Newsgroups: rec.sport.baseball
Subject: Re: Rickey Henderson v Nolan Ryan -- Stat-head call to arms!
From: guilford@otago.ac.nz
Date: 17 Apr 92 14:07:56 +1300
Organization: University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

In article <12266@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu>, zuhars@madrone.eecs.ucdavis.edu 
(Gary Inserted With Great Force Huckabay) writes:

> (Kevin Lund'y') writes:

>>? (deleted in post I'm responding to) writes:

>>> you'd capture the opinion of a lot of anti-Rickey, pro-Ryan people...not
>>> that I'm accusing anyone on the net of being racist, but you bet there
>>> were a lot of racist Americans who just loved it when the press deified
>>> Ryan and vilified Rickey.

>>I really can't believe this!  If this is a RELATED NOTE and you aren't  
>>accusing anyone on the net of being racist -- Why the hell do you mention  
>>it when comparing Rickey and Ryan as players?!?  Do you really have to  
>>bring up race?  Don't try to mess with the issue and bring unrelated  
>>topics in.

> Sorry, Kevin, but the issue of race, like it or not, is DEFINITELY an
> issue when it comes to Ryan vs. Henderson.
> 
> Nolan Ryan is a white hero.  A true TWG.  He's humble, he's friendly
> and skillful with the media, and his exploits have been portrayed,
> over the past five years or so, in an extremely favorable light.
> 
> Why?
> 
> Part of the answer is because he's WHITE, whether you like it or not.
> His face will sell more razors than Rickey's will.  Nolan's public
> persona is that of a humble, hard-working, good-ole-boy white man.
> 
> Rickey is portrayed as a malingerer, a whiner, and cocky.  Part of the
> reason for this is his background is different than Ryan's.  He
> learned to communicate in a black inner city, rather than white farm
> country.  Like or not, the communication patterns are different in
> those two areas, and to white bread America, Rickey's is more
> intimidating, and more accusatory.
> 
> No one like the be called racist.  But racism is built into the
> system.

Actually, this is a typical (but common) misuse of the term "racist."
It's more like culturalist.  The most popular American sports heroes
these days are black -- Bo and Michael -- the former without being
(like Ryan) particularly great.  Actually Bo and Ryan may be pretty
similar in the reasons for their appeal.  Not that in general it doesn't 
hurt to be white, except perhaps in basketball, where white players tend 
to be viewed with distrust -- even by, or especially by, white youngsters
(of my acquaintance, anyway).    

Rickey doesn't have to be portrayed as anything.  He portrays himself
in a certain way.  The press isn't the one doing the "snatch catch."

You don't have to be racist to find black inner city culture not to 
your liking, just as you don't have to be racist to find white suburban
culture not to your liking.  If someone thinks Henderson is the type
of person that costs his team games because of his attitude, I would
disagree -- there have always been hot dog players, and successful
ones, and for that matter there have always been players from deprived
backgrounds -- but I don't think it makes them a racist.  People disliked Joe
Namath for similar reasons (not that Namath and Henderson are necessarily
similar except in the perceptions of certain segments of the public).

I thought race came into it, though, because of who posted what....

Bill Guilford