CAMUS AS A YOUNG MAN WAS A BOXER…AND LATER WROTE PULLING FOR
ONES OWN RACE WAS A NATURAL RESPONSE IN SPORTS…HAVING PLAYED
PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL WHEN THE LATINS WERE BEGINNING TO MAKE
INROADS…I EXPERIENCED THEIR OWN BIAS…UMPIRES OF ANY RACE WILL
HAVE A NATURAL INCLINATION FOR THEIR OWN…AND IT COULD BE
UNCONSCIOUS…DAVIDS ARTICLE IS A MIGHT HYSTERICAL…

David Sirota,      10/02/2011
    I might be wrong,but I would be inclined to interpret some of this data differently than the
researchers at SMU. First,umpires’racial biases
diminished when they knew they were being
monitored,suggest there actions were not on the subconscious level.
    Secondly,“minority pitchers reacted to umpire
bias by playing it safe…”,is suspect,at best.This
posit suggest that minority players are potentially
willing to sacrifice a game?I don’t think
so!Remember,the minority pitchers are “reacting” to
the subconscious actions of the umpires’.?
    Ask how many non minority pitchers also threw
the ball in “the heart of the plate”? Then compare
the results.
    Thanking you for this opportunity to comment -
    James M. de Laurier
    Know your friendenmies

I guess an Orioles fan is in the house! Brady Anderson??? Only an Orioles fan or a
baseball fanatic will remember him.  As for “feared”, I guess I remember Mark McGuire
always described as “feared”. MM was downright terrifying from the first day as a rookie,
big, heavy, scowling, sullen.  He didn’t become lovable till he got to the Cards and the
national press started talking to him during his and Sosa’ epic year, now tainted.  Sosa,
too, that year, hitting 66 dingers was laughing and smiling like the happy go lucky kid
next door.  And Willie Mays?  New York LOVES Willie and always will.

“Scary” pitchers come in two flavors
1) Super fast and wild, like a young Nolan Ryan or Randy Johnson
2) Just fuckin’ mean, like Sal “The Barber” Maglie, Lefty Grove.  Or Bob Gibson, who, off
the field was a super nice gentleman.  These are guys you KNEW would throw at you if
you hit them.  Roger Clemens had to be the scariest pitcher in recent years.  Mike
Piazza “owned” him til “The Rocket” hit him square in the forehead with a fastball,
sending Piazza to the hospital.  “Feared”?Who was more feared or described as such
than Clemens?

But that deniies the essential point of bias in baseball? Remember Hank Aaron getting
death threats? A generation earlier Hank Greenberg, ” The Jewish Babe Ruth”, got the
same when he attacked Ruth’s home run record, reaching 58

But umpires? It must be subconscious.  Better review and better enforcement of the
rules on calls are all that is needed.

The lower strike zone was always a feature od National League umps who wore their
chest protector under their jacket unlike the AL’s “shield”. When the shield was
abandoned the strike zone got lower.

@Gerard:
“And the essential thrust of this article was .....?”

1) That racial bias still exists in the workplace, a position acknowledged by nearly everyone.
2) We mustn’t resist “governmental efforts to halt such prejudice,” lest we “create the environment for our ugly subconscious to rule.” 
And “In doing so, we consequently reduce the potential for much-needed self-correction.”
 
Glass half empty.

—

“The majority of commenters turned it into an article about ...... ?”

1)Baseball.  Itself a vehicle for finding common-ground connections between races, classes and cultures.
And, yes, even genders.

2)That successful “self-corrections” in racial biases are still being made; progress chronically ignored by Sirota, but evidenced in the very study he cites.
See last paragraph, conclusions, page 25.
https://webspace.utexas.edu/hamermes/www/Baseball4Authors.pdf

Glass half full.

And the essential thrust of this article was .....?

The majority of commenters turned it into an article about ...... ?

@ Inherit The Wind on Greg Maddux:

I saw him pitch once from great seats. 
Best ever for watching the pitcher. 
It felt like we were as close to home plate (from behind) as Maddux was, and our seats were just slightly elevated, so (seated)we were eye level with Maddux standing on the mound. 

OMG—he had every hitter guessing wrong.  Leaning, chopping, flailing. 
Incredible how he kept opposing batters from digging in, or had them reaching or bailing when they did—and not through fear a la Drysdale or Gibson, but through getting into their heads, mixing speeds and locations. 
Don’t recall called strikes one way or another.  He didn’t have so many strikeouts that day as weak grounders, easy flies and pops.

I’ve seen enough of your Superstar strike zone hypothesis to agree it has merit (for both pitchers and batters), but Maddux sure didn’t need it that day. 

Thanks for rekindling the memory.

Not doubting SMUs stats, but wonder about Sirota’s conclusions.

It would be interesting to compare:

—Called strikes for meaningless (an poorly attended) games like Seattle vs. Oakland late in the season vs. games with playoff significance.

—Or 2nd games vs. 1st games of twi-night double-headers.

—Or fair-weather games to those played under threatening conditions.

—Getaway day games vs. the night’s before.

