care what color they are.

Black, red, yellow, white...[i do draw the line at chartreuse-it clashes with absolutly EVERYTHING!!!]

People need to get a life and stop trying to turn nothing into someting.

B)

Apparently, Mr.Aaron is troubled by it, he called it "disturbing". What is sooooo "disturbing" about a good team, no matter what color, playing baseball together ? When did affirmative action come to MLB ? If Roger Clemens says, it is "disturbing to me" that the Los Angeles Lakers doesn't have any white men in it's starting lineup. OMG! the NAACP's phone lines would literally blow up ! :oB)

What issue needs to be "addressed" ? Ummm, Mr.McClaine, you ummm, don't seem to have what we like to call, the appropriate amount of blackness on your team, ummm, could you please explain? Answer: My team, pretty good team, like the players I am paying unGodly amounts for, didn't see any black players who could play better than what I have currently, that aren't playing for other teams. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you find somebody, I'll take a look at them.

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Apparently, Aaron isn't the only one who is disturbed by this:

We know that we have to work to do

"We know that we have to work to do,'' Commissioner Bud Selig said Tuesday. "We'll continue to intensify our efforts. I'm very aware, I'm extremely sensitive about it, and I feel badly about it. But we need to get to work to change things.''

Astros general manager Tim Purpura agrees. "I think it's a huge, huge problem for baseball,'' he said. "The pool of African-American players just isn't there. And as baseball becomes more college-oriented in its draft, there aren't a lot of players to pick.

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