It's hot, the July sun scorching my alabaster head. I'm not sure if I can finish this column. I need your help.
I'm just trying to understand what's right, what's wrong, what's acceptable, what's not, what's inflammatory, what's cool and what we should think about Dusty Baker.
Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, an NFL commentator with a questionable portfolio, blabbed in 1988: "The black is the better athlete. Bred to be the better athlete. The slave owner would breed this big black with this big black woman so he could have a big black kid. That's where it all started."
Snyder was fired by CBS. Critics screamed "racist!" I didn't disagree, writing that The Greek was "a talentless moron." But do we treat everyone equally when comments are deemed insensitive?
Jesse Jackson referred to Jews as "hymies" and to New York as "Hymietown," but he apologized and the issue seemed expunged. Free pass for Jesse? Do you think The Greek or Al Campanis, if they'd said "I'm sorry," would have been similarly restored?
I'm just asking. Searching.
I'll get to Dusty.
Campanis was general manager of the Dodgers, but a 1987 appearance on Nightline turned Al's respected career to diamond dust.
Ted Koppel asked about a dearth of African-Americans among baseball's leadership. Campanis replied that "they may not have some of the necessities to be, say, a field manager or perhaps a GM."
Words that cost Al a high-profile job. In a flash, 50 years of healthy reputation was turned to a cinder. His history as a builder of powerhouse Dodgers teams disintegrated. Renowned broadcaster Vin Scully, voice of the Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, said that "Al didn't have a racist bone in his body."
Let's get to the reason for this article; comments by Cubs manager Baker regarding effects of hot, steamy day games on African-Americans and Latins, as compared - we must assume - to those of us with paler faces.
"We were brought over here for the heat, isn't that history?" said the 53-year-old former outfielder, choosing his own kind of reference to slavery, the great American travesty. "Your skin color is more conductive to heat than it is (with) lighter-skinned people. I don't see brothers running around burnt."
Given openings to recant, Baker has said he felt no need.
Does this mean, in a day-night doubleheader, the Cubbies might use lineups extra heavy in nonwhites for afternoons of heat, saving pale ballplayers for games after the sun goes down?
It bothers me if Baker thinks that most of us white folks melt in the daytime sizzle, being unable or unwilling to finish jobs as well as coworkers of deeper hues.
Is it my time to be offended?
I had tough, old uncles and a dedicated dad who plowed fields in 95 degrees until their skin was baked, but they kept on until dark. Playing a mere day baseball game is kid stuff.
Lewis and Clark were palefaces who achieved much, working mostly in daytime. Ditto for the Wright brothers, Henry Ford and Davy Crockett.
A lot of heroes with light complexions from a lot of wars did dirty, bloody work in smothering sunshine so there can be freedoms such as playing baseball for millions of dollars.
Is it okay for Baker to say what he said? Taking a stand that, he suggests, "Is easier for me ... easier for most Latin guys ... easier for most minority people. Most of us come from the heat." In other words, Baker thinks it's okay for him to say anything about black people, even if it tans others with less respect.
Seems to me, there were chaps named Cobb, Ruth, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Greenberg, Hornsby, Williams, Ott, Young, Johnson and Musial who played predominantly day baseball and did quite well.
Should the Chicago Tribune, owner of the Cubs, take corporate issue? Or is it okay since Baker says it's okay because he is talking about black people? Does it matter to the Chicago manager that he might be offending white people who buy 90 percent of Cubs tickets?
When does it become bad business?
When judging a controversial outburst, who keeps score? Who picks the jury? Campanis may deserve all the skewers that punctured his soul, but in a reasonable debate would it not have been germane to note that, in 1947, when the Dodgers brought Jackie Robinson to Brooklyn, it was Al, then an infielder, who offended some teammates by offering to be Jackie's roommate?
It was also Campanis who, when he and Jackie were playing in the minors, threw down his glove in anger and asked for a fight with someone who had insulted the fellow who was about to be the first black major-leaguer. Still, the Campanis epitaph blares "racist." Lasting perceptions can burn like the afternoon sun.
I'm not saying Baker should be fired. I'm not saying he should be tossed into the same inescapable trench with Campanis or The Greek. I'm just wondering what's right and fair.
Shouts for accountability never have been so high. Just ask Trent Lott, the Dixie Chicks, Andy Rooney, Bob Ryan, Ben Wright and ... well, should we add Dusty Baker's name?