—Late innings of blowouts vs. close games.

I wonder if Sirota ever played baseball beyond little league. 
If he did, he might have some appreciation of other factors that can enlarge strike zones.

Divisive Pseudoscience.  Another study in behaviorism. As karl popper has shown the pseudosciences are immune as they cannot be falsified. Human nature is irrational. 

Nothing like hearing on the evening news the latest research study of what time a chineese-american compared to anglo, african, or perhaps mediteranean-americans’ likes to eat their breakfast.

The US has bigger issues than devoting behavioral research into its “favorite pastime sport” doesnt it?  I would suggest the author go occupy wallstreet.

Neglected to put the web address in my answer to Neverafan:

http://web.mlbcommunity.org/index.jsp
click “Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities(RBI)“and “Baseball Tomorrow Fund.”

Or support your local youth baseball program—good stuff!

@JohnQ:
Well, I just googled “Cal Ripken feared” and here’s an article that makes both your point and mine:
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/2011/02/who_is_the_most_feared_hitter.html

Enjoy the comments, too.

One of the great things about baseball is that it lends itself to statistical analysis. 
And yet, the intangibles so often decide championships.

Anyway, back to the “fearsome” thing, I get your point on prejudicial semantics. 
Don’t doubt that black players have been more associated with the word.
But being a feared hitter is a good thing in baseball.  Very good!
I wonder if people who aren’t intimate with the game truly understand.

As for the linked article, who was the most Feared Oriole, Both Ripken and Frank Robinson (most underrated superstar of all-time)are worthy candidates. 
But the numbers say Eddie Murray, no contest.
At every pressure point his numbers go up: runners on, runners in scoring position, RISP two out, RISP 2-out late innings, RISP 2-out, late innings, tie game, etc.  .739 slugging pct w/bases loaded.
One of baseball’s all-time best clutch hitters.
Just happens to be black.

@neverafan
Without malice as per your handle, a little education could help you here.

A pivotal date in baseball history was November 25, 1944, the day MLB’s first commissioner, Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis died.
For over 2 decades, he was the biggest single obstacle to blacks joining MLB. 

If you benchmark racial attitudes in that era, and understand that baseball was so much more immportant then than it is now, you’ll see the sport has been on the right side of history from that point forward. 

The groundwork for integration was laid, Jackie Robinson broke in—and don’t for a minute overlook the significance of his being a bone fide superstar on the field.  Others soon followed. 
Was there still discrimination?  You bet. 
Did the American League lag?  Yep & it cost ‘em.
But the arrows were pointing in the right direction and have been ever since*.

As for the “ownership” issue, you’re talking about the Reserve Clause that bound players of all races to one team forever or until traded.  Owners, though, could cut any player with a 10-day notice. (As a judge, Landis delayed a decision on the clause in an anti-trust action filed by the fledgeling Federal League.  His inaction hurt the competing league and it soon folded, giving Landis leverage to get the commisioner’s seat) 

But google Marvin Miller, Curt Flood & free agency—more progress—that’ll bring you up to date.

Hope this helps.

As for the *, it’s ironic that many (not all)see baseball’s biggest problem w/ race right now as fewer blacks are playing the game. 

Here’s a well-balanced article on the subject.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=5148772

The afore-mentioned “fearsome” Joe Morgan is a cutting-edge figure in the effort to make the game more accessable to urban kids.
If you want to make a differnce, check out
click “Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities(RBI)“and “Baseball Tomorrow Fund.”

racism and discrimination are the twin daughters of personal supremacism.
u.s system of rule and structure of society is founded on that principle. no
amount of educating about or complaining against such structures/strictures
wld ever change them.
changes cld be wrought only by establishing a political party which wld work
for changes in those two structures i just mentioned.

such labors may provoke even bloodshed, because most americans—or those
that matter—deem their system sacrosant and infallible.
so it is understandable why americans have not yet formed a viable political
party that wld stand antipodally to the present one which had ruled u.s from
inception.
and slavery, evanescence of indigenes, hiroshima/nagasaki, korea, vietnam,
palestine, iraq, libya, afpak; emplacemnet of missiles around ussr borders
[which endangered our very existence], military bases, military build up,
etcetc, prove.

and there is nothing the party won’t do to defend its right to murder aliens,
exploit own people, discriminate, etc.
for that is the nature of personal supremacism: always and forever do evil
onto others.
for, does it not prove that, when you command s’mone to do s’mthing and s’he
does it even gladly that you’re right and empowered by god.
alas, it does!

