Baseball’s Culture of Hazing and Bullying

The prevention of bullying has been a cause célèbre across the country during the past year. A number of bullying incidents caught on tape, and in some cases children committing suicide, brought a high level of attention to the subject. Like many other high profile entities, MLB became involved in the efforts to stop the bullying epidemic that has resonated so much with the public. Unfortunately these efforts right now are little more than lip service until MLB takes a stand and does something about the hazing that goes on every year with their teams.

Bullying takes many forms. It is not necessarily about violence, but often centers on exclusion or making one feel inferior or vulnerable. The hazing that occurs in MLB falls into the latter category. Towards the end of each season, a tradition has emerged that has the rookies on each team dressed in ridiculous, and often gender-mocking costumes by the veterans, who paraded them around publicly for amusement.

Many people will point to the tired cliché of this practice simply a case of “boys being boys,” but with professional players being such visible role models, lines must be drawn. What message does it send when baseball players that are looked up to by numerous children, probably many of whom experience bullying, see their heroes participate in this hazing as either the aggressor or the victim?

A popular type of costume that is forced upon the rookies is to dress them in various dresses or other feminine costumes. Just last week, Deadspin reported on San Diego Padres rookies being dressed up as Hooters’ waitresses. Although the initial reaction may be to laugh at seeing a burly athlete in such unfamiliar clothing, it also enforces the notion that to be female or be feminine is to be weak or something to be made fun of. It is a representation of bringing the rookie’s sexuality or gender into question, and making that something to be laughed at. With MLB’s healthy female and gay fan bases, why would they want to persist with such stereotypes?

This past year at least 9 MLB teams became involved with the “It Gets Better” campaign, an effort to end anti-gay bullying and homophobia. Teams also became involved in other anti-bullying projects, including the Boston Red Sox, who were convinced by 12 year old Sam Maden to help him make an anti-bullying video. Gordon Edes wrote an excellent article earlier this year on that project. Despite this good work, the Red Sox persisted in continuing to haze their rookies this season.

The hazing occurring in MLB is not just something that occurs over one day and then is forgotten. With the explosion of social media, pictures of hazing appear regularly on sites like Facebook and Twitter, posted not only by the players, but also by media. The message that this sends to the millions of followers and friends on these sites is that it is okay to demean others if you are in a position of dominance, and that baseball doesn’t truly care about the effects of bullying.

The general ideas behind the hazing rituals is that the rookies have not yet earned their dues, and that the hazing helps build team unity. Excuse me, but if 12 hour bus rides and eating at Subway 15 times a week are not paying dues, then I don’t know what is. Also, nothing builds a team like winning or doing group activities together like volunteering with a charity that specializes in bullying prevention.
With the average salary in MLB being over three million dollars, one would think that hazing would be a little beyond the players. To my knowledge you don’t see doctors or Wall Street bankers being paraded around wearing outlandish or demeaning costumes. What this is really about is that the veterans had it happen to them, and they are going to make sure they get to play the dominant role.

The rookies talk about participating in the hazing because they know it is expected of them and they want to be accepted. Nobody questions what would happen if they refused. In all likelihood, refusal to participate would not go well. Just look what happened to Dez Bryant, who declined to carry his teammate’s equipment off the field. In additional to likely verbal harassment, he was stuck paying a dinner bill in excess of $54,000.

If MLB is serious about being a voice in the efforts to prevent bullying, they need to take a long, hard look at what is currently going on within their organizations. Baseball players may not want to be role models, but the simple fact is that they are. It is one of the sacrifices they make for playing professional sports and having all of the opportunities that they earned from years of working hard to perfect their skills. If MLB wanted to really help end bullying, the best thing they could do is by ending their current hypocrisy.

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Andrew Martin appreciates and writes about all aspects of baseball and its history at his blog, The Baseball Historian. You can also follow him on Twitter at @RedSoxFanNum1.

The Worst Baseball Mascots Ever

Not every baseball mascot is created equal. Some are creepy, odd or some derivation that just doesn’t catch on with the fans. Here are the worst of the worst baseball mascots.

Dandy (New York Yankees)

Dandy is the short-lived mascot the Yankees would prefer you forget. He was introduced in 1979 to compete with the newly popular Philly Phanatic and his mustache was designed to invoke the image of Thurman Munson. But just a few weeks before Dandy was to debut, Yankees outfielder Lou Piniella got in a fight with the San Diego Chicken. And just a few days after Dandy’s first appearance, Munson died tragically and suddenly in a plane crash. Not wanting this mascot to remind fans of their fallen captain, Dandy was confined to the upper deck of Yankee Stadium until his retirement in 1981.

The Gold Sox Sock (Amarillo Gold Sox)

The Gold Sox Sock made its debut this past summer. He was temporarily retired after just one game so his costume could be redesigned. I’m guessing this one looked better on paper.

