Valerie Mendoza

Latino baseball players have often been overlooked

eisból is back! (It's about time.) I read a recent article by a local sports columnist who talked about how Sammy Sosa has made it easier for Americans to understand Latino baseball players.
The reporter said that for a long time, he didn't make them the focal point of his stories, didn't quote them, didn't try to understand what their experiences were about. But he wrote that Sosa is helping to break those barriers.
What took so long?
With millions of Americans watching the home run chase, the image of Sosa, who grew up in a small town in the Dominican Republic playing baseball with a paper glove, won the hearts of the nation.
But, it's not like Sosa is the only talented Latino player in baseball history.
Are baseball fans finally recognizing the contributions of Latino players?
I think it's a subconscious choice to root for your own kind.
However, I believe for the most part that fans have tried to look beyond ethnicity in judging a player.
Still, a great number of Latino players whose numbers on the field merit recognition, have been overlooked.
It's not blatant but it seems like Latinos have to try harder, and play a little bit better to get the recognition they deserve.
Latino baseball players have to overcome the unfounded reputation that depicts them as showy and undisciplined on the field.
For a long time, managers confined them to a corner of the locker room. They came from small towns, like Sosa, and had to adjust to a new country. Players as young as 13 leave their families, and are chaperoned by managers who don't have the players' best interest in mind.
Yet, some of them overcome the obstacles and become models for the American dream. It's the story of achieving great success despite having little or nothing to begin with.
It's a shame that stereotypes exist, because there were plenty of examples before Sosa to contradict them. At the end of the century, when historians are writing the book on baseball, they shouldn't forget the contributions of Latinos.
At the beginning of this century, most Latino players were from Cuba. But Fidel Castro cut off the flow in the early Œ60s and since then, Puerto Ricans and Dominicans have dominated. There have also been outstanding Mexicans and Venezuelans. Today a generation of Hispanics born or raised in the States have achieved success in the major leagues. Bobby Bonilla, Jose Canseco and Tino Martinez are just a few.
The story of Latinos in baseball cannot be told without mentioning Roberto Clemente, the first Latino inducted into the baseball hall of fame. He was a great player on the field, but an even better man off. I bet if you're not a purist, you won't know his contributions.
Clemente died tragically in a plane crash on his way to direct a relief mission in earthquake-torn Nicaragua.
The small plane with food and supplies never got past the San Juan border as the plane almost immediately crashed into the Caribbean Sea.
In the 1960s, no other player dominated the era like Clemente.
Even though his plays were consistently outstanding, Clemente thought he achieved fame too slowly.
For example, in 1960, while helping the Pirates win its first World Series victory in 33 years, the Puerto Rican star who had a solid season and a stellar post season performance, finished only eighth in the National League MVP balloting.
It was another example for Clemente to show that Latino players never could get a fair shake from the media or the American fans.
Clemente only won one MVP crown (1966) in a era he had thoroughly dominated.
More than 750 Latinos from 13 different countries have played baseball in the major leagues.
Today more than 25 percent of the league's players are Latinos, and it is projected that in 10 years, 50 percent of the league will be predominately Hispanic.
Look at any World Series and you'll see that the team rosters are loaded with Latino talent.
It's not like Sosa is the only one. Juan Gonzales, Roberto Alomar, Alex Rodriguez - the list could go on and on.
People make excuses and say that it's the language barrier that's preventing them from gaining the recognition or advertising earnings of Anglo or African-American athletes of equal caliber. But, baseball has a universal appeal.
Tony Bernazard, a Puerto Rican born ex-major leaguer and special assistant to the Major League Baseball Players Association since 1991, told "Latino Link":
"The coverage (of Latinos) is practically non-existent. It has nothing to do with language. (Reporters) are ignorant and lazy. It hurts Latino players," he said.
In the frenzy of the home run chase, a recent business article said advertisers believed Sosa would probably not get the demand for endorsements because Madison Avenue was cautious of taking chances on someone who spoke "limited" English.
The extent of his product endorsement is in local Chicago businesses.
That's ignorant.
Sosa has proved that he can handle the media and the attention.
I'm sure he can handle holding up a Wheaties box or endorsing a Nike shoe.
Sosa has personality, and that is something you can't teach.
Look at Gheorghe Muresan - you could hardly understand him in those Snickers commercials, but he was funny enough to earn himself a movie deal.
Sosa not only broke a record, but he's helping break down stereotypes.
But as the playoffs get underway, don't overlook those before him or the superstars to follow.