South Dakota in the house

by 149 on Apr 5, 2008 7:52 PM PDT Comment 23 comments

So I'm just checking out the A's roster trying to learn a little something about the new guys to wow my seatmates at the game.... And I notice the A's have THREE players from South Dakota: Ellis, Foulke, Duchscherer. "What are the chances of that?" I wondered. Well... turns out, if the baseball almanac website is up to date... the A's have all three active major league ballplayers from South Dakota. Three.

Which brings me to another little thing I noticed, both on the roster and at the park... I suspect the A's have the least diverse team in major league baseball. One Dominican. One African American. One Hawaiian of Japanese decent. And Chavie (from L.A) and Hernandez who is from Miami (but I didn't look up his family history). No Venezuelans (I miss Marco too). No Puerto Ricans. The A's have only eight players from the states contributing the most players to modern baseball California, Texas, and Florida -which also happen to be the most diverse states. Four Californians (L.A., Orange, and Lakewood). Two Texans. Two Floridians (Miami).

I'm not accusing anyone of anything... but I'm just saying...

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Since its becoming more and more like there are more foreign players than US players...

maybe US players are the Minority now... if you look at it in those terms ;)

by Zonis on Apr 5, 2008 8:50 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Don't worry

Very soon the team will have both a Venezuelan (Carlos Gonzalez) and a Puerto Rican (Gio Gonzalez). And for the first time in a while, a couple of the team's better homegrown prospects are foreign-born (Henry Rodriguez and Gregorio Petit).

Add in noted younger studs Fautino de los Santos and Arnold Leon, and it's likely that the 2010 A's will have a definite Latin flavor compared to more recent teams.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Apr 5, 2008 10:11 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Roster diversity...

should improve in the coming years due to financial and operational improvements in their foreign scouting and development operations. That combined with the high ceiling foreign players the A's received in the off-season trades should help too.

by Playball on Apr 6, 2008 7:21 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

And what's more, they really aren't that South Dakotan either

Foulke was born on an Air Force base in South Dakota, just because that's where his dad happened to be stationed at the time. But Foulke's "from" Texas, where IIRC his dad is a small town sheriff.

Similarly, though Duchscherer was born in SD he grew up in Texas as well.

Clearly, the A's are simply trying to be politically correct and stockpile players who fill the unofficial South Dakotan quote, but who in reality couldn't tell Bon Homme County from the city of Spink.

Foulke and Duke: not Dakotan enough.

There is an A in Whimsy.

by FreeSeatUpgrade on Apr 6, 2008 10:20 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Great - so Foulke

1. was born on a Air-Force base
2. hails from Texas
3. has a dad who is a "small town sheriff"

Hey, maybe they like gay rights more than they like guns, but I'm thinking maybe I'll avoid politics next time Keith's family comes over for dinner.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Apr 6, 2008 10:44 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

And yet in a purely via-TV-visceral-way

Keith himself has always seemed not that way at all. I could see him running a picture-framing store in Noe Valley. By contrast, I'd know Roger Clemens was the quintessential Texas dickhead even if I'd never seen him throw or heard him speak.

There is an A in Whimsy.

by FreeSeatUpgrade on Apr 6, 2008 11:23 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

From the mouths of Texans...

"Everybody kind of perceives me as being angry. It's not anger, it's motivation." ~Roger Clemens

Baseball is not necessarily an obsessive-compulsive disorder, like washing your hands 100 times a day, but it's beginning to seem that way. We're reaching the point where you can be a truly dedicated, state-of-the-art fan or you can have a life. Take your pick. ~Thomas Boswell, Washington Post, 13 April 1990

by 149 on Apr 6, 2008 8:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

some of the old time sheriffs never even wore a gun. a lotta folks find that hard to believe. jim scarborough'd never carry one; that's the younger jim.

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Apr 6, 2008 11:14 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Ed Tom Bell also features a changeup

There is an A in Whimsy.

by FreeSeatUpgrade on Apr 6, 2008 11:24 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

{Insert "Charlton Heston joke in poor taste" here}

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Apr 6, 2008 11:34 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

"Soilent Green is PEOPLE!"

by 149 on Apr 7, 2008 11:09 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You missed one

Jason Kubel

http://www.baseball-reference.com/k/kubelja01.shtml

(Formerly known as "Nebraska")

The Pastime -- A Minor Consideration -- Catfish Stew

by Ryan Armbrust on Apr 6, 2008 12:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Good Eye

Hard to spot the "SD." The question now is, how do we get Kubel so we can completely dominate the South Dakota-born supply?

by 149 on Apr 6, 2008 6:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think the more important question is,

"How do we make sure not to get Kubel?" He's like Emil Brown without the power. And we already have someone like that: Emil Brown.

Sorry, South Dakota.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Apr 6, 2008 6:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sure but...

there's the corresponding power/$ cost savings... Kubel is $1.3M/'08. Brown is $1.45M/'08

http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/

by 149 on Apr 6, 2008 7:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

We're paying Brown that much?

I just assumed it was around $12.50/hour. :-(

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Apr 6, 2008 7:17 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

How about some North Dakotans?

We need representation on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line (freezing ass cold edition).

So it goes.

by jeepers on Apr 6, 2008 9:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Do North Dakotans and South Dakotans get along?

Or is it like some "stay offa our turf!" civil war kind of thing?

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Apr 6, 2008 9:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Annual Fourth of July Event

Every fourth of July in towns that ND and SD border, each side lines up and taunts the other, then things ussually escalate when the North Dakotans throw fireworks at the South Dakotans, to which the South Dakotans light them and throw them back.

Mr. Weatherstone

by Mr. Weatherstone on Apr 7, 2008 12:34 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

One North Dakotan springs to mind...

I'd take Travis Hafner, if the Tribe doesn't want him.

Chris Coste and Darin Erstad? Eh, not so much.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/ND_born.shtml

(Formerly known as "Nebraska")

The Pastime -- A Minor Consideration -- Catfish Stew

by Ryan Armbrust on Apr 6, 2008 10:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

No Lakota Indians???

The A's don't have any full blooded Lakota Indians on their teams either- that obviously means they are a bigoted, racist team, right??? Give me a break.

The greenmachine

by greenmachine on Apr 7, 2008 5:00 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

American Indians in MLB

To my knowledge, there are only two American Indians playing Major League Baseball. Jacoby Ellsbury (Navajo) and Joba Chamberlain (Winnebago). Anyone know of any more? I'm sure the A's would LOVE to have either of those guys.

No body accused the A's of being racist or bigoted... but it's interesting how your mind "works." In fact, the original post clearly stated that was not the point. The point was merely that, given the diversity of modern baseball, the Latin influence, and the number of players from TX, CA, and FL, it's interesting to note how many on the A's roster are from fly-over states. (I'd include Texas as a fly-over state.)

by 149 on Apr 7, 2008 11:07 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs