White and Scrappy
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by user DNL
"Mark Grudzielanek is the archetype of the scrappy middle infielder," per MLB.com. Some dude "spent much of 2003 and part of last year interviewing more than 300 big-leaguers, including marquee names such as Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Greg Maddux as well as scrappy blue-collar guys such as Craig Counsell, Dave Roberts and Joe McEwing," per the Los Angeles Times. To PBS, Pete Rose is a "popular and scrappy former baseball player." And to one of our own, Craig Biggio is also -- you guessed it -- "scrappy."
It's basically common knowledge that David Eckstein is scrappy.
In fact, after about 20 minutes of trying, there was only one non-white guy I could find who was called scrappy? Isaac Salazar of the Vanguard University Lions. Why did he choose VU? Because "it's close to [his] favorite beach." Wow.
And it gets worse. I propose that Lenny Dykstra is scrappy. Same with Wally Backman. No arguments. But take a similar player -- and teammate -- in Mookie Wilson?
- " After two straight second-place finishes in 1984 and 1985, the Mets were determined to win the NL East. After all, the Mets were led by two young stars, outfielder Darryl Strawberry and pitcher Dwight Gooden. Gooden won the pitchers' Triple Crown the year before. The Mets also had defensive genius Keith Hernandez, future MVP Kevin Mitchell, former MVP George Foster, and scrappy infielder Wally Backman. Their pitching staff, led by Gooden, also featured Ron Darling and Sid Fernandez. In addition, the Mets acquired Bobby Ojeda from Boston. During this stretch, everyone knew these Mets had arrogance and cockyness. The NL East race ended in April when the Mets swept St. Louis in a 4-game series."
- " There were a few sour notes during the magical Mets season. First, there was George Foster. He complained that he lost his starting job to speedster Mookie Wilson and the scrappy Len Dykstra."-- from this ugly page
Are you kidding me? Where are all the scrappy non-white folk?
