David Eckstein and the cult of the gritty white player

[Vercingetorix]

I don't normally link to (or even read) Deadspin, but this article is hilarious.

Little Man, Gigantic Exaggeration Of His Abilities

[GAVol]

That commentary is a homerun.

[JTrainDavis]

Great write up, indeed.
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[BigPapaVol]

Enjoyed. Would read again.
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[Vercingetorix]

The only thing that keeps it from being an absolute A+ is that he never takes it past the article itself; he passes up the opportunity to skewer the entire ex-player commentariat that spews this same flavor of nonsense every day on almost every baseball broadcast for the entire summer. The writer he's mocking is just parroting the same self-serving, emptyheaded BS she hears every day.

[Ohio Vol]

As soon as I saw the fisking, the non-sequiturs, and the general smartassery, my jaw dropped. I realized.....Ken Tremendous is writing.

All those years of coming home from work, checking my email, and checking out FireJoeMorgan.com and laughing until my sides hurt came back all at once. How I've missed it.

[hatvol96]

Originally Posted by Vercingetorix

The only thing that keeps it from being an absolute A+ is that he never takes it past the article itself; he passes up the opportunity to skewer the entire ex-player commentariat that spews this same flavor of nonsense every day on almost every baseball broadcast for the entire summer. The writer he's mocking is just parroting the same self-serving, emptyheaded BS she hears every day.

That's why guys who tell the truth are refreshing. It's why Barry Larkin, Mitch Williams, and Dan Plesac should be on MLB Network about 50 times more than they are and why John Kruk is the only former player employed by ESPN who should be allowed to speak.

[hatvol96]

However, I will say the myth is more about size than race. For every Scott Fletcher or Mark Lemke of the last 40 years, there's a Rafael Belliard or Fernando Vina who sucked just as bad and still got credit for "grittiness" and "spunk."

[JTrainDavis]

Originally Posted by hatvol96

However, I will say the myth is more about size than race. For every Scott Fletcher or Mark Lemke of the last 40 years, there's a Rafael Belliard or Fernando Vina who sucked just as bad and still got credit for "grittiness" and "spunk."

It's fair to say that's accurate.
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[Vercingetorix]

Originally Posted by hatvol96

However, I will say the myth is more about size than race. For every Scott Fletcher or Mark Lemke of the last 40 years, there's a Rafael Belliard or Fernando Vina who sucked just as bad and still got credit for "grittiness" and "spunk."

Maybe I'm overparsing it, but there always seems to be a vomitously cloying working-class mythology attached to the white versions of those guys that isn't to the Latinos. Guys like Vina or Ozzie Guillen (the player) are regarded as far better players than they really are, but the white guys like Mark Lemke are basically painted as lunch-pail, Everyman-type heroes. Hard work and character, not talent. "Motor." The same sort of crap you hear when people talk about white defensive players in the NFL. I mean, someday the Veterans Committee is going to put Len Dykstra in the Hall of Fame because of this crap.

[Ohio Vol]

Originally Posted by Vercingetorix

Maybe I'm overparsing it, but there always seems to be a vomitously cloying working-class mythology attached to the white versions of those guys that isn't to the Latinos. Guys like Vina or Ozzie Guillen (the player) are regarded as far better players than they really are, but the white guys like Mark Lemke are basically painted as lunch-pail, Everyman-type heroes. Hard work and character, not talent. "Motor." The same sort of crap you hear when people talk about white defensive players in the NFL. I mean, someday the Veterans Committee is going to put Len Dykstra in the Hall of Fame because of this crap.

I agree with this. It was nauseating to hear how many times a large number of people referred to Mike Alstott, Travis Jervey, Toby Gerhart, and Tommy Vardell as "throwbacks". I can't remember the last time I heard a black running back referred to as a "throwback".

[tigervol9802]

I read that yesterday and laughed until I hurt.

If you want good laughs, go to firejoemorgan.com and read the old blog posts. I wish I had known about it when it was operational.

[DowntownVol]

Ryan Freel exemplified all of this (he's retired now - who knew?), only you could also throw in "certifiable" amongst the adjectives.