Blacks aren’t playing baseball simply because ‘they don’t want to,’ says Gerald Early
NO BYLINEGerald Early’s “Unpopular Answer to a Popular Question.”As Major League Baseball prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary on April 15 of Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the “color barrier,” there’s been a groundswell of dire warnings about the diminishing ranks of African-Americans on big-league rosters. Some say young urban blacks are isolated from the game by racism, poverty and little access to facilities, but Gerald Early, Ph.D., a noted essayist and black culture expert at Washington University in St. Louis, has a much simpler explanation: “Black Americans don’t play baseball because they don’t want to.” More…
Blacks not playing baseball is a matter of choice, Early says
As Major League Baseball prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary on April 15 of Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the “color barrier,” Gerald L. Early, Ph.D., professor of English, of African & African American studies and of American culture studies, all in Arts & Sciences, publishes a column that argues: “Black Americans don’t play baseball because they don’t want to.”
El Hombre vs. The Babe
Albert Pujols took part in laboratory tests similar to those conducted on Ruth in 1921.
St. Louis Cardinals slugger Pujols gets Babe Ruth test at Washington University
Daniel Stier / GQ, September 2006El Hombre vs. The BabeBaseball purists, especially those of Yankee allegiance, might argue that St. Louis Cardinals homerun-hitting superstar Albert Pujols is simply not in the same league as legendary New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth. Science may never settle that argument, but researchers at Washington University in St. Louis can offer some sense of how Pujols stacks up to the Babe in terms of skills necessary to hit the long ball. Pujols visited WUSTL to take part in a series of lab tests similar to those conducted on Ruth in 1921.
Range of motion limited in professional baseball pitchers
Pitchers often lose range of motion in their pitching elbows.Now that the Chicago White Sox have swept the Houston Astros in the World Series, most baseball players are taking some time to rest. Time off is especially important for pitchers because throwing a baseball overhand is both an unnatural motion and a burden on the shoulder and elbow. Now a research team led by Washington University sports medicine specialists has found that professional pitchers have significantly decreased range of motion in their throwing elbows.
Range of motion limited in professional baseball pitchers
Pitchers often lose range of motion in their pitching elbows.Now that the Chicago White Sox have swept the Houston Astros in the World Series, most baseball players are taking some time to rest. Time off is especially important for pitchers because throwing a baseball overhand is both an unnatural motion and a burden on the shoulder and elbow. Now a research team led by Washington University sports medicine specialists has found that professional pitchers have significantly decreased range of motion in their throwing elbows. But that limited range of motion doesn’t seem to be influenced by the age of the pitcher, how many innings he has pitched or whether he has a history of injuries.
Noted essayist, baseball fan Gerald Early says St. Louis Cardinals’ striking history deserves national attention
EarlySt. Louis’ “striking history” in baseball is not getting the national attention it deserves, says Gerald L. Early, Ph.D., the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters at Washington University in St. Louis and a noted essayist and baseball fan. “Boston is the big story,” says Early, an American culture critic who served as a consultant on the Ken Burns documentary “Baseball” for the Public Broadcasting Service. “All the stuff about the Red Sox curse, how it’s been so long since they’ve had a World Series win, how they’re the sentimental favorite to win, the East Coast bias — it’s all about Boston.
Baseball in Japan and United States is topic of public forum, April 16
“Mitts Across the Pacific: Baseball in Japan and the United States” is the topic of a panel discussion with owners of the St. Louis Cardinals and the Orix Bluewaves of Japan at 2 p.m. April 16 in the Moot Courtroom, Anheuser-Busch Hall. Free and open to the public, the forum features Bluewaves owner Yoshihiko Miyauchi; Frederick O. Hanser, vice chairman of the St. Louis Cardinals; and Timothy Hanser, vice president of community outreach, Cardinals Care. They will discuss the use of performance-enhancing drugs, the internationalization of baseball, new stadiums, salary caps, parity between teams and the future of baseball in Japan and the United States.