Milwaukee Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo has done something that I love to see from athletes and really anybody in general. He’s standing up for something that he believes in.
Gallardo has announced that he will boycott the 2011 MLB All Star game in Arizona because of the state’s new immigration law. Gallardo is an All Star this season, but won’t play in Tuesday night’s game due to injury.
The new immigration law in Arizona takes effect on July 29 and requires police, while enforcing other laws, to ask a person’s immigration status if the officer believes that the person might be in this country illegally.
Essentially officers could ask and probably will be asking any person of Latin heritage about their immigration status.
Baseball is a sport that has a high percentage of Latin players and the All Star game being played in Arizona in 2011 is something that will be bothersome to many of those players. Gallardo is the first All Star caliber player to come out and say with all certainly that they will boycott the 2011 All Star game if it isn’t moved to another location. Other players will likely follow suit throughout the next year.
Kansas City Royals closer Joakim Soria and Detroit Tigers closer Jose Valverde, both All Stars this season, said that they would stay away from the 2011 All Star game as well if there ends up being a Latino protest.
St. Louis Cardinals slugging All Star Albert Pujols has already expressed his dislike for the law and Los Angeles Dodgers All Star shortstop Rafael Furcal said that he would wait for guidance from the player’s union on the situation, according to ESPN.com.
While the controversial Arizona law is a huge talking point for many of the Latin ballplayers, others don’t seem to want to talk about it. New York Yankees All Stars Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez both didn’t have much to say on the subject.
Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has said repeatedly that he won’t move the 2011 All Star game to another location.
Personally I think that Selig should move the game to another location. The location that I would choose would be the Washington Nationals new ballpark in Washington, D.C.
If Selig doesn’t move the All Star game from Arizona in 2011 and the immigration law in that state doesn’t change than there is a likelihood that there will be a protest from many, if not all of the Latin ballplayers. The result would be that the “All Star game” really wouldn’t be filled with many “All Stars.” The protest would make the game less exciting, if it even happens at all.
Latin players boycotting the 2011 would probably prove to have a negative reaction among many sports and baseball fans. However, it would be a move that I would support 100 percent. The players should stand up for what they believe is right … and I think that is doing the right thing.
Showing posts with label Joakim Soria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joakim Soria. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
The Undeserving All Star
Atlanta Braves utilityman Omar Infante should be enjoying his selection to his first ever MLB All Star Game, but instead he’s being ridiculed left and right by fans and media alike claiming he’s the “worst” All Star of all time.
Well, to set things straight, Infante isn’t the worst All Star of all time, but he certainly shouldn’t be an All Star.
If fans and media want to blame someone for Infante’s inclusion on the National League’s All Star roster it definitely shouldn’t be Infante but Philadelphia Phillies and National League All Star manager Charlie Manuel.
Players are selected to the All Star game one of three ways. 1) Voted in by the fans for the starting positions and the final roster spot. 2) Selected by their peers. 3) Chosen by the manager of the league. Infante was one of Manuel’s selections for the roster.
Baseball players who don’t deserve to be All Stars generally make the squad on a yearly basis, due to the rule that states that every one of the MLB’s 30 teams must have at least one representative in the game. This is the reason that Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Evan Meek, Baltimore Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton and Kansas City Royals reliever Joakim Soria made the All Star game rosters.
Infante wasn’t one of these cases. The Braves have four other All Stars (Jason Heyward, Brian McCann, Martin Prado and Tim Hudson) on the roster and are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for having the most players in the National League on the roster. The Braves also have one of the biggest snubs from the game on their team in first baseman Troy Glaus.
Why did Manuel choose Infante for the National League squad?
The answer is really quite simple. Infante is the most flexible player in all of baseball. Infante can literally play any position. He’s played all three outfield positions and all of the infield positions (beside catcher and pitcher) pretty frequently in his career. In a pinch I’m sure Infante could even catch and pitch. Infante’s flexibility would make him useful in an extra inning game like the 15 inning match the game saw two years ago. I believe that it’s pretty unlikely that Infante even sees playing time in the game unless that very situation occurs.
Does Infante’s flexibility mean he deserves to be an All Star?
No.
It’s ridiculous to think that Infante should be an All Star over much more deserving players who were snubbed like Glaus, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, Colorado Rockies catcher Miguel Olivo, Milwaukee Brewers infielder Casey McGehee and New York Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey.
I’m a Braves fan and really like Infante and believe he is an integral part of the team, but he’s just not All Star worthy.
Well, to set things straight, Infante isn’t the worst All Star of all time, but he certainly shouldn’t be an All Star.
If fans and media want to blame someone for Infante’s inclusion on the National League’s All Star roster it definitely shouldn’t be Infante but Philadelphia Phillies and National League All Star manager Charlie Manuel.
Players are selected to the All Star game one of three ways. 1) Voted in by the fans for the starting positions and the final roster spot. 2) Selected by their peers. 3) Chosen by the manager of the league. Infante was one of Manuel’s selections for the roster.
Baseball players who don’t deserve to be All Stars generally make the squad on a yearly basis, due to the rule that states that every one of the MLB’s 30 teams must have at least one representative in the game. This is the reason that Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Evan Meek, Baltimore Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton and Kansas City Royals reliever Joakim Soria made the All Star game rosters.
Infante wasn’t one of these cases. The Braves have four other All Stars (Jason Heyward, Brian McCann, Martin Prado and Tim Hudson) on the roster and are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for having the most players in the National League on the roster. The Braves also have one of the biggest snubs from the game on their team in first baseman Troy Glaus.
Why did Manuel choose Infante for the National League squad?
The answer is really quite simple. Infante is the most flexible player in all of baseball. Infante can literally play any position. He’s played all three outfield positions and all of the infield positions (beside catcher and pitcher) pretty frequently in his career. In a pinch I’m sure Infante could even catch and pitch. Infante’s flexibility would make him useful in an extra inning game like the 15 inning match the game saw two years ago. I believe that it’s pretty unlikely that Infante even sees playing time in the game unless that very situation occurs.
Does Infante’s flexibility mean he deserves to be an All Star?
No.
It’s ridiculous to think that Infante should be an All Star over much more deserving players who were snubbed like Glaus, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, Colorado Rockies catcher Miguel Olivo, Milwaukee Brewers infielder Casey McGehee and New York Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey.
I’m a Braves fan and really like Infante and believe he is an integral part of the team, but he’s just not All Star worthy.
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