I hope our next baseball coach will at least RECRUIT

[Indndawg]

black players. I'm nobody's lib, I just want a better shot at winning that players we're not recruiting could bring to the table.

 

[AdamDawgDude]

I don't know....not sure that the black athlete will really ever make an impact in sports.

I do remember two black players; Enrico Jones and....wait for it.....Michael Brown!

Michael Scott: I'm not falling for that one.

 

[Porkchop.sixpack]

proclivities are well known. But, I don't see how the racial makeup of our team historically can be anything less than blatant discrimination. And I don't know how he has gotten away with it so long. It really is horrible.

 

[Indndawg]

Most SEC teams have 1-2 starting blacks and I can't blv that these guys wouldn't at least sniff MSU. I realize many go pro, but there are enough really good players in the south to go after.

 

[Porkchop.sixpack]

user name to boot. And I still feel that way.

Former portly one?

 

[DerHntr]

don't forget the hispanic players too. you can't look at very many major league teams and not see at least one starter with a hispanic last name. for a perfect example: Julio Borbon. he was born in starkville but ended up at University of TN and is now in the minor leagues. i don't think he lived in starkville growing up. i think it was somewhere south of the border but know he did come in for summer camps (i could be remembering incorrectly though). my understanding is Polk didn't give him a look at all. this is what he did last week in the minors:
Julio Borbon (2005-07 UT) put on an offensive show this week to raise his average from .295 to .320. Borbon went 11-for-27 (.407) this week with six doubles, five RBIs and four runs scored. On Wednesday, Borbon went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs scored and four RBI in a 10-6 win over the Modesto Nuts. He followed that up with a 3-for-4 performance on Thursday with a double and one RBI in a 7-3 win over Modesto. His .320 average is now leading the Bakersfield Blaze and he ranks in the top-10 in batting average in the California League.

 

[8dog]

"Most SEC teams have 1-2 starting blacks"

I would bet that's not true.

I don't think there has been a Mississippian in the last 10 years that has been a major contributor to a legitimate college baseball program.

I don't know anything about Ron Polk's beliefs, I just know that the racial makeup of his teams are very much like that of many teams. African Americans come from low income areas. So even if they can afford to play growing up, if they get drafted, they leave. If they don't they can't afford to come to school b/c baseball scholarships aren't full rides.

 

[Todd4State]

To play devil's advocate, AA players are down in baseball in general, and a lot of the better AA baseball players that are drafted go straight out of HS to the pros (Minor Leagues in this case). Plus, Ole Miss doesn't have very many if any AA players, so were not the only school that's not using AA players a whole lot. Just an example.

That said, I think we should recruit the best players regardless of race.

Part of the problem with Polk is his refusal to use football players on the diamond to.

 

[DerHntr]

there is no doubt the system isn't in the favor of low income players. you are definitely right there but i guess i have been believing for way to long that Polk won't play a black guy to have my mind changed very easily. will agree to disagree.

 

[statefanjosh]

It's not like they are going else where. Ole Miss doesn't have any I can remember and Southern only has one and he wasn't highly recruited (signed out of juco I believe).

It isn't like we are getting beat by teams that are starting four or five black guys.

 

[8dog]

Meet your Auburn Tigers:

http://auburntigers.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/aub-m-basebl-photos.html

 

[Porkchop.sixpack]

college baseball and the scholarship problems. But, there is no way it is that bad for that long without some bias from the head coach. No way.

 

[guyfromallamericanburger]

I don't see a black player starting for Ole Miss or Kentucky right now on TV. I haven't scanned the dugout but couple that with our squad and that Auburn team photo...there's 4 of 12 SEC teams right there that don't field a black player. I have no clue about the other 8.

 

[Todd4State]

I don't see a black player starting for Ole Miss or Kentucky right now on TV. I haven't scanned the dugout but couple that with our squad and that Auburn team photo...there's 4 of 12 SEC teams right there that don't field a black player. I have no clue about the other 8.

</p>LSU and UT have a couple of AA players. Not sure about UGA and Vandy. Vandy has a couple of latino players. I'm thinking that Bama doesn't have any either.

 

[Coach34]

one of LSU's players on the baseball team is there because of his full ride he receives from football.

There arent more blacks in baseball due to the scholarship limitations- plain and simple. How many black major college signees can you remember from Mississippi in the last 10 years? To go pro, all they have to do is offer them 100 dollars, a bus ticket, and a twix bar. These kids would rather have a shot of making the pros than having to pay student loans

 

[BuyGuyatooth]

a form of racism, but rather money. When Mississippi (and southeastern) African Americans make plenty of money, they'll play college baseball.

Football and Basketball offer full scholarships and a player must play at the college level to make it to the pros. There is very little or no cost to the parents for the child to attend college. Baseball is a much different sport, as we all know. Some players may be lucky to have their books paid for each semester. Now consider the others costs of attending college versus being drafted out of high school by the major leagues where you may be able to get 50k-100k signing bonus and $800 month to play. What if you received only $10k? I'm betting even that amount is very tempting to a family that would otherwise have to get a loan, especially when they're probably honestly figuring on the child eventually going to the minor leagues anyway.

 

[Ole Miss Grad]

We do have a black coach. He's also a former (recent) player.

 

[AdamDawgDude]

I don't see a black player starting for Ole Miss or Kentucky right now on TV. I haven't scanned the dugout but couple that with our squad and that Auburn team photo...there's 4 of 12 SEC teams right there that don't field a black player. I have no clue about the other 8.

LSU and UT have a couple of AA players. Not sure about UGA and Vandy. Vandy has a couple of latino players. I'm thinking that Bama doesn't have any either.

</p>Vandy has a bunch of latino players and they are all very good.