History's Pastime (From August 2)

A meeting at the Society of American Baseball Research and $10 later, and my notes are now worth the autograph of Hank “Pistol” Mason. He pitched in both the Negro Leagues and the Majors, and is one of the coolest people I have ever been in the same room with.

It is an interesting thing to talk about the men (and woman) who played in the Negro Leagues. At the SABR conference, the panel of former League players included Mason, Pedro Sierra, Sam Allen, and Mamie “Peanut” Johnson, the only woman to have ever played professional baseball.

These former players were, and still are, one of a kind. There are not many of them left, as six of the former Leaguers passed away over the last year. They all carry a unique sense of confidence about them, a well deserved confidence that represents how they defied social formalities and played professional baseball in a time before Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King. Earlier that day, I stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and inadvertently began to think of the historical moment that happened on those very steps, and the implications that it had on those Negro Leaguers who we were going to meet just a few minutes later. The League was a result of racism and segregation in America’s Pastime, and these former players, like many other African Americans during the era, used it not as a barrier, but as an opportunity, to create something to benefit them, and not their oppressor.

I posed a question to Pedro Sierra, asking him if he ever saw an instance where a player in the Negro Leagues did not respect the game as much as they should. Earlier in the conference, Sierra noted when he coaches baseball, he tells his players that in order to play the game well, they have to learn how to respect the game first. This point was particularly referenced to some of the current MLB players that, he feels, do not respect the game as much as players in his day did. But, as we all know, there are always exceptions to the rule. I asked the question to see if these players ever witnessed an example of disrespect during their time, because I know there were some.

But, they mostly dodged the question. It was apparent that they want to talk about the good times of the Leagues, and not dwell on the downfalls when so many other things held them back. In the larger picture, it was just not that important.

What was and is important to these players is how they played the game in their league. Hank Mason stated, “We played a different brand of baseball.” It was a game of small ball; steals, bunts, hit & runs, and the like. It is well noted the differences between the Negro Leagues and the Majors, with MLB priding themselves on power numbers. It was that type of game play that allowed Jackie Robinson to break the color barrier. But Mason believed that Robinson was signed out of an economical move, not necessarily because he was the best player in the Leagues. Robinson was college educated, and fit the “profile” that the Dodgers were looking for at the time. So to think that a player like Robinson, who was the epitome of Negro League ball at the time, was not considered to be the best by his peers. The Leagues were full of talent, and many of us, especially in my generation, are just beginning to realize how important these players are to today’s game.