The Baseball Bug (Cleveland Indians)

The Baseball Bug roamed Municipal Stadium from 1980 to 1981, when he was retired for no real reason beyond being a pretty horrible mascot. Luckily for the Indians, they now have a much better mascot named Slider. Yeah… Slider is better.

The Crazy Crab (San Francisco Giants)

The Crazy Crab was introduced in 1984 and retired at the end of that same season. He was seemingly doomed from the start when Giants’ executives encouraged the fans to abuse the Crab. The fans took this encouragement to heart and pelted him with refuse to the point that the costume had to be reinforced with fiberglass to protect the performer inside.

Henry the Puffy Taco (San Antonio Missions)

Henry is actually not a failed mascot, but he probably should be. Sure, everyone loves tacos, but a taco and its ingredients should never be described as “puffy.”

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Robbie is the author of The Baseblawg and you can follow her on Twitter @clarkbar213.

Terry Francona Leaving the Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox just announced that they mutually agreed with Terry Francona that he will not return as the team’s manager in 2012. This news is something I am having a difficult time trying to wrap my mind around, but I do believe that the team will come to regret this decision.

Like most Boston fans, I was angry with the team following the culmination of their historic collapse in the last game of the season. Over the past few days I racked my brain for someone I could attribute the lion’s share of the blame. I ultimately came to believe that the fault lies primarily with the players, but the fiscal reality of baseball today makes it increasingly difficult to hold players accountable for poor play. That left me thinking that maybe the team could benefit from changing managers and having a new perspective from the field boss position.

Now that the break-up between the Red Sox and Francona has been confirmed, I find myself regretting my initial stance that thought this would be a good idea. After eight years with the team, Francona is clearly the best manager in the history of the team. Not only did he lead two championship teams, including one that broke the infamous 86 year drought, but his reputation as a player’s manager allowed the team to flourish with big names and bigger egos. It is thus with bitter irony that his undoing is apparently due to a clique of unidentified players who created division within the team and were unable to be controlled by his usual steady hand.

I don’t know for sure who the disruptive players are, but I can make a reasonably educated guess that they included the likes of John Lackey, whose negativity was a focal point of this past season. He not only chastised his teammates on the field for perceived poor play, but was also openly disrespectful to Francona on a number of occasions, when he did not want to be taken out of a game. His behavior was magnified by his hideous performance on the mound that led to a 6.41 ERA by the end of the year.

It is a sad reality in baseball that a team can more easily placate an angry fan base by changing managers than by unloading players who have a negative impact on their team. It all comes down to dollars and cents, which is not what true baseball is supposed to be, but is what drives the sport. Canning a manager like Francona, who makes about four million dollars a season, and was up for an option renewal, is a lot easier than trying to unload a player with over 60 million dollars in guaranteed money left on their contract.

With rare exception teams must spend on players in order to contend from year to year. Although splashing out the cash may bring in higher caliber players, it also creates potentially unsolvable problems. Big contract guys are going to get paid what is owed them whether or not they put up great numbers, stink up the joint, or ruin team chemistry. Team’s won’t release them, they can’t be benched, and unless another team has their own dud with a similar salary; they can’t be traded. This effective tying of hands for the front office means that the manager is the easiest person to be made a public scapegoat. Regardless of how Francona’s departure is being spun in the media, he has been made the scapegoat for the 2011 team.

If you’re not yet with me in agreeing that allowing Francona to leave is a serious mistake, then consider this. The names of possible replacements being floated around include the likes of Bobby Valentine and Eric Wedge. Do you really think that they or anyone else whose name may pop up can do a better job of leading the Red Sox than Francona? I thought not. He has been there and done that with Boston, which can be a difficult city to play in, and has a demanding group of fans. It will take a truly inspired hire to deodorize the stink surrounding Francona’s departure, and unfortunately it is not something I am expecting.

Terry Francona may not be the best manager in baseball, but he is the best person to manage the Red Sox. Letting him go will not address the clubhouse problems or make players change their behavior. Now that the team finally got past the “Curse of the Bambino,” here’s hoping that we have not just entered the “Curse of Tito.”

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Andrew Martin appreciates and writes about all aspects of baseball and its history at his blog, The Baseball Historian. You can also follow him on Twitter at @RedSoxFanNum1.

Kelly Shoppach and Matt Moore Lead Rays to Victory

The Tampa Bay Rays were just supposed to be happy to be there after climbing their way into the playoffs. After all, at least statistically speaking, it was a fluke. Their ascension had never been seen before, right? Well, excluding the St. Louis Cardinals overtaking the Atlanta Braves earlier in that day.

The Rays didn’t get that memo as they blanked the Texas Rangers, 9-0.

