They're Rapists? They're Murderers? They're Baseball Players!
In the waning months of the 2024 baseball season I took two trips to Austin, Texas, to visit my youngest son and attend two major league baseball games – one in Houston, one in Arlington.? After a couple of years of watching the nearby Round Rock Express, the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, it was time for some real major league ball.
The first game was a match between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers.? It was a great game that Houston, quite unexpectedly, won.? The locals were on their feet for some of the seventh and all of the eighth and ninth innings.? The ‘stros won it on a leadoff home run from Alex Bregman in the bottom of the ninth.
The Bregman home run was a highlight, as was the Shohei Ohtani home run (his 32nd) and stolen base (26th) earlier in the game – a minor contribution to the current prospect of a first-ever 50-50 season.? As I watched the players for both teams announced with their stats and hometowns displayed on the electronic scoreboard I couldn’t help but notice how many players were from Central America or the Caribbean.
I thought maybe it was just me.? I grew up with baseball which, for me, was a curiosity for the diversity of names and faces on the playing field (in the 1960's by which time baseball was finally integrated).? As a Red Sox fan, the more unusual names that I grew up with were Conigliaro, Petrocelli, and Yazstremski – but baseball was full of odd names.? Kent Hrbek comes to mind.
The game reflected the ethnic mix of the country – as it should since it has always been referred to as the national pastime.? What I didn’t realize before attending the Astros game was that the Houston Astros started the 2024 season with the largest number of foreign-born players in the major leagues with 16.
League-wide, foreign-born players represented 25% of all MLB players in 2023.? In 2024 that list included 108 from the Dominican Republic, 58 from Venezuela, 18 from Cuba, 17 from Puerto Rico and 13 from Canada.? I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that MLB wouldn’t be the same without these players which comprise stars including Ohtani, Juan Soto, Ronald Acu?a Jr., Yordan álvarez, Ha-Seong Kim, and Seiya Suzuki.
With so much anti-immigrant sentiment spewing across the mass media lately I couldn’t help but make the connection that America’s national pastime is dependent on immigrants.? Immigrants enrich the experience of baseball for every fan in the jam-packed parks I visited.
To play in the U.S., foreign-born players need a?P-1 visa.?The P-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa for internationally recognized athletes, entertainers, and artists.?It allows players to stay in the US for up to five years, with the option to extend for another five years.?
Other types of visas that may be relevant to baseball players include:?
H-2B visa - This visa is for minor-leaguers from foreign countries who work in the US for set sport seasons.?It allows teams to send players back and forth to their home countries for training.?
O-1 visa - This visa can last up to three years, but it's limited to the length of the athlete's contract if that's shorter.?It's more demanding than the P-1A visa, and requires the athlete to meet at least three of eight requirements.?
P-1A visa - This visa is for foreign national sports teams that want to come to the US, but it's limited to one year.?
Some of those names and home towns that flashed on the scoreboard at the Houston Astros game included:
·???????? Yordan Alvarez:?From Las Tunas, Cuba?
·???????? Mauricio Dubon:?From San Pedro Sula, Honduras?
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·???????? Ben Gamel:?From Neptune Beach, Florida?
·???????? Jason Heyward:?From Ridgewood, New Jersey?
·???????? Jake Meyers:?From Omaha, Nebraska?
·???????? Kyle Tucker:?From Tampa, Florida?
·???????? José Urquidy:?From Mexico?
·???????? Bryan Abreu:?From the Dominican Republic?
·???????? Cristian Javier:?From the Dominican Republic?
·???????? Héctor Neris:?From the Dominican Republic?
·???????? Framber Valdez:?From the Dominican Republic?
·???????? Jeremy Pe?a:?From the Dominican Republic?
·???????? Yuli Gurriel:?From Cuba?
·???????? Aledmys Díaz:?From Cuba?
·???????? Colin Barber:?From Chico, California?
That's an impressive mix. I’m glad the foreign-born players were eligible for U.S. entry and contributing to an exciting slice of entertainment on the playing field – even if they have – more often than not - collectively crushed my Red Sox this season. (Boston has its own cadre of foreign-born players.)? I just thought it was worth noting and recognizing because we all know immigrants are an integral part of the U.S. economy which itself is stronger for their presence and contribution - and not just on the diamond.
Manufacturing Coach
2 个月Like anything, immigration can be good or bad. Thanks for reminding us how beautiful it can be!