Were the Reds Racists?

As most know, I am a huge Cincinnati Reds fan.

It was the 1970’s when I first got interested in and started watching baseball. And in the ’70’s, if you were watching baseball, you were probably watching the Big Red Machine pound on someone. Hard not to become a fan.

Being as objective as I can, the Big Red Machine is considered one of the greatest teams of all time, right up there with the 1927 Yankees. The everyday starting lineup of their World Series winning years of 1975 and 1976, known as the “Great 8,” is widely considered to be the best everyday starting lineup ever fielded. When starting together, they were virtually unbeatable.

That lineup alone featured 4 different MVP winners, collecting six MVP awards, four home run titles, six RBI titles, seven hits titles, six runs titles, three batting titles, 26 Gold Gloves and a staggering 65 All-Star selections. Among them, there are 3 Hall of Famers, a fourth in Pete Rose, who would be if he weren’t banned from the game, and a fifth, Dave Concepcion, who deserves to be inducted but isn’t, despite his overall stats being better than most other shortstops who are already in the HOF.

It’s staggering how good they were, and much more could be written about their greatness.

But there is something else that set that team apart from others of their era.

Among the Great 8, there were 2 white players, 3 black players and 3 latino players. One of them is my favorite all-time player — my baseball hero — Dave Concepcion, who hails from Venezuela. A picture of him hangs on my living room wall.

Of the Hall of Famers, there is one from each ethnicity. In fact, of the whole Reds roster in 1976, 59% was white, 21% was black, and 21% was latino. This, during a year that, according to SABR.org, saw all of baseball at just over 70% white,18% black, and just over 11% latino. Heck, according to the same site, MLB had no players of Asian decent in 1976. But the Reds had a player on their roster named Mike Lum, who, while technically American, having been born and raised in Hawaii (the only Hawaiian in baseball at the time) was of Japanese decent, and is noted as the first such player ever in the Major Leagues.

So, as it turns out, not only were the Reds the superior team on the field in the mid 70’s, they were also superior to all of baseball in terms of ethnic diversity. Even by today’s standards, their diversity would be ethnically superior to all others.

Why do I tell you all this? Well, first, let me say that I never cared about those ethnic statistics. I never researched them until now. Overall, I knew of the ethnic diversity of that team, but never knew the actual numbers until researching this blog.

The truth is that I never cared about who was black, white or latino on that team. I still don’t. As a kid, it never occurred to me that Dave Concepcion was a foreigner, let alone Venezuelan. I never paid attention to the fact that Joe Morgan was black, or Johnny Bench was white. The only thing in my mind that distinguished Pete Rose was his hustle and head first slides. The only thing that stood out about George Foster was his monster home runs. Did you know Foster was the only player in MLB to hit over 50 home runs in a season between 1961 — when Roger Maris hit 61 — and 1990, when Cecil Field hit 51? I did. It never occurred to me that he was black.

Truthfully, it wasn’t until I was well into my adult years that their diversity even became apparent to me. I honestly do not remember, prior to the age of, say 20 or so, ever thinking, “you know, he’s a black guy, and he was Cuban, and he was white.” It simply never crossed my mind.

But somewhere along the line, it did. And that’s the purpose of this blog.

In the past days, I’ve gotten into another heated discussion on Facebook. (Shocking, yeah?) The same cast of characters all pretty much spouting the same things, and yet no one, really, getting the actual point.

The discussion centered around the issue of a group of black students at Harvard getting ready to hold their own graduation ceremony, in addition to, but separate from, the regular graduation ceremony Harvard holds for everyone. Even though they say all races and ethnicities are invited, the event, according the article I read, is called “Black Commencement 2017, (and) is the first university-wide ceremony for black students at Harvard and is designed to celebrate their unique struggles and achievements at an elite institution that has been grappling with its historic ties to slavery.”

So it’s a black graduation ceremony, make no bones about it. And it is designed for, and will cater to, black students. Which is all fine and good, I guess, as long as you’re a black student.

During the heated discussion on FB, I was asked, “what expressions of the black experience have you been okay with?” And my response was unequivocal:

None. None at all.

