In the latest issue of the SABR publication "The National Pastime," Peter C. Bjarkman makes an impassioned plea that Roberto Clemente should be accorded the same respect as Jackie Robinson for paving the way for Latino ballplayers.
Put aside for a moment the validity of that premise, which is easily challenged just by reading the article. As the article points out, Clemente was not the first (or second) Latin ballplayer, or even the first Latino all-star.
More troubling is that Bjarkman spends almost as much time depressing Robinson's on-field accomplishments as he does promoting Clemente's. About Robinson he says, "a 10-year .311 career batting average, barely1,500 base hits, less than 150 homers, a single league batting trophy and a half dozen All-Star game appearance [sic] hardly seem the key to Cooperstown." (emphasis added by me). The language is peppered with negativity.
Robinson, of course, also played in the Negro Leagues and he didn't reach the majors until he was 28 years old. Clemente hit the bigs at age 21.
I may be wrong, but in addition to Clemente being hispanic, isn't his skin black? Would Clemente have had a roster spot if not for Robinson, Larry Doby and the like? Did Clemente play under the same conditions as Jackie? Bad as they were for Roberto, they were much much worse for Jackie and Larry.
Bjarkman later says MLB has diminished the game's Latino heritage through its Latino Legends All-Star Team. Here, I agree, but not for the reasons stated in the article. See my post in 2005 on this topic. Bjarkman says MLB slighted "legitimate Hall of Famers" Tony Perez and Orlando Cepeda, in favor of "contemporary favorites" Vladimir Guerrero and Manny Ramirez.
First, it isn't a slam dunk that Tony Perez and Orlando Cepeda are Hall of Famers. Perez' OPS+ was 122. Hitting 22% better than the league average when you are at first base is not such a big deal. Cepeda's claim is stronger with an OPS+ of 133.
Guerrero? OPS+ of 148. Ramirez? OPS+ of 156!
Don't like OPS+? Here are their WARP numbers per 162 games from Baseball Prospectus: Perez (6.31); Orlando Cepeda (6.70); Vlad Guerrero (8.59); Manny Ramirez (9.78). Clemente, by the way, had 8.44 -- though I'm not arguing that Vlad or Manny have the same impact as Roberto.
In total WARP, the totals favor Ramirez, Perez, Guerrero and Cepeda, in that order. But remember, Ramirez and Guerrero are still playing. Vlad is only 31 years old. He's not done. Vlad and Manny are among the very best hitters of their generation, much more so than Perez and Cepeda.
I'm not sure if Clemente should have his number permanently retired a la Jackie, but I'm sure it isn't going to happen by trying to elevate him over Jackie, or by touting Perez and Cepeda as superior to Guerrero and Ramirez.
Is MLB really slighting Clemente by not putting him on the same level as Robinson? The Hall of Fame is for great players, and Clemente unquestionably belongs. Why isn't that enough?
