The latest J.B. Cash column:
FORCING DIVERSITY
Since no one else in the world will put anything in print against it I guess it falls to me to do it. So here it is: special rights activists are agitating for Major League Baseball to force every team to retire the number "21" in honor of Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirate Hall of Fame outfielder and Puerto Rican hero. My response: Don't do it, it's a dumb idea.
There are several reasons why the idea is dumb, one of which is that every time you give into a fringe group with a self serving agenda you make it that much easier to give into a request from another group. What next? The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Alliance demanding the retirement of Billy Beane's number. (Beane was a gay guy that sucked as an outfielder for several teams for a few years.) (Yes, pun intended).
The idea is the brainchild of a group called "Hispanics Across America," which must be low on funds and came up with the idea in an attempt to coax some cash out of guilt-ridden white liberals. I don't see why they can't wait until nearly every player qualifying for the Hall of Fame and number retirement is Hispanic, which will happen in another 10-15 years.
Nothing in particular against Clemente. He seemed like a nice enough guy. He was a solid hitter and excellent fielder. Clemente was actually the classic hispanic player before the advent of steroids. A solid, slim, contact hitter who excelled at the fundamentals of the game. He did not have the advantage of steroidal improvement so he could not bulk up and become a power hitter as he aged like so many hispanics do today.
The Pirates retired his number in 1973. There is no reason for any other city to do it. Clemente is a distant memory to all but the oldest of baseball fans outside of Pittsburgh and so this tribute is merely to celebrate his humanitarian efforts in Nicaragua, during which he died in a plane crash after a devastating earthquake hit that country in 1972. Fine, let Nicaragua and his native land of Puerto Rico celebrate his legacy. We'll celebrate our own humanitarians thank you, and Roberto was not one of them.
Clemente was not good enough to have his number retired in other cities then his own, but neither was Jackie Robinson. It's all about giving into the multiculturalists. This is a really bad idea  which means Bud Selig will love it. And since it is really a meaningless gesture it will get little opposition from the sycophant corporate media.
A player's number should be retired in the city he played and starred in while wearing the number. It is a statement that no one else in that uniform will wear the number as a member of that team. It is not meant as a generic tribute forced upon people just because it fits some non-baseball agenda.
Someday in the not-too-distant future white people will be a minority in America and maybe we'll get to cry and whine for some of our ancient athletes to be honored in a similar manner. I would support one man who devoted hundreds of thousands of dollars to build hospitals and set up scholarships. I can't wait for the nation to celebrate our hero: Ty Cobb.
Edited by: Don Wassall
FORCING DIVERSITY
Since no one else in the world will put anything in print against it I guess it falls to me to do it. So here it is: special rights activists are agitating for Major League Baseball to force every team to retire the number "21" in honor of Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirate Hall of Fame outfielder and Puerto Rican hero. My response: Don't do it, it's a dumb idea.
There are several reasons why the idea is dumb, one of which is that every time you give into a fringe group with a self serving agenda you make it that much easier to give into a request from another group. What next? The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Alliance demanding the retirement of Billy Beane's number. (Beane was a gay guy that sucked as an outfielder for several teams for a few years.) (Yes, pun intended).
The idea is the brainchild of a group called "Hispanics Across America," which must be low on funds and came up with the idea in an attempt to coax some cash out of guilt-ridden white liberals. I don't see why they can't wait until nearly every player qualifying for the Hall of Fame and number retirement is Hispanic, which will happen in another 10-15 years.
Nothing in particular against Clemente. He seemed like a nice enough guy. He was a solid hitter and excellent fielder. Clemente was actually the classic hispanic player before the advent of steroids. A solid, slim, contact hitter who excelled at the fundamentals of the game. He did not have the advantage of steroidal improvement so he could not bulk up and become a power hitter as he aged like so many hispanics do today.
The Pirates retired his number in 1973. There is no reason for any other city to do it. Clemente is a distant memory to all but the oldest of baseball fans outside of Pittsburgh and so this tribute is merely to celebrate his humanitarian efforts in Nicaragua, during which he died in a plane crash after a devastating earthquake hit that country in 1972. Fine, let Nicaragua and his native land of Puerto Rico celebrate his legacy. We'll celebrate our own humanitarians thank you, and Roberto was not one of them.
Clemente was not good enough to have his number retired in other cities then his own, but neither was Jackie Robinson. It's all about giving into the multiculturalists. This is a really bad idea  which means Bud Selig will love it. And since it is really a meaningless gesture it will get little opposition from the sycophant corporate media.
A player's number should be retired in the city he played and starred in while wearing the number. It is a statement that no one else in that uniform will wear the number as a member of that team. It is not meant as a generic tribute forced upon people just because it fits some non-baseball agenda.
Someday in the not-too-distant future white people will be a minority in America and maybe we'll get to cry and whine for some of our ancient athletes to be honored in a similar manner. I would support one man who devoted hundreds of thousands of dollars to build hospitals and set up scholarships. I can't wait for the nation to celebrate our hero: Ty Cobb.
Edited by: Don Wassall