Burgos: When it comes to Latino players, baseball writers still place accent in wrong place
From SABR member Adrian Burgos Jr. at The Sporting News on June 1, 2016:
When Houston Chronicle sportswriter Brian T. Smith presented the ideas communicated by Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez in broken English, Smith continued a tradition that has not faded with the greater presence of Latinos in MLB.
In the experience of Latino ballplayers, this practice is almost as American a tradition as baseball and apple pie.
By quoting the Dominican-born Gomez in broken English, Smith joined a coterie of U.S. sportswriters who have had done similarly to the words spoken by Latino ballplayers dating back over a hundred years.
This is not at all new in major league circles. It is old-hat to make jest of how Latinos speak English. To find humor in how they spoke versus truly listening to what they were seeking to communicate. To portray them as unintelligible, or, worse yet, unintelligent.
Read the full article here: http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/news/latino-players-accents-carlos-gomez-adrian-gonzalez/byvcdmvabyq21uvadij3hc2p1
Originally published: June 1, 2016. Last Updated: June 1, 2016.