Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on Earth.
– Roberto Clemente
Today Roberto Clemente would have turned 82.
Tomorrow the world marks World Humanitarian Day.
Coincidence?
Clemente was a great baseball player. He was an even greater humanitarian and human being.
I wear his jersey today as a reminder of his challenge to make a difference.
Feliz cumpleaños, Roberto. Te recuerdo.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Baseball, Human Rights, Pittsburgh Pirates
The bandanna, accompanied by Elisabeth Lee, Don Jang, and John Gingrich attended its first Pirates game on August 14, 2015 at Citi Field against the New York Mets. The Pirates, no doubt inspired by the bandanna, won in extra innings as they did the next night when Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Bob Brashear joined our group.
14 August 2015
Filed under Baseball, Friends, Pittsburgh Pirates
There is no crying in baseball. Everyone who has viewed A League of Their Own knows that.
There should also be no racism in baseball. Or at least as little racism as possible. And there certainly should not be racism in teams names, mascot, and imagery.
For that reason I, who have owned a home in Cleveland Heights since 1985, believe it is time for the Cleveland baseball team to change its name and mascot.
I was delighted to see, and honored to sign, a petition to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and the Paul Nolan, the CEO of the Cleveland team.
The petition, started by Toni Buffalo, a Lakota person of faith and a member of the United Church of Christ and posted under the name of the the Justice & Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ states:
Our faith tradition teaches us that we are all created in God’s image. Holding on to racist images and inappropriate names only serves to injure our common humanity and to disfigure God’s image in all of us.
I urge you use your power to change the name of the Cleveland baseball team and to eliminate the use of its current mascot, Chief Wahoo.
Amen.
I signed. I hope you will too.
It is time for this change.
It is past time.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Antiracism, Baseball, Cleveland Heights, Current Events
My virtual 5K, sponsored by Cutch’s Crew to support Pirates Charities took place in the Louisville Waterfront Park. I ran the first kilometer and the final .75 kilometers. In between, I alternated running and walking as songs changed on the iPod. The result came out like this:
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Baseball, Exercise, Louisville, Pittsburgh Pirates
As part of my self-care regime (which is going OK, not great), I resolved to run my first 5K ever. I chose a virtual 5K, sponsored by Cutch’s Crew to support Pirates Charities.
My efforts did not move as quickly as I hoped, so I ended up walking and running on 4 April 2015 in Louisville. Here’s how things looked at the beginning:
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Baseball, Exercise, Louisville, Pittsburgh Pirates
Roberto Clemente would have been 80 yesterday.
Today is World Humanitarian Day.
It seems fitting that these two days fall so closely together.
As great a ballplayer as he was, Roberto was a greater humanitarian, a greater man.
Feliz cumpleaños, Roberto. Te recuerdo.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Baseball, Current Events
Yankees.
Mets.
Cyclones.
Yankees (Staten Island variety).
Games in Central Park.
Games in other parks.
Baseball abounds in New York.
Two major league teams means the Pittsburgh Pirate come to town. Not often, but they do come to town. For those who bleed black and gold, me for example, that’s a blessing.
The weekend of May 17 and 18, the Pirates dropped two to the Yankees.
Today a three-game series began with the Mets at CitiField.
Members of the Columbia Theological Seminary Doctor of Class went to the game with me today. My friends Don Jang and John Gingrich also attended. As did Bob Brashear, a fellow Pittsburgh guy.
We saw a great game. And the Pirates came from behind to win. A Bucco win makes this an easier post to write, but baseball with friends is always pretty good.
See you along the Trail.
It is time to change the mascots of a number of teams. Past time.
The Cleveland baseball team is one of them.
A recent story on Indian Country Today Media Network, based on a report in Deadspin, addresses this question:
A Cleveland Indians fan, painted in redface and donned in a faux Native American headdress, justified his brazen actions Friday afternoon by stating his attire was not racist – just “Cleveland Pride.”
The photo with the story says it all. Check it out.
Here are three responses to the Cleveland mascot.
From Indian Country Today Media Network:
A campaign to remove the image of Chief Wahoo, aptly titled “DeChiefing,” has gained momentum again as the 2014 season launched across the nation.
From Deadspin:
There is a lesson here, and that lesson is: For fuck’s sake, don’t do this.
From the National Congress of American Indians:
Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry has a petition campaign to address the NFL about the Washington football team. Hopefully a similar campaign will address the Cleveland team.
It is time to change. Past time.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Antiracism, Baseball, Current Events, Football
It is time to change the names and mascots of a number of teams. It is past time.
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the broad interests of tribal governments and communities, produced this video.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Antiracism, Baseball, Football
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ play on the field this year made me happy.
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ call on Spirit Day for an end to bullying against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered young people made me very happy.
On October 9, I watched in Louisville as the Pirates improbable season came to an end.
As have others who bleed black and gold, I have seen the Buccos endure a challenging stretch. After twenty years of futility that included promising beginnings and late season collapses in 2011 and 2012, I did not have high hopes for this year.
Things began well. That has happened before. On April 28, we held first place in our division.
The season continued and the Pirates played well. By mid-August, a winning season seemed likely. The day after Labor Day, the Pirates won game 81, guaranteeing the first non-losing season since 1993. And that made me happy. I dared to dream of the playoffs.
Four straight losses followed. Three of those games St. Louis won. Those losses knocked us back in the race for first-place. They did not eliminate us but it made a wild-card spot seem the most logical possibility.
Gerrit Cole, Tony Watson, and Mark Melancon combined for a four-hit shutout on September 9. Win 82. A winning season. And that made me happy.
The wins kept coming. We lost some, too. Meaningful Pittsburgh Pirates baseball in September made me happy.
September 23 brought the win that clinched a wild card spot. There would be Buctober! And that made me happy.
Five days later we beat Cincinnati to gain the home field advantage in the wild card game. And that made me happy.
My friend Bob came by with Iron City Beer and on October 1, the Pirates beat Cincinnati again to advance in the playoffs. And that made me happy.
The Pirates met St. Louis in the divisional series. We took a two game to one lead. Then St. Louis won the last two games and the series and our season ended. And that made me sad.
Taking the year as a whole, I am happy. The Pirates played exciting baseball and achieved far more than I had expected.
However, on October 17, the Pittsburgh Pirates organization did something that made me very happy. They joined Major League Baseball and other teams to offer a game-changing statement of support through social media yesterday for GLAAD’s annual Spirit Day, asking fans to take a stand on bullying against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth.
Go purple for #SpiritDay 10/17! Support LGBT youth and stand against bullying. Join us now: http://glaad.org/spiritday
They added a purple frame to their Facebook icon. I should note that the Pittsburgh Penguins also participated in Spirit Day.
As do all people and institutions from the dominant culture, the Pittsburgh Pirates struggle with issues of race and diversity. But they have done things right as well. On Sept. 1, 1971, the Pirates became the first Major League franchise to field a starting lineup of nine players who were either African-American or Hispanic/Latino.
My favorite Pirate is Roberto Clemente – an amazing player and an even greater humanitarian and human rights activist. Each year since 1973, Major League Baseball has presented the Roberto Clemente Award to the player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team. The award recognizes those individuals who truly understand the value of helping others.
The Pirates’ stand for justice and dignity made me very happy.
Then I learned that the Pirates had taken such a stand before in 2011:
And that makes me very happy too.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Baseball, Current Events, Human Rights
Pittsburgh Pirates @Pirates
Along the Graybeard Trail 