But before you go nuts, let me explain, because “none” is not quite accurate, so let me clarify.

I’m not a racist. Anyone who knows me well will confirm that. I know that’s what most white people say, especially when they’re trying to convince others they’re not racist. They try to tell you how many black friends they have. And I have some, but not many. Those with whom I am friends know I'm not a racist. At least not by the real definitions of racism. (By today’s societal definition, I’m probably close to leading the KKK.) But by any real standard, I’m not.

That’s not to say I don’t see race. We all do. In the same ways we notice that some people are blonde, or have dark hair, or bald, or are overweight, or thin, or tall, or short, we also notice the color of their skin and their ethnicities. It’s unavoidable, and if you say you don’t, you’re probably lying. Real interracial friends not only notice those differences, but can joke about them, and not be offended.

The definitions of racism lie in what we think when we see those differences. What we really think, and the conclusions we make about someone’s character — absent of any other data —when the skin tones are noticed. And ultimately, how we treat the person based on those conclusions.

As most rational people know, race and ethnicity alone have absolutely nothing to do with a person’s character. White, black, asian, latino — those traits alone have no bearing on whether someone’s a great guy, or a jerk. They matter not whether you’re a criminal, or a law-abiding citizen. And they certainly don’t make you a better baseball player than the next guy. (Although, to be completely fair, regardless of race, there are physical attributes that play a large role in determining someone’s athletic ability. But that’s a topic for another time.)

Rather, there are vast cultural, economic, familial, and social aspects that ultimately determine someone’s character. And we’d be lying if we didn’t say that sometimes sheer, dumb luck — good or bad — can play into someone’s ultimate lot in life. But the reality is that race or ethnicity alone have very little to do with it.

I have found that most who disagree with me on that assessment have their issues confused. For example, simply being black isn’t necessarily the same thing as growing up in a black neighborhood. Heck, you don’t even have to be black to grow up in a black neighborhood. If you’re a black man growing up on the streets of East LA, being black doesn’t define your character. Who you choose to associate with, how you spend your time, what you interest yourself in, and even some things you might not have any control over, such as your economic status and living conditions do.

Likewise, if you grow up in a white, affluent neighborhood, the color of your skin doesn’t define your character. A whole host of other factors do. And without bogging us down in a discussion about what some believe to be white privilege, the bottom line is what kind of person you decide to be comes down to you, and little else. Other outside factors can certainly influence you, but at the end of the day, you, and you alone, decide what type of person you want to be.

Racism — real racism — ignores all this and not only makes its character assessments based on little other than the color of the skin, but then acts on that assessment often in vile and unspeakable ways. In this respect, most people in this country are not racist. We all, it could be said, are guilty of sometimes erroneously lumping someone into a group into which they do not deserve to be lumped simply because of some cultural or other societal similarities, and we do so to our detriment. And we need to work on those flaws. But it doesn’t make us racists.

Which brings me back to my point. In today’s society, we have mis-defined racism. The idea of racial equality that was fought from the days of the Civil War until the civil rights leaders of the 50’s and 60’s was just that — equality. They wanted nothing more than to be treated as equals. Same rights, same drinking fountains, same transportation, same schools, same jobs, equal pay, etc. They fought, and sometimes died, just to get an equal footing.

But today’s racial push has shifted away from “equality” and more towards “special treatment.” Today’s racial leaders are no longer pushing for equality. Though there are still strides to be made, in many respects, they’ve achieved that. Rather, they’re pushing for a separatist view of special treatment.

Today, we are inundated with “diversity” events. Black History month was just the beginning of an endless stream of events and “celebrations” that serve to do little more than reinforce just how different we are.

My beloved game of baseball now has “Jackie Robinson Day” every year, when, by all accounts, all Jackie Robinson ever wanted to do was blend in! The Reds have three different “Los Rojos” nights each year, where every latino stereotype is flaunted before, during and after the game to remind us just how different the latino players are from all the black and white players.