Suggestion:  Install QuesTec in a proportionately representative number and type of workplaces, wired to the ringing of a large bell or ugly sound-mechanism to fire off at every infraction of racial or class bias. BRIIINNNNNNGGG!
  First, give the QuesTec equipment a trial run among police forces of representative cities, north, south, east and west.  Report findings widely in mass media.
  Improvement would probably be visible in short order as racism was forced into remission at least outwardly.  Simultaneously, offer broad, open public education and discussion on “Strengthening Democracy by Bringing Racism Out of the Closet:  What is it? What causes it? What’s wrong with it? How to Prevent it”. Use taxpayers’ money to support this educational project as in “Leave no Racist Behind”, etc.  Follow-up with “How to Avoid Self-Righteousness” and we have it made!

oddsox’s comment @ 10:09am is pretty much right on
the money.  TD chose not to carry sirota’s take-down
of melissa harris-perry’s Nation piece, but found
this latest sirota piece acceptable…big surprise.

in my youth, i was a pitcher.  home plate umpires
wore large inflated chest protectors and were unable
to crouch down to get a more up close view of the
strike zone.  but not crouching had its advantages. 
those umpires from back in the day stood upright and
positioned themselves right behind the center of the
plate.  a plate is about 17” wide and center
positioning enabled them to more easily judge when a
pitch had hit a corner than modern- day umpires who
crouch down on one side of the plate, making a pitch
on the opposite corner more difficult to judge.  i
first noticed this during the braves-indians world series
in the 90’s when glavine kept getting pitches 2 to 3
inches off the plate.  my interest in baseball has
waned since then, but i gotta admit that rays-yankees
game weds. night brought back some of the thrills.

JohnQ
If I were pitching in a tight spot, I’d much rather face Cal Ripken Jr than Joe Morgan. 
Wouldn’t you?

@ jimmylosanto:

Sirota a moron? 
Not on your life.

Sirota is a skilled researcher, wordsmith and salesman.  And he’s deadly serious about racism.
Almost no one believes “that racism doesn’t exist,” or that “bigotry is not a workplace problem anymore.” 
That’s the straw man here. 
But Sirota goes to the opposite extreme—finding racism under NEARLY every rock (see below).

This column a joke?  A troll piece?
No, it’s placement is to coinside with the baseball playoffs.  In much the same way, he timed a column in early February using the SuperBowl to (speciously) tout the virtues of Socialism. 
No foul here.

But Sirota may be doing his trolling elsewhere.

Conside: Earlier this week Sirota wrote a deeper column for Salon. http://www.salon.com/news/david_sirota/2011/09/26/white_liberals_obama/index.html
This in rebuttal to Melissa Harris-Perry’s piece in the Nation about new racism against Obama. Harris-Perry is of mixed race. http://www.thenation.com/article/163544/black-president-double-standard-why-white-liberals-are-abandoning-obama

(At the same time, Salon’s editor-in-chief, Joan Walsh also chimed in with a similar response to Harris-Perry.)
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/barack_obama/index.html?story=/opinion/walsh/politics/2011/09/25/white_liberals_obama

What’s curious here is that Sirota disagrees with Harris-Perry.  That’s not to form for him.

But then he invites Harris-Perry to be a guest on his Denver talk radio show?
That’s scheduled for next Friday.
Ah-h-h-h-h

(you’re welcome for the plug, David)

I’m very interested to hear how that goes.  Sirota is not known for being kind to those with whom he disagrees.  So will there be a “new civility” shown to Harris-Perry?  Or will a heated exchange make for better theatre? 

Regardless, a well-orchestrated ploy to gin up the discussion on race and yet another distraction from the real issue:
Jobs.

Um… is it me or did the evidence he presented actually argue the opposite of his conclusion?

Subtle bias based on race that is exhibited just as much by racial minorities as others, but that is minimized or eliminated to the extent the situation is important or considered consciously…. that’s NOT racism.

Racism is “I never sell to niggers”.

Conspicuous by its absence from this piece is the size of the effect.  I have to assume it was embarrassingly small or it would have been featured.  Also absent is a comparison of this bias by minorities and whites.  Were the minorities found to be worse?  Such a result would not sit well with the “conclusion”.

Will SMU apply their bias-seeking approaches to the NFL or the NBA ?  And are highly-paid “stars” given more leeway than rookies?  Are pitchers more biased than fielders ?  Are linemen less biased than backs ?

I suggest that their study might be better focused on collegiate sports and even youth sports to see if young people are being affected.  As a nation, we are constantly hoping (as did MLK) that we will eventually grow out of our infantile prejudices.

We already pay (literally PAY) too much attention to millionaire ball players.

What about a computer generated strike zone box in real time? .. sort of like the
imaginary first-down lines on football fields.. we could see this box on video
screens and TVs right over the plate. After that, no more guesswork… it was inside
the strike zone or it wasn’t.. period.

I would like to see Bill James, father of Sabermetrics, address this study. We all suffer biases, but the OBVIOUS question is:  When the pitcher, regardless of race, is a superstar, is the ump more or less likely to give him the benefit of the doubt?

I think if Greg Maddux had a proper legal strike zone he’d not have been nearly as great a pitcher.  He used to explode if an ump called a pitch a ball that was outside the strike zone by less than 6”, effectively intimidating umps into giving him a foot wider zone.

Addressing ball and strike calling based on subconscious racial bias is part of the problem of getting umps to actually FOLLOW baseball’s published rules that the zone is the area over the plate, between the knees and the letters.  Not the shins, not the waist. 

I’d also wonder about bias on tags, too.