If MLB is serious about equality, moving ASG should only be the start
Dear Sir: I want to congratulate you for the swift and decisive action you took last week when you decided to move the 2021 All-Star Game out of Atlanta, but I’m not quite sure how to do it.
I’d could praise you as a patriotic American who is willing to do whatever is necessary to stand up for everyone’s right to vote, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around that notion.
Perhaps I could hold you up as a fine example of a public-spirited executive who is willing to show that one man can make a difference when he speaks out against injustice.
Sorry, that has a hollow ring to it.
I think I might be getting closer to the truth if I commend you as a quick-thinking commissioner who realized that inaction could lead to more problems than action would. An All-Star Game in Atlanta might be boycotted by African-American players and any others who wished to show their support for their AfricanAmerican teammates. You concluded that the only way to stage a genuine All-Star Game was to move it, and you acted accordingly.
You know what? If that was your reason I’m okay with that. Moving the game was the right thing to do and you were bold enough to do it.
Atlanta is located in Georgia, a state that just enacted sweeping new voting laws. The governor of the state said the purpose of the laws was to assure free and fair elections, but that’s only what he said. It’s not what he did. The laws appear to be designed to discourage participation by poor people — especially AfricanAmericans. The President of the United States went so far as to liken them to the Jim Crow laws of the past.
It would be unseemly to stage the glitz and the glamour of the All-Star Game in such a place. You didn’t hesitate to move it even though you knew that not everyone would like it and not everyone did.
Not surprisingly, the governor of Georgia became a very vocal critic of your action. He was strident and adamant in his assertion that Major League Baseball has no right to tell Georgians how to conduct elections. He insisted that his state will not be bullied.
The governor of Texas said much the same thing, then went a step farther. He canceled his plans to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Texas Rangers home opener, then added that he doesn’t want the All-Star Game in his state, just in case you were thinking of taking it there.
By the way, the governor of Texas is urging his own state legislature to enact laws similar to the ones passed in Georgia.
Several other politicians have spoken out. Many accuse you of hypocrisy, asserting that your action actually hurts the very people you seek to help. Their economic argument has some validity.
The All-Star Game fills hotels, restaurants, bars and shopping malls in its host city. The mayor of Atlanta estimates that your action will cost her city $100 million. Of course most of that money would have wound up in the pockets of business owners, but the game’s presence would have spurred a significant increase in temporary employment and overtime. A number of unemployed or underemployed Georgians would have benefitted from the game’s presence.
That’s the sad irony of this episode. By moving the All-Star Game you may be doing more harm than good. You might fail to influence public policy but succeed only in taking money out of people’s pockets.
I suspect it will take more than just moving one All-Star Game to spur the Georgia legislature into reassessing its action.
To be effective you must make it clear that moving the All-Star Game is merely your first step. You must threaten further action and be prepared to carry out any threat you make. For ideas I suggest you look to the history of your own game. Let me explain.
Between 1946 and 1988 the Chicago Cubs were unique. They played home games in Wrigley Field, which was the only major league stadium without lights. Only day baseball was possible.
For many years that was simply a quirk in a sport with many quirks. But as television networks began to spend huge sums for the right to televise baseball — especially postseason baseball — it became more than quirk. It grew into a serious problem. The networks who shelled out the big bucks wanted to dictate the times when games would begin. Their options would be limited if those games were played in a stadium with no lights.
Peter Ueberroth, who was the commissioner in 1988, solved that problem. He informed the Cubs that if they qualified for the postseason they would have to play their “home” playoff games in Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals. That’s roughly the equivalent of telling the Hatfields they’ll have to celebrate Christmas in the McCoys’ kitchen.
The Cubs hastily put up lights and the city government hastily enacted legislation making it legal for them to play baseball at night and the networks lived happily ever after.
In other words, Major League Baseball was willing to threaten to move a team out of its own ballpark when money was the issue. Perhaps it would be willing to do the same in the name of social justice.
What if MLB issued an ultimatum? What if it said there will be no postseason baseball in any state whose voting laws are widely perceived to be racially discriminatory? What if it ruled that the Braves will have to play any postseason games in their opponents’ ball park?
I’m not sure even that, by itself, would be powerful enough to right any wrongs. But it might spark others to act.
The NBA, with its enormous African-American fan base would probably feel compelled to follow suit and that would likely prompt the NFL to act as well. The NCAA might feel compelled to re-examine the status of the Peach Bowl, which is currently one of the “New Years Six” games that determine the football national championship. The NCAA just completed its basketball tournament with the words “equality” and “unity” painted on the side of the court. How could this same organization allow a major event to be played in state shunned by professionals because equality doesn’t seem to be important there. Perhaps NASCAR, which only last year banned the presence of Confederate flags at its events, would weigh the possibility of removing Atlanta’s annual races from its calendar.
Collectively the sports world could apply enough pressure that the citizens of Georgia would take notice. If enough of citizens demand that the voting laws be changed, they will be changed.
Sports can do this, Mr. Commissioner, and Major League Baseball can lead the way. It’s all up to you.
You’re doing fine so far, but don’t let us down now.
***
In 1903, Jack Dunleavy was a rookie with the lastplace St. Louis Cardinals. He was primarily an outfielder but on occasion was called on to pitch. In mid-August he became the team’s everyday number-two hitter.
On Sept. 7, when the team played its second doubleheader in three days, manager Patsy Donovan used Dunleavy to pitch the nightcap. Nevertheless, when he wrote out his lineup card he placed him in his accustomed number-two spot.
The result was forgettable. Dunleavy went 0-for-4 and was the losing pitcher of a 7-3 game. However, no starting pitcher would hit second in a major league game for the next 118 years. That is, until this past Sunday when when the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani pitched and batted second.
Ohtani lasted only 4 2/3 innings and was not involved in the decision, but he did hit a home run. That’s something Dunleavy didn’t do at any time during the 1903 season.
The season is very young but it’s noteworthy that Dodgers catcher Will Smith leads the majors in slugging (1.300) and on base percentage (.625)...After five games the Yankees have a team ERA of 1.76. They’ve walked only nine batters...Padres’ shortstop Fernando Tatis is off to a horrible start. He is batting .167 and leads the majors in errors with five...In their first six games the Astros have outscored the opposition 45-18...Pitcher Jose Berrios of the Twins has made only one start but it was a beauty. In six innings against the Brewers he didn’t give up a hit or a walk. His only blemish was one hit batsman...The Indians have struck out only 22 times. The major league average is 47...Matt Zunino of the Rays has caught 35 2⁄3 innings. He has already been the victim of seven stolen bases...The Cubs have not been charged with an error...Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman has participated in five double plays in five games...The Orioles have hit only one homer...The Braves are 0-3 in one-run games...Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez has already committed three errors...The Rockies have yet to ground into a double play.
Former Hall of Fame voter Jay Dunn has written baseball for The Trentonian for 53 years. Contact him at jaydunn8@aol.com