Friday, October 29, 2010

Joe Buck: “Edgar Renteria is a Prince of a Person”; the Former Yuma Scorpions Whom Renteria Illegally Discriminated Against Might Beg to Differ

By Nicholas Stix

Last night, following the San Francisco Giants’ 9-0 drubbing of the Texas Rangers in game two of the World Series, Fox Sports announcer Joe Buck (the son of late, legendary Cardinals’ announcer, Jack; also here), interviewed one of the game’s heroes, Colombian shortstop, Edgar Renteria. Buck mentioned that Renteria had considered retiring, rather than coming back for another season.

Fans who didn’t know Renteria’s official age would not have been surprised; he looks to be 40, or close to it. Indeed, I had assumed that he was around that age. After all, unless he was really busted up, why would a much younger, still talented player consider hanging up his cleats, when he can still make millions of dollars per season? Indeed, after the 2008 season, Renteria signed a two-year free agent contract with San Francisco for $18.5 million.

Afterwards, I checked Renteria’s stats. Though he is finishing his 15th full season as a big league shortstop, the ancient, paunchy veteran allegedly only turned 34 on August 7. Thus, when he was “considering retirement,” he was allegedly just past his 32nd birthday. Meanwhile, Renteria’s fat, old-looking, Dominican Giants teammate, Juan Uribe, is allegedly 31. And Renteria’s middle-aged looking, Dominican, former Marlins teammate, Luis Castillo, only turned “35” last month. During the 2009 season, when I asked The Boss how old Castillo looked, she said “40,” which sounded about right to me. At the time, he was allegedly 33.

And last spring, I celebrated my annual 21st birthday. I did, I tell you! On his tenth birthday, my son even bought me a “Happy 21st birthday” card. If Uribe can be 31, Renteria 34, and Castillo 35, then I can be 21, darn it!

Latin players lying about their ages, and even their identities, is an old story. But that’s not what has me questioning Renteria’s royal character, or Buck’s judgment.

Whatever Renteria’s real age may be, I know that he is not “a prince of a Person.” For as VDARE’s Joe Guzzardi reported on May 29 of last year, Renteria and his business partner and fellow Colombian (then playing for the Oakland Athletics), Orlando Cabrera, who together own the Colombian Professional Baseball League, exploited a business agreement they had with the minor league Yuma Scorpions of the Golden League, to fire every single American player on the Scorpions, and replace him with a Colombian.

Renteria and Cabrera could not possibly argue that the American players stunk, and that the Colombian players were an upgrade. As Guzzardi observed, Colombia—in contrast, say, to the Dominican Republic—has never been home to an abundance of great baseball players. And 10 of the American Scorpions whom Renteria and Cabrera had shafted, quickly managed to sign on with other teams.

Then, on opening night, the displaced American Scorpions, many now playing for the Saint George Roadrunners, hammered the Colombians 13-3. A day later the Roadrunners inflicted more of the same, beating the Scorpions 11-6. Through the season’s first week, the Colombian Scorpions occupy last place with a 1-5 record.

Making the case that the current Colombian Scorpions are better players than the past American Scorpions, as [a team official] tried to do, is hard when the South American pitchers can’t get anyone out.

In fact, far from improving the team, the Colombian Scorpions were the worst team in the entire Golden League, finishing 29-47, with a .382 winning percentage. Meanwhile, the Scorpions’ South Division rival Saint George Roadrunners, fielding several of the discriminated-against, American former Scorpions, finished 48-34, with a .585 winning percentage, to win the South Division.

That season, one of the American Scorpions whom Renteria and Cabrera had discriminated against, A.J. Valentine, was named one of the two Golden League Players of the Month for June:

GBL June Players of the Month are 1B AJ Valentine and LHP Isaac Hess
St. George 1B Leads League in HR & RBIs, Victoria Starter Posts 5-0 Record

San Ramon, CA. July 8, 2009 – The Golden Baseball League announced today that the Players of the Month for June are St. George Roadrunner 1B AJ Valentine and Victoria Seal LHP Isaac Hess. Both players have also been named GBL All-Stars and will be performing at the GBL All-Star game in St. George, Utah next Tuesday on July 14th.

Valentine, 26, 6-6, 220 went undrafted out of Cal State Stanislaus after putting up extraordinary power numbers. He has been a prolific slugger in the GBL for two years as he was signed by the Yuma Scorpions part way through the 2007 and hit 22 home runs and drove in 106 runs in 129 games in Yuma over the last two seasons. Joining St. George this year, his power numbers continue to climb and his batting average has soared as well. During the first month of this season he led the league in home runs with 8, RBIs with 46, and Slugging Average at .678. He was also second in doubles with 13 and second in runs scored with 42 as he went 45 for 121 and posted a batting average of .372. In addition, he is considered one of the top defensive first basemen in the league and was key to his Roadrunner's winning the first half South Division title….

Though the American former Scorpions enjoyed a measure of revenge, and the Colombian Scorpions’ hapless season was poetic justice, according to the U.S. Civil Rights Act, Renteria and Cabrera were guilty of a classic case of national origins discrimination.

Unfortunately, by then, the White House and Department of Justice were both under occupation by racists and traitors who were and remain determined to rob white, heterosexual Christians of all of their rights, while granting to blacks, Hispanics, foreigners, homosexuals, etc. all sorts of illegal privileges.

There are many words that I can think of to describe what kind of person Edgar Renteria is, but Peter won’t let me use them, and so, criminal and dirtbag will have to do.

America is today a place where opportunities and privileges are largely divvied up between the children of the rich, and members of unconstitutionally protected Third World/affirmative action groups. The American dream of making it on one’s own hard work and talent is on life-support.

I wonder what Jack Buck would say about that, if he were still alive.

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