ROBERT RUBINO
Baseball's own pride and prejudice
Published: Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 3:32 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 3:32 a.m.
Baseball's
own pride
and prejudice
In the spirit of Barack Obama's recent landmark speech confronting racial prejudice, a new book about the history of Latino baseball players in the major leagues confronts what Roberto Clemente called the plight of the "double minority" -- having black skin and not having English as a primary language.
There are literally dozens of compelling stories in "Far From Home," compiled by writer Tim Wendel and photographer Jose Luis Villegas and published, interestingly, by National Geographic. All of those stories deserve the attention of any serious fan. This is about two such stories.
Orestes Miñoso, popularly (and patronizingly) called Minnie, had a distinguished career. Make that careers. He had been a star in the Cuban and Negro leagues before becoming the first black Latino star in the majors as a 25-year-old rookie.
In the 10-year period of 1951-60, Miñoso was an eight-time American League All-Star (four-time starter) who led the AL three times in stolen bases, once in hits, once in doubles, three times in triples, twice in sacrifice flies, batted better than .300 eight times and drove in more than 100 runs four times. He was one of three outfielders (AL and NL combined) awarded the first Gold Gloves for defensive excellence in 1957. He went on to win two more.
Those achievements, often accomplished with the flair of a matador, didn't come without hardship.
In "Far From Home," Miñoso says: "This is what the world is like, my friend. You cannot let anyone run your life because they call you names or tell you that you can't play. When I played, I sometimes had to play the clown. I had to listen and laugh, even though I was crying inside. But never did I let them see that it bothered me."
Luis Tiant, a four-time 20-game winner with 229 career victories who should be in the Hall of Fame (as should Miñoso), says in "Far From Home" that Miñoso "was my idol growing up.
"He was the first one to stand up for black Cubans. Guys like me. You see somebody like that make it and you have some hope. You start to believe that maybe one day you can reach the big leagues, too."
Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda, the first Latino NL Rookie of the Year, succinctly places Miñoso's legacy in proper perspective.
Miñoso "is to Latin ballplayers what Jackie Robinson is to U.S. black ballplayers," Cepeda says.
In the spirit of the part of Obama's speech on racism that expresses faith in the possibility of transformative change, there is in "Far From Home" the redemptive story of Alvin Dark, a white Southerner who, as Giants manager from 1961-64, made Cepeda's life "a living hell."
"Things would go so bad at times that there were days I didn't want to go to the ballpark," Cepeda says.
Latino teammates Felipe and Matty Alou and others felt the same, especially after a ban on speaking Spanish in the dugout or clubhouse.
But "Far From Home" picks up the story 10 years after the unraveling of the Giants along racial lines, when the 1974 World Series champion Oakland A's "offered a second chance to Alvin Dark."
As manager of the A's, Dark earned the respect of volatile slugger Reggie Jackson, who describes himself as "a black kid with Spanish, Indian and Irish blood," and the black Cuban base-stealing artist Bert Campaneris, the team's sparkplug, whom Dark lauded as "the best offensive shortstop since Pee Wee Reese."
"One wonders," Wendel writes, "how far such praise would have gone a decade earlier with Orlando Cepeda and the Alou brothers."
It might be tempting to dismiss "Far From Home" because it is slick and glossy, with short chunks of text accompanied by photos galore. But those chunks of text tell amazing, heart-wrenching and ultimately inspiring stories of players you ought to know about: Dolph Luque and Martin Dihigo and Chico Carrasquel, among many others. And the photos, both the action shots but especially the portraits -- of Miñoso, Vic Power, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew and so many others -- are wonderfully poignant, dreamily evocative of uncompromising pride and a resilient, transcendent humanity.
"Far From Home" is more than just another sports book. It is a beautifully wrought historical document that also happens to be a work of art.
Robert Rubino can be reached at robert.rubino@pressdemocrat.com or 521-5261.
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