Tampa starting pitcher Matt Moore was making only his career start in the Major Leagues and he did not disappoint, throwing a gem. Seven innings, two hits, two walks and six strikeouts propelled the Rays to take the early series lead.

Johnny Damon got things started by hitting a two-run bomb early in Game 1 of this best-of-five series.

The Rangers couldn’t seem to string anything together. They only got a runner to second base twice all game. It was just one of those days.

Kelly Shoppach went 3-for-5, two of which went yard and he drove in five runs but ultimately, the Rays would only need one run to win this game.

“It is a good way to get your foot in the door,” said Shoppach, who recalled that he didn’t even know Moore’s first name when the rookie was promoted. “This is a huge stage. Very impressed by the way he handled himself.”

Josh Hamilton was the only Texas player to record a hit and in fact, he had two. Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus both walked. The Rangers No. 4 thru 9 hitters went a combined 0-for-19 with six strikeouts.

C.J. Wilson got the start for the Rangers and couldn’t get anything going. He pitched five bruised innings, allowing seven hits, eight runs (six earned), a walk and three home runs. He threw 103 pitches in those five innings of work.

Texas will look to even the series on Saturday, October 1. The game begins at 7:07 ET and the telecast is on TNT. The probable pitchers are Tampa’s James Shields against Texas’ Derek Holland.

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Matt is a recognized sports writer who covers everything from baseball, football and fantasy sports. If you ever need fantasy sports advice, he’s the man to follow on Twitter and Facebook. For every update here at The Dugout Doctors, follow our official Twitter account @DugoutDoctors.

Fantasy Baseball: Lessons Learned From 2011 Season

As the 2011 major league baseball regular season comes to a close, we are left to look back at the fantasy baseball season which just ended. However, it is also never too early to look ahead at the coming fantasy baseball 2012 season either. There are several lessons to be taken from this season and several which we can apply to coming years as well. I was lucky enough to have won my fantasy baseball league title in the final game on the final day of the 2011 season on a Jemile Weeks single. This proves one thing for sure: in fantasy baseball, you are never out of it.

Keeping in mind that you are always in the hunt for your league championship, it is never too early to look back on ‘the season that was’ in order to learn some lessons for next year. Here are some lessons we learned from 2011:

Never Give Up
The major league wild card race in both leagues took until the final day of the season to decide. In fact, it could be argued that the final day of the 2011 season was the most exciting night of baseball in decades. In regard to the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, their fate came down to the final at bat of the 9th inning. The lesson to be learned? It is never too late to be out of the championship, so keep battling right until your final at bat. In daily leagues, keep making changes all the way until the last day and never give up.

Shoulder a Grudge
When it comes to choosing pitchers for your fantasy baseball roster, do not shy away from pitchers coming off of recent Tommy John elbow surgery. Stephen Strasburg proved that a full recovery from the procedure is possible. However, when it comes to shoulder issues, you should not be so optimistic. The Texas Rangers signed Brandon Webb to help shore up their perennial pitching woes. Coming off a shoulder injury, Webb did not throw a big league pitch in 2011 (and hasn’t thrown one since April 2009). Josh Johnson came into 2011 having missed the latter part of the previous season with shoulder issues. After starting 2011 strongly, Johnson did not throw a pitch after May 16th. The lesson to be learned? Be very wary of pitchers with shoulder problems.

Young Guns
When it comes to dynamic pitching performances, young arms led the charge in 2011. Time after time this season, we saw rookies coming up big and making fantasy owners jump for joy. Craig Kimbrel, Cory Luebke, Jeremy Hellickson, Michael Pineda, Josh Collmenter and Brandon Beachy all seemed to come out of nowhere in 2011 and surprise with outstanding statistics. The lesson to be learned? Keep an eye out for good young talent in 2012, as a pitcher like Matt Moore may have more value than bigger name veterans.

There’s No Such Thing as a Sure Thing
Coming into the 2011 season, there were 3 sure things: death, taxes and Adam Dunn’s offensive statistics. Dunn was the epitome of a ‘sure thing’. His home run totals from 2005-2010 read like clockwork: 40, 40, 40, 38, 38. Likewise, his RBI totals were also machinelike in their regularity and predictability: 102, 101, 106, 100, 105, 103. Then, came the summer of 2011. Dunn finished with 11 HR and 42 RBI and set a major league record with a .159 BA. He also ended up with 18 more strikeouts than points on his batting average, beating Mark Reynolds mark of 13 more Ks than BA points. Somewhere, Rob Deer is smiling. The lesson to be learned? Never draft a player and consider it money in the bank.

The 2011 season was one for the ages, to be sure. The lesson to be learned? Baseball is truly magical.

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Chris McBrien is a baseball writer for numerous websites and may be found at Dear Mr. Fantasy. He may also be followed on Twitter @cmcbrien.