Fantasy baseball must join the call for diversity
Protests. Conflict. Injustice. Racism.
We’ve heard those words a great deal lately. And I must admit they’ve made me uncomfortable.
It’s hard to think about baseball – fantasy baseball in particular – with the events of the past few weeks as a backdrop. But being uncomfortable is the point because the nation has been forced to address things many citizens would rather not.
The antidote to being uncomfortable is being understanding. However, it’s hard to understand things we haven’t experienced personally.
For example, athletes have been criticized for missing games for migraine headaches. I had no idea how horribly debilitating the pain was until I saw my wife suffer with them.
Athletes have been criticized for taking paternity leave during the season. I had no idea how important that is until I experienced the birth of my own child.
But one doesn’t have to experience why George Brett missed part of the 1980 World Series or why Mitch Haniger missed the final four months of last season to understand their pain.
Is it any different when Black people in this country have told us about the pain of racial injustice for 400 years? It’s time we really listen to what these protests are about.
Is baseball part of the problem or the solution? Every year, MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in 1947, but does it also recognize the racism Black players from Robinson and Larry Doby to Hank Aaron to Adam Jones have faced? We can all do a better job of understanding.
Need for diversity
By now you’re probably wondering … what role does fantasy baseball play in all of this?
The uncomfortable truth is that fantasy baseball exists in a bubble that’s not very inclusive. As Blair Williams points out in an informative blog post, a 2019 study by the Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association found 81% of fantasy sports players in the U.S. and Canada are male. Previous studies indicate an even greater percentage identify as Caucasian.
There’s no reason the enjoyment of fantasy baseball – or any fantasy sport for that matter – should be limited to one particular group. If the industry wants to grow, it needs to be more inclusive. People privileged enough to be on the inside should welcome those on the outside.
We need more African American voices. Hispanic voices. Female voices. LGBTQ voices.
Among baseball writers, diversity exists – if you know where to look.
Read LaVelle Neal if you want to know more about the Twins.
Read Marly Rivera if you want to know how Latino players express themselves in their own language.
Read Emily Waldon if you want to know more about the minor leagues.
Read Christina Kahrl if you want to know more about analytics.
Fantasy baseball needs the participation of these constituencies as well. It doesn’t necessarily mean every fantasy league needs to find someone of a different ethnicity to join them. Although trying to be inclusive is great, not being exclusive is even more important.
Taking small steps
The words we use are critical. They are even more critical for a white male who writes about fantasy baseball.
I’m going to work on recognizing cultures that are different from mine. For example, Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. – a native of Venezuela – spells his last name with a tilde over the letter N. Since there’s no equivalent in the English alphabet, the easy thing is to use an N instead. But those are different letters in Spanish and are pronounced differently.
Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez has been in the majors since 2011. Ask him how he pronounces his last name and he’ll tell you “PEHR-ez.” But most English-speaking writers and broadcasters say “Purr-EZZ.”
It may be different from what we’ve known previously. But spelling players’ names correctly and pronouncing them properly are small steps toward understanding them better. It’s really not that difficult.
Along those same lines, I know I don’t mean to sound racist when I talk about “fantasy owners” and how many “shares” I have of a particular player. Throughout my adult life, I’ve felt like having baseball players on my fantasy team was just like collecting their baseball cards.
“I’ll trade you a 1997 Larry Walker for a 2004 Johan Santana.”
But the concept of someone “owning” a baseball player – particularly a player of color – can be a sensitive issue for someone who has experienced racial discrimination or oppression.
It’s not that hard to instead refer to fantasy “general managers” who “roster” players. Instead of “buying” them in our fantasy baseball auctions, we can sign them to contracts.
In the end, it isn’t a really big deal; it’s merely a break in tradition. All too often, tradition can be the biggest barrier to progress.
We can still do the same analysis we’ve always done. But when we use words that automatically turn people off, that’s where the message ends for them. We want to have a discussion we can all participate in.
Before I started writing this column, I reached out to a friend of mine in the fantasy sports industry for some insight into his experiences as an African American. He told me about people who’ve helped him … and people who’ve tried to hold him back.
It’s up to all of us to choose which group we’re in.
“To me the story is the conversation that we’re having now,” he told me, “because now you’re taking your platform and you’re giving it to my story.”
It’s all part of the process of understanding.
For the most part, the fantasy community has been extremely welcoming to newcomers. We love to compete against each other, but we also like to see everyone succeed. Perhaps that’s because we’re a lot like each other. It can still be that way in the future, even as we strive to be more diverse.
Listen. Learn. Understand.
It’s a formula for success in many other areas besides fantasy baseball.
Follow Gardner on Twitter @SteveAGardner