GET A GRIP, GEORGIA
or using their own hands to pantomime a chop. I’m sure most of the people who did it regarded it as innocent fun and considered it a means of supporting the home team. I doubt if many stopped to consider the possibility that their actions were racist or demeaning to Native Americans.
Last week somebody did. Ryan Helsley, a rookie pitcher on the St. Louis team, is proud of his Cherokee ancestry. He has studied his tribe’s history and even learned to speak the language. He was appalled by Atlanta’s tomahawk chop, which he felt reinforced a negative and misleading stereotype. He voiced his concerns and somebody with influence in the Atlanta front office heard them. The decision was made, out of respect to Helsley, to squelch the tomahawk chop in Game Five.
Call it being politically correct if that’s what you want to call it. I’d call it being compassionate, tolerant and inclusive. Aren’t they one and the same?
You can make an argument that the Braves lost the series in Game One when a player got lazy and ran a triple into a single. They ultimately lost that game by a run.
You make an argument that they lost it in Game Four when they left the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh innings and didn’t score either time. They ultimately lost that game in extra innings.
You can make an argument that they lost it with their first-inning meltdown in Game Five.
But you can’t make the argument that they lost it because they were politically correct. You can only rejoice that they were.
Or, if you’re a politician in Georgia, you can lament the whole thing.
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The media has given Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow a ton of credit for building juggernaut that won 107 games this season. I agree. He deserves all the platitudes that have come his way.
But even Luhnow isn’t perfect.
Five years ago he released a struggling outfielder named J.D. Martinez. Since that day Martinez has belted 207 homers, knocked in 585 runs and made three All-Star teams.
We can only shudder to think what kind of powerhouse the Astros would be if Luhnow was perfect.
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In its latest edition, Baseball America published allstar teams at all six levels of minor league baseball. The publication chose 15 players at each level or 90 players altogether.
None of those 90 players come from the Phillies organization. In fairness, Alex Bohm was probably good enough to be an all-star but he played at three levels last year and didn’t stay in any one place long enough to be considered.
Still, the farm system appears to be nearly desolate.
The Phillies made the decision to get a new field manager and a few new coaches. Perhaps it’s fair to wonder if they need to make some changes off the field as well.
A FEW STATISTICS (Wednesday’s game not included):
Gerrit Cole of the Astros has pitched 22 2⁄3 postseason innings and the only run he has allowed was a solo homer by Eric Sogard of the Rays. In an 11-day stretch he threw 337 pitches, 225 for strikes… In 10 postseason games the Nationals have fanned 123 batters while walking 30…The Yankees’ Gary Sanchez has gone 2-for-21 in six postseason games. Both of the hits were singles…In four games against the Cardinals the Nationals used three players in No. 8 slot in their batting order. Collectively they went 7-for-15 and drove in five runs…Nationals closer Daniel Hudson has finished five of his team’s eight victories. He has one win and four saves…In four games between the Nationals and Cardinals only two double plays were turned — one by each team… The Cardinals went through a 22-inning scoreless stretch against the Braves and Nationals. During that time they had only eight base runners and advanced only four beyond first base.
Hall of Fame voter Jay Dunn has written baseball for The Trentonian for 51 years. Contact him at jaydunn8@aol.com