Indeed. "To me, it's a matter of finding qualified people in diverse backgrounds, Purpura said. "It helps us to attract players, develop players. We have a diverse workforce. We ought to have a diverse staff." The bottom line? The Astros made minority candidates 11 of their last 17 hires. Recent minority hires by the Astros: Cecil Cooper: Major League bench coach Ricky Bennett: Assistant general manager J.D. Elliby: Pro scouting coordinator Jonathan Story: Regional pro scout Glen Barker: Regional pro scout Enos Cabell: Special assistant to the general manager Al Pedrique: Special assistant to the general manager Dave Clark: Manager at AA affiliate Corpus Christi (Texas) Chuck Carr: Coach in Class A Salem (Va.) Rodney Linares: Coach in Class A Lexington (Ky.) Larry Stokes: Director of human resources http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/columnist/beaton/2005-03-03-beaton-astros_x.htm?csp=34
Other than getting an education and a better social life, there is nothing Koby can't do in the minors that he could do at UT. Koby won't be forgotten in podunk Greeneville...they're called MLB scouts. The elite college teams are high A...I can't say AA cause everyone at AA has a legitimate chance of playing in the majors...if Koby is good he could be at high A as early as late next year. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be drafted by the hometown team and to play in the same organization as his dad. There would no guarantees had he gone to UT.
I'm just blown away that any sports fan these days would openly demand that players of his/her race be represented fairly on their team. If that were the case across the board, 80% of this country wouldn't even bother tuning in for NBA games. Should I be pissed that the Rockets don't have enough Latino players? What a joke. Sports is an arena where the results are so easily seen and measured that racial quotas just won't work. This isn't a college class with subjective grading. Thanks Buck, for setting the record straight with facts.
Did I miss an inside joke? If not, why are you rolling your eyes? The whole "the Astros organization" is racist thing is preposterous and ridiculous. Some of America's great ethnic groups are losing interest in baseball (hence the formation of groups like the RBI Foundation). Of course that hurts diversity.
Agreed with TJ here. Race has nothing to do when selecting or drafting players. Drayton is smart enough of a business man to know what to do. After all the Astros put a quality team year in, year out without much of a black presence.
AB, Please, give it a rest. No one complains that the Rockets don't have enough white or Latino players, or that China only has ONE NBA player. Please give it a rest. DD
Well I sure don't go to Rockets games to see Ryan Bowen. I go to see my team. For once I completely agree with T_J.
I think it's easy for a lot of people who've never experienced racism and discrimination to laugh off issues like this one. While I'm not sure I agree with AB regarding his stance on this issue, I'm also willing to listen to his and other's concerns to understand where they are coming from. If we could all do the same, common courtesy and respect might return to this country.
With respect to the board DaD I will, my apologies for not being sensitive to all the white and latino players that had their life threatened upon their entry into the NBA. Back to the thread... cop2comic@aol.com
Since we are complaining about things that are 40 years old, I'll go ahead and complain about the Dow Jones closing at 900 on Jan 28, 1965.
I'm sure your parents complain about what happened 9 months before you were born, but some mistakes linger forever.
