We have arrived, eight years into the integration story, at the New York Yankees, baseball’s preeminent franchise. Before 1955, the Yankees were an especially annoying holdout; their continued success undermined the growing narrative that Black players were necessary for a team to succeed.
It's interesting that you call Larry Macphail's letter an "official defense of segregation," because it's mostly incoherent! It's very poorly written, and he seems to simultaneously argue that 1) black players aren't prepared to play in the Major Leagues because the Negro Leagues are so poorly run, and 2) that the MLB shouldnt pursue talented Black players because it would hurt the Negro Leagues which are very important for baseball. But alas...
It's interesting that you call Larry Macphail's letter an "official defense of segregation," because it's mostly incoherent! It's very poorly written, and he seems to simultaneously argue that 1) black players aren't prepared to play in the Major Leagues because the Negro Leagues are so poorly run, and 2) that the MLB shouldnt pursue talented Black players because it would hurt the Negro Leagues which are very important for baseball. But alas...
Nobody's stopping you from trying to write a better defense of segregation if you think it can be done!
haha, I just thought it was interesting!