Ozzie Guillen is like Manny Ramirez but with his words versus Manny's oddball antics. Ozzie's complaints might be somewhat valid about a lack of support for young, Latino players, but comparing their plight to Major League Baseball players from Asia lacks depth (what I really meant is that his comments are dumb). Just plain silly.
First, Latino players make up 27% of MLB vs. 9% Blacks vs. 2.3% Asians. Latinos already have a support structure within baseball, and even Latinos from smaller Central or South American countries have something far greater than Asian players. Players from Japan, Korea and Taiwan have nothing of the such, so I'm baffled at this obvious fact and Ozzie's complaints.
Second, the majority of Asian players are established professionals from Japan. They are coming to the MLB after a decade or so of experience in Japan's equivalent, so it's apples and guavas that are being compared between the vast majority of Asian MLBs and young, Latino MLBs. Also many of the Asian players have interpreters on their personal payrolls.
Third, the culture in Japanese or Korean professional baseball leagues provide interpreters for foreign players. So there is a culture and expectation already established from where they are coming from, but not in Major League Baseball. It's great if Ozzie can convince the MLB to pay for such a service across the league, but with 27% of the players Latino and probably growing I highly doubt it.
Guillen should learn that silence can be golden, especially when talking makes people raise a few eyebrows and scratch their heads.
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