And that’s the problem. Events like this, and the aforementioned “Black Commencement” at Harvard do nothing but separate the races back into their own little slices of society. Instead of bringing people together, they push away those who aren’t like them and force everyone to take a side. If the students at Harvard really wanted equality, they would simply sit through the same graduation as everybody else and revel in the fact that they are graduating from an elite university, getting the same diplomas, with the same benefits, as all the other white kids sitting among them. That’s what their forefathers fought for, and as the racial struggle for equality goes, that’s huge! But that’s no longer good enough for them.

The more “cultural celebrations” and “celebrations of diversity” we see today just reinforce the idea that our races and ethnicities aren’t equal, but different. And the moment everyone begins to notice the differences, then the screams of equality begin anew.

White people can’t hold these types of events, because the moment they do, it congers up visions of slavery and the holocaust. And yet there’s plenty to celebrate in my culture and heritage, just as there is in any other culture. But we’re told that to exclude other races from whites is racism. When another race excludes all others, it’s “diversity” celebration.

It’s insanity. And it’s harming the cause. If for no other reason than it takes the focus away from some of the real issues I mentioned earlier. There are serious economical and societal problems that need to be worked on, that much is true. But we can’t, because we have to now focus on just how different we all are.

I never noticed the racial and ethnical differences in my favorite baseball players until somebody pointed out those differences and made an issue of it. To me, they were all just great baseball players, whipping all comers. Pete Rose was as good as Tony Perez. Perez was as good as Johnny Bench, and Bench was as good as Joe Morgan. It didn’t matter to them their differences (and in reading many of their autobiographies, I can tell you that that was true), and it didn’t matter to me. And apparently, if their popularity with the fans is any indication (and their popularity is still off the charts today) it didn’t matter to them either.

Today, I never pay any attention to Reds 3rd baseman Eugenio Suarez’s ethnicity every time he makes a play or hits a home run, any more than I notice Billy Hamilton’s black-ness every time he steals a base, or Zach Cozart’s white-ness every time he smacks a double. Who knew Joey Votto was Canadian? The only time I notice Suarez’s latino-ness is on “Los Rojos” night, when they make a big deal of it and shove it in everyone's face.

Listen, I understand that cultures like to stick together. That's natural in every facet of life. It is human nature to gravitate to others who think like you do, have similar interests, and much in common. Hispanics like to hang out with other hispanics. Same with all races. That's why most white people have mostly white friends, and many blacks tend to hang out with other blacks. I have no problem with black churches, or women's clubs, or gay chat rooms. To that, you probably say, "right on!" But how would you feel if I also told you I have no problem with a KKK meeting, Black Panther parties, or the Muslim Brotherhood movement? I mean, in this country, you have the right to be stupid and wrong, right?

And look, I also have no problem with a celebration of heritage and culture. As mentioned before, we all have reasons to celebrate our histories -- even if whites aren't allowed to play. But that's the problem. There isn't an even playing field. In today's world, those celebrations are only allowed if it's socially acceptable at the time, and even then, they still honk off other minorities. When those celebrations move past mere celebration, and seek preferential treatment, there's a problem.

I understand the backlash I’ll get from this piece. Some will label me an even bigger racist for just thinking some of these things, let alone saying it publicly. Some will say I have no idea what it’s like to be a minority in today’s world and therefore have no basis for any kind of opinion. Some will say these types of celebrations are no different than family get-togethers, frat parties, or birthday celebrations. Some people will just roll their eyes.

That’s fine. It’s my blog. I can write what I want, and I’ll take whatever comes with it. That’s never bothered me before, and it won’t bother me now.

What will bother me is that 25 years from now, we’ll be having this same conversation because today’s mentality has set the whole racial divide back 50 years. The fight for equality has been pushed aside, replaced by a coddled generation who now needs to feel “special.”

And even though those black students get to graduate right alongside the white students at Harvard — something they couldn’t do 50 years ago — they want us to believe they’ve got it really tough, so mistreated and beaten down. Yet they are destroying the very progress they claim they want.

It’s not getting better. Look around, it’s getting worse. Bet on it.

Pete Rose would!