From: hankwong@ocf.berkeley.edu (Henry Y. Wong)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asian.american
Subject: Re: Media Stereotypes: The Solution
Date: 27 Jan 1993 01:50:50 GMT
Organization: Wasteland Warriors
Distribution: na
NNTP-Posting-Host: tornado.berkeley.edu

In article <C0Jxnq.8D8@acsu.buffalo.edu> dtwei@acsu.buffalo.edu (Danielle T Wei) writes:
>In article <1993Jan8.030449.23014@mcshub.dcss.mcmaster.ca> yu@physun.physics.mcmaster.ca (Frank F. Yu) writes:
>>So far there are few asian Americans making a living out of major 
>>professional sports. It's understandable in football and basketball,
>>for they require strength and height. As for baseball, the reason is
>
>Well, did you know that the first draft choice of the New England Patriots
>(I know they're bad, but they got the first picks) was Edmund Chung, an
>Asian-American dude!! Sure he's got our eyes, but he's big and fat, and..
>BTW, he's an Offensive Guard.. :(
>I hope they would draft an Asian-American QUARTERBACK some day, that'll
>be really nice..

It's Eugene Chung, a Korean-American.  He's supposed to be pretty
good, though I haven't seen him play.  He supposed to also have a black belt
in some martial art (Tae Kwon Do or Karate I think.)

Darryl Wong, a quarterback from my high school (Lowell of San Francisco), 
had a free-agent tryout with the 49ers back in '84 or so.  I remember
watching a KPIX news TV story about him back then.  It seemed to be a somewhat newsworthy
event, probably cuz he was an Asian.  Interview, shot of him in
49ers uniform (#18), everything.  Don't remember much else about the article 
itself, except him saying that he thought more Asians should play football.
I don't remember seeing him play in any of the exhibition games though, and
he was cut about halfway thru training camp.

>>not that clear, if you think about the Japanese and Taiwanese teams
>>and their matchup against the Americans. And hockey... probably Jim Pak

The reason that Japanese and Taiwanese teams are not as good as ML teams is
that Japanese and Taiwanese players dont have as much exposure to higher
competition.  There, the highest level comparable to the US in extent is
probably high school. That's where they peak.  You'll see it by the fact
that Taiwan does very well in under-18 competition (numerous times it has
swept the Little, Senior, and Big League titles in the same year.)
After that, however, only the very best (Olympic team types)
can continue playing, and the coaching is probably not up to par with U.S.
 The Japanese major leagues is only equivalent to about
AA or AAA here in U.S.  The Taiwan League, I'm not sure.
Also, there sports are considered entertainment, not a means
to earn a proper living, so people are encouraged more to study and get real
jobs instead of playing ball in hopes of becoming a professional ball player.
The infrastructure just isnt there, I guess.

That is not to say though that no Asians/AAs have played pro ball here in
U.S.  There is a Japanese owned and stocked minor league team in Salinas, CA
(I think.)  Two names I have seen in Baseball Weekly statsheets
are 1B Julian Yan (AA-Toronto), 2B Kevin Wong (Rookie league), and C Don 
Wakamatsu (AAA- Dodgers).  Former major league AAs include Atlee Hammaker (half) and
Lenn Sakata.

>>of the Penguins is the only AA player.
>
>It's Jim PAEK.. (or was it Pak?? well, he's got a different name than our
>own Jim Pa(e)k)
>

It's Jimmy Paek.  Korean born I believe.  Saw him play on TV- he seemed to
be a pretty solid player.

Another AA athlete I've heard of is Townsend Qin, who plays pro soccer.

Atlanta Hawks signed a Chinese guy few years back, but he hurt his knee or
something and never made it to training camp.

>>And there are so many AA I know who like to play tennis. Is this
>>because of Michael Chang? If it is, I think asian Americans are in
>>serious need of some sports heroes of their own.

Hey we've got some.. sometimes you just gotta know where to look.

>Hey, I played tennis for half a year, immediately after Chang won his
>French open.. (then he went on the losing streak, and I stopped playing)

Personally, I suck at Tennis.  But since somebody else asked, yes there
are indeed plenty of A/AAs playing sports, at least here at Cal where I go.
I personally play softball (seriously), badminton (learning still), and a
little basketball (I suck though).  But whenever I am out at the RSF 
(recreational sports facility)
or the athletic fields or tennis courts, I see plenty of A/AA types out
there.
>>FY
>
>Ning

Hank, about to make a fool of himself trying out for softball umpire.

-- 
******************************************************************************
Hank Wong		<hankwong@ocf.berkeley.edu>
Struggling ME student  (when not managing his rotisserie and softball teams)
Initiate, Brethen of the Bitter

"I played high school football!!!..." -Al Bundy  
"Look at what it looks like before you marry it." -Steve Rhodes   
"Denial is not just a river in Egypt, you know." -Stuart Smalley
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