PhillyBirds
Mentor
It's been well-documented here at Caste Football that white athletes that play football are often discriminated upon if they play a number of "taboo" positions. White runningbacks and cornerbacks are often converted to fullbacks and safeties, respectively. We're told on scouting sites that they lack "athleticism", "game-breaking speed", the ubiquitous "hip-swivel" and countless other terms.
While Major League Baseball has remained more white-friendly relative to the NFL, a deeper look reveals white bias has spread to our national pastime as well. Most organizations overvalue and hoard Latin-American and black prospects, and many teams have "gone Caste" at the major league level, like many of the NFL teams we follow here.
A cursory glance at the demographics of all 30 MLB teams, however, reveals a lot of white athletes. Compare the white starters at a few baseball positions to what we see daily in the NFL, and you'll agree baseball hasn't gone full Caste yet:
(Out of 30 teams)
White 1B starters: 15
2B: 14
3B: 20
C: 13
LF: 14
RF: 17
SOURCE (Team depth charts)
Encouraging numbers, to be sure. However, I have excluded two positions from this list on purpose: shortstop and center field.
Shortstop and center are the two toughest positions to field in the infield and outfield, respectively. Most people should be able to agree on this. They both require a good combination of smarts, athleticism, and attitude. Most people would believe that the best athletes go in these spots.
Veteran CFers may know where I'm going with this. Considering the list above, many people might find it a bit odd that there are only seven starting white shortstops and six starting white center fielders in the majors.
As runningbacks and corners go, white shortstops often move to second or third, while white center fielders are moved to the corner spots. DWFs would obviously think then, that the few white men who man these positions are inferior, needing to be replaced with a superior black or Latin athlete? Enter some sabermetrics and statistics. My favorite.
Ultimate Zone Rating (or UZR) is "the number of runs above or below average a fielder is in both range runs, outfield arm runs, double play runs and error runs combined." Basically, it quantifies a player's aptitude as a fielder, in terms of runs above or below average. I'll be working with UZR/150, the same stat, but averaged over 150 games, or a full season more or less. (SOURCE). Looking at the UZR leaderboards from 2009 for both positions (SOURCE and SOURCE) we can come out with UZR/150 averages for both:
UZR/150 Average (SS): 9.7 runs.
UZR/150 Average (CF): 5.0 runs.
Now to list the UZR/150s of the white starters and draw some conclusions.
SHORTSTOP
Brendan Ryan, Cardinals: 13.8
Ryan Theriot, Cubs: 8.3
Paul Janish, Reds: 11.7
Stephen Drew, D-Backs: 3.9
Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies: -0.9
Jed Lowrie, Red Sox: 10.6 (2008, didn't play in 2009.)
Jack Wilson, Mariners: 20.4 (MLB leader at SS)
CENTER FIELD
Aaron Rowand, Giants: 1.5
Colby Rasmus, Cardinals: 13.7
Nate McLouth, Braves: 4.7
Josh Anderson, Royals: 11.8
Josh Hamilton, Rangers: 16.6
Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox: -18.3
So with the exception of Jacoby Ellsbury, who was horrendous, white fielders more than hold their own in the two toughest positions in baseball. Jack Wilson was, statistically, the best fielding shortstop in the majors, yet receives little to no fanfare these days. Colby Rasmus dazzled in his rookie year in the center field spot.
Granted, some of the data is inconsistent. But the gist of my research is that I believe there is some positional discrimination in baseball. Number of white starters aside, it is quite obvious that white men can capably play both shortstop and center field nowadays. So next time your favorite white prospect is described as "lacking range" or "better suited to a corner outfield spot", remember that there is often more than meets the scout's eye.
Or not.
Edited by: PhillyBirds
While Major League Baseball has remained more white-friendly relative to the NFL, a deeper look reveals white bias has spread to our national pastime as well. Most organizations overvalue and hoard Latin-American and black prospects, and many teams have "gone Caste" at the major league level, like many of the NFL teams we follow here.
A cursory glance at the demographics of all 30 MLB teams, however, reveals a lot of white athletes. Compare the white starters at a few baseball positions to what we see daily in the NFL, and you'll agree baseball hasn't gone full Caste yet:
(Out of 30 teams)
White 1B starters: 15
2B: 14
3B: 20
C: 13
LF: 14
RF: 17
SOURCE (Team depth charts)
Encouraging numbers, to be sure. However, I have excluded two positions from this list on purpose: shortstop and center field.
Shortstop and center are the two toughest positions to field in the infield and outfield, respectively. Most people should be able to agree on this. They both require a good combination of smarts, athleticism, and attitude. Most people would believe that the best athletes go in these spots.
Veteran CFers may know where I'm going with this. Considering the list above, many people might find it a bit odd that there are only seven starting white shortstops and six starting white center fielders in the majors.
As runningbacks and corners go, white shortstops often move to second or third, while white center fielders are moved to the corner spots. DWFs would obviously think then, that the few white men who man these positions are inferior, needing to be replaced with a superior black or Latin athlete? Enter some sabermetrics and statistics. My favorite.
Ultimate Zone Rating (or UZR) is "the number of runs above or below average a fielder is in both range runs, outfield arm runs, double play runs and error runs combined." Basically, it quantifies a player's aptitude as a fielder, in terms of runs above or below average. I'll be working with UZR/150, the same stat, but averaged over 150 games, or a full season more or less. (SOURCE). Looking at the UZR leaderboards from 2009 for both positions (SOURCE and SOURCE) we can come out with UZR/150 averages for both:
UZR/150 Average (SS): 9.7 runs.
UZR/150 Average (CF): 5.0 runs.
Now to list the UZR/150s of the white starters and draw some conclusions.
SHORTSTOP
Brendan Ryan, Cardinals: 13.8
Ryan Theriot, Cubs: 8.3
Paul Janish, Reds: 11.7
Stephen Drew, D-Backs: 3.9
Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies: -0.9
Jed Lowrie, Red Sox: 10.6 (2008, didn't play in 2009.)
Jack Wilson, Mariners: 20.4 (MLB leader at SS)
CENTER FIELD
Aaron Rowand, Giants: 1.5
Colby Rasmus, Cardinals: 13.7
Nate McLouth, Braves: 4.7
Josh Anderson, Royals: 11.8
Josh Hamilton, Rangers: 16.6
Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox: -18.3
So with the exception of Jacoby Ellsbury, who was horrendous, white fielders more than hold their own in the two toughest positions in baseball. Jack Wilson was, statistically, the best fielding shortstop in the majors, yet receives little to no fanfare these days. Colby Rasmus dazzled in his rookie year in the center field spot.
Granted, some of the data is inconsistent. But the gist of my research is that I believe there is some positional discrimination in baseball. Number of white starters aside, it is quite obvious that white men can capably play both shortstop and center field nowadays. So next time your favorite white prospect is described as "lacking range" or "better suited to a corner outfield spot", remember that there is often more than meets the scout's eye.
Or not.
Edited by: PhillyBirds
