Saturday, July 25, 2009
Intensity: Good if You're Pale; Bad if you're not
Yesterday was the 26th anniversary of the "Pine Tar" game. I'm sure we've all seen the replay of George Brett going batshit insane hundreds of times. My question is this: Why is Brett's charging out of the dugout with murder in his eyes, his anger so manifest that he has to be physically restrained and pulled away from the umpire, viewed as evidence of his virtue while Milton Bradley having to be physically restrained and pulled away from an umpire who not only blew a call but then baited him viewed as evidence of his insanity and lack of virtue?
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I will add this article to the discussion - this was posted on the Facebooks and I was about to scream at that moron who wrote it. Because exactly as Corms says, when it's whitey, it's what makes him good. When it's darky, it's a character flaw that must be reined in. Because darky has to be perfect. Whitey doesn't have to.
Whitey's imperfections make him like one of us. If he was perfect, we couldn't possibly hope to be like him. His imperfections make him human, make him more reachable, if that's a word. However, to be one of "us", darky has to be perfect, in order to overcome his darkiness. Which as we all know is a serious impediment. Those imperfections show that, deep down, he's still a darky.
Course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
What about dis guy?
Wow, what a column. He evened used the "think of the kids" meme.
Well, i don't think George Brett was known for normally acting like that on the field. Seemed to be just a one-time thing for him. Though perhaps my memory is fuzzy. Whereas, Bradley has gone nuts with umpires, fans and other players. Still, if you're "producing"--no matter your color--you can get away with that stuff. I believe Bradley was relatively free of such distractions in Texas last year and led the AL in OPS. Umpires didn't seem to have a problem with his strike zone then.
Other than Brett, I'm sure we could think of other white guys who repeatedly went crazy, like "the fiery" Billy Martin, where it was considered charming rather than a personality disorder.
I googled Timmy Bolter and didn't find anything. That's because his named was Tommy Bolt and he won the U.S. Open in 1958 (not 1962). (He won $8,000!) The internets: the last place in news.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Bolt
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