October Round Up!
Everything from Undrafted this month...
Baseball’s 2022 postseason has been mostly great, but it was marred a little by the news that this year’s World Series will be the first one since 1950 to be played without a US-born Black player on either roster. As someone who has written quite a bit on the history of baseball’s integration, I wanted to make two quick points about this sad milestone.
First, it’s a reminder that incrementalism works both ways. Baseball’s integration is so celebrated because it seems to validate theories about gradual progress. First, the game was segregated, then Jackie Robinson was given a chance, then he succeeded, and then more and more Black players followed. There were no violent protests, no federal or state legislation, no court orders… just the gradual crumbling of the old system as people realized it was immoral.
But as I wrote in last year’s integration series, it was never quite that simple. The incremental pace of integration was the result of white owners fighting tooth and nail to maintain the old system, and the fact that their power was never challenged meant the victory was never complete. Black people NEVER reached equal representation among coaches, managers, GMs, executives, or owners, and just three decades after the last team in baseball was integrated, the number of Black players started falling again. In 2020, Black players made up a lower percentage of the league than they did in 1958, before integration had even made it to the Boston Red Sox. If you don’t address, the root of a problem, it has a tendency to come back…
Which brings me to my next point: This isn’t that different from what segregation looked like. Remember, even before 1947, there was no official rule barring Black players from the league. The people who ran Major League Baseball just figured they weren’t good enough, or they liked having their own leagues, or the fans wouldn’t accept Black players. There were tons of excuses, but the effect was the same: No Blacks in baseball.
Of course, it’s not that bad now. Thankfully, this World Series does have Dusty Baker, who has been in the game nearly 50 years and may get his first ring. But this is a real problem, and it would be a mistake to think that incremental progress in the past means it will continue into the future. The lack of Black players in the league is not an accident, even if it’s not an outcome anyone intended; it’s the predictable result of how integration unfolded 75 years ago…
But otherwise, this October has, in general, been great! Here’s a rundown of everything from the newsletter, ICYMI, starting with all the baseball stuff and saving the rest for the end:
Baseball’s Disappearing Middle Class: It’s really under-appreciated how much tanking is hurting baseball. In this piece, I tried to illustrate just how stratified the league is now — with so many teams that win or lose over 100 games — and how this has drained so much excitement from the regular season.
On the Ear Check: This piece on Joe Musgrove is three weeks old, but just this weekend there was similar speculation about Framber Valdez possibly having something on his hand in Game 2 of the World Series. I don’t know what should be done about the sticky stuff paranoia, but MLB does not seem to have solved it.
A Socialist Guide to the 2022 Division Series: My socialist picks went 3-for-4 in the Division Series round! The only exception was, alas, the Houston Astros…
“Jackie Robinson, the Dodgers, and Brooklyn.” This was the start of Baseball Week, kicked off by a James solo episode of the “Lefty Specialists,” on Jackie Robinson and the history of Brooklyn. It’s a great ep!
Bryce and Manny: An NLCS preview that looked back on the free agencies of Bryce Haper and Manny Machado. Turns out, they’re both great!
Why We Hate the Astros: Not sure I really nailed this piece, to be honest. I was trying to capture why fans are so reluctant to let go of the cheating scandal, but I don’t think the argument completely came together…
October Managing as a Consequence of the Alienation of Labor: I REALLY hate when managers bring starters into the game in relief just to look cool. I guess the Phillies using Ranger Suarez in Game 1 of the World Series worked, but why did Dusty go to Luis Garcia, who hadn’t even pitched in 13 days, before Ryne Stanek??
The “Crapshoot” Myth is Owner Propaganda: People keep calling baseball’s postseason “random,” but it really isn’t. It’s just that the regular season is giving us a warped view of how good certain teams are, because there is so much tanking in the game now.
Non baseball stuff!
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Football?: Yet another attempt to work through the moral issues of watching a sport as dangerous as football. Luckily Tua now seems OK, but it’s only a matter of time before the next player suffers a serious brain injury.
Quick Thoughts on the Rooney Rule: It’s bad!
Pickleball is What Happens When You Kill Off Working Class Culture: The way pickleball has gotten popular is a little unsavory, but I don’t think we should hold that against the sport.