As part of the
new MLB collective bargaining agreement, veteran players will no longer have
the power to make rookies dress as women, as in Lady Gaga; Dorothy from the
Wizard of Oz; Wonder Woman; or players from the All-American Girls Professional
Baseball League. There are pictures
floating around on social media. The new
rule also restricts the wearing of costumes that might offend by race, sexual
orientation, gender identity, etc.
The move is
worth two cheers. One gets deducted
because the commissioner’s office apparently was motivated as much by optics as
ethics. In none of the three stories I
read—including the NYT and there was no mention of the new rule on the MLB
website—did anyone say it was flat-out wrong.
And the players first wanted to make sure they weren’t ceding too much
disciplinary authority. Yes, God forbid
you lose the right to make a rookie dress as a woman.
On a related
note, at least to me, the Baseball Transactions ran nearly 3-1/2 inches in
today’s Tribune. This is the time of
year when all sorts of baseball positions get filled, e.g., quality control (?)
coach, director of international scouting, trainer for the Rome (Ga.) Braves in
the South Atlantic League. But for all
the names listed in tiny type, not one belonged to a woman, unless the likes of
“Eric,” “Derrick” or “Paul” qualify.
I also see that
Andrew Lorraine (MLB career pitching record of 6-11 with 6.53 ERA) and Gary
Varsho (84 rbi’s and .244 BA in eight big-league seasons) were named scouts by
the Pirates. Obviously, the Pirates don’t
see a relative lack of success on the major-league level as a bar to employment
for a scout. In that case, why not hire
women?
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