Saturday, May 17, 2008
Gay baseball players, NBA criminals, Gagne's streak vs. DiMaggio's and my favorite sport vs. yours vs. that guy's over there: The readers write.
Jul 16, 2004 | I've let too much time pass without giving you your say, so today's "the readers write" column will catch us up to the beginning of this week, and I promise I'll do another one soonest with your letters about Roger Clemens and the All-Star Game, Bob Feller and Muhammad Ali, and the Shaquille O'Neal trade.
Onward, organized by subject.
Poll of baseball players says three of four "wouldn't be bothered" by having a gay teammate
Catherine Bracy: I'm a bit more skeptical about that three out of four. I think some players are trying to be politically correct by saying they wouldn't have a problem with it. Athletes (should) know better than to express controversial opinions to the press, even if this is an anonymous survey. Don't you think a couple of guys hesitated when they read that question and decided to put down the "right" answer, not the answer they really felt?
King replies: I really don't have a feeling for how many were holding their tongues due to political correctness, but on the other hand, does it matter? If they're unwilling to say something negative because of political correctness, they're probably going to be unwilling to do something negative also. Holding their tongue is a sign that they know what the appropriate behavior is.
Chris Owen: There's at least one precedent for a male professional athlete coming out of the closet: Ian Roberts, an Australian rugby league player, revealed he was gay in 1995. Roberts was already an established star who had played for Australia, and the announcement came towards the end of his career. I don't recall a firestorm of controversy accompanying the revelation -- but no other league player has come out since then either.
King replies: At his retirement press conference in 1998, Roberts said that the positive public reaction to his coming out "is my highlight over anything I've accomplished on the field."
Fans being pelted with junk statistics during TV broadcasts
Peter Frase: Watching for these marvels of incompetent sports broadcasting can be an amusing pastime when you're watching a boring game. Still, all these pseudo-sabermetric displays do make me worry for the intellectual health of the nation -- I mean, if you believe that it matters how a guy hits on odd-numbered days of the month, it's not much of a stretch to think that Saddam planned the 9/11 attacks.
Pan Demetrakakes: [Reminds] me of something I heard on a recent Cubs broadcast. A little context (something you don't get with these stats): The Cubs broadcast team consists of play-by-play announcer Chip Caray, grandson of Harry, and color man Steve Stone, whose job mostly involves not being too obvious about correcting Chip's inanities.
Chip: Opponents are hitting .250 against [Glendon] Rusch when his pitch count is below 100, but only .166 when it's above 100. What do you think that means?Steve: It means he doesn't throw more than 100 pitches very often.
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