Our condonlences from Latino Sports to the Steinbrenner family.
The Yankees organization mourns the passing of Principal Owner / Chairperson George M. Steinbrenner III.
Mr. Steinbrenner passed away in Tampa, Fla., this morning at age 80. He is survived by wife, Joan; sisters Susan Norpell and Judy Kamm, children, Hank, Hal, Jennifer and Jessica; and his grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements will be private. There will be an additional public service with details to be announced at a later date.
At the time of his passing, Mr. Steinbrenner was celebrating his 37th anniversary as Principal Owner of the New York Yankees in 2010. Under his leadership, the Yankees became the leading sports franchise and the most highly recognized sports brand in the world.
Big Papi holds up Home Run Derby Trophy. (Photo LSV)
Anaheim, CA: The score was 11-5 and the winner was David “Big Papi” Ortiz. It was a different game, not a box score; “Big Papi” beat Hanley Ramirez in the finals for the Home Run Derby Contest. It was a game of vindication for a man that has given a lot to the game and to also shut up some who believed that Big Papi has lost his swing. Big Papi won more that a Home Run Derby he won the hearts of his many fans who wanted him to win to prove wrong those that had given up on him early in the season. He also won for the late, José Lima who he dedicated the trophy to. The following is a transcript of the question I asked at the post Derby Press conference.
Question: David could you tell us how it felt winning this Home Run Derby when in the beginning of the season many people doubted you, they felt you had lost your swing and now you come back with winning this tournament. Your fans felt it, the people out there felt it, and how did you feel. Also you had dedicated this trophy to your friend José Lima, talk to us about that.
David Ortiz: One thing about people criticizing or talking about your game, I agree that a lot of people have an idea about what this game can be, or what this game is all about. I understand that, but there are a lot of people that they don’t know how hard we work to play this game. how many ups and downs we have. Not everything is roses and flowers. You’ve got to deal with the downs so you can get up.
David Ortiz at post HR Derby conference (Photo LSV)
You know, I’ve been a guy that I’ve been a force as long as I’ve been playing here with the Red Sox and I’ve had a lot of ups, a lot more than downs and as soon as I have a down it seems like everybody is pointing at me like a Nintendo game or something that is supposed to be easy. But to let you know, to give you the news, it ain’t that easy. We have to work hard to get prepared to play the game and we have done a lot of things to maintain ourselves, myself at that level. I’m one of the guys that some of the guys here that always walk into our clubhouse see me trying to pull myself together to try my best out there. And whatever happens, the beginning of the season is something that I guess was suppose to happen and I figured things out and I just keep on rolling, keep on doing the same thing, try to stay focused and keep on doing the same thing, try and stay focused and keep the line moving.
Who doubted this swing was way off. (Photo Mill Menzel)
And about my boy, Lima, a lot of you guys know about the relationship that was between my man and me. To see him, just watching him leave that early, I think that was something that not one of us was expecting. I have a lot of—I’ve got – I was really hurt watching him go. He was a close friend of mine and his family wasn’t ready to watch him leave.
D'Angelo Ortiz shows his excitement as his papi hits it out of the park (Photo Bill Menzel)
So when I got picked up to be in the All-Star Game, I feel like I wanted to do something to, you know, make sure he feels more than usual. So like I say, I want to dedicate this trophy and this Home Run Derby tournament to him and his family, because I know that they are going to be hurting for a long time.
Major League Baseball is preparing to host its All-Star game Tuesday, and roughly one-third of the players who will be in Anaheim are African American and Latino. Hispanic and African American players typically make up a third of all those playing major-league ball, with hundreds more in the minors. Given the diversity of today's game, it is especially frustrating that baseball Commissioner Bud Selig remains silent about the nightmare next year's All-Star game could pose for millions of Americans.
Major League Baseball is scheduled to play its 2011 All-Star Game in Phoenix, where discrimination and racial profiling will effectively be sanctioned by SB1070, Arizona's controversial new immigration law. Unless the league acts, next year our favorite all-stars could enter a hostile environment, and the families, friends and fans of a third of the players could be treated as second-class citizens because of their skin color or the way they speak.
This law isn't about solving the immigration issue; it's about scapegoating, an established practice in Arizona. For years, law enforcement agencies have criticized the Maricopa County sheriff's office for not serving felony arrest warrants in favor of conducting "saturation" sweeps in which hundreds of Latinos have been indiscriminately arrested in order to find undocumented immigrants. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has stated that "citizens are being stopped because they are brown," and in a letter to the Justice Department he asked for a federal investigation into Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio based on his "pattern and practice of conduct that includes discriminatory harassment, improper stops, searches, and arrests." And this was before SB1070 became law.
What is happening in Arizona is a regression from the freedoms we hold dear and a violation of our civil rights and fundamental values. We are not asking Selig to weigh in on immigration policy; we are asking him to take a stand against bigotry and intolerance. Despite being petitioned by numerous members of Congress and civil rights, labor and social justice groups, Selig has not adequately addressed the issue.
Thanks to the clause in the league constitution that directs the commissioner to act in the "best interests of Major League Baseball," Selig has enormous latitude in taking steps to preserve the integrity of the game. He should recall key moments from our shared history: It was in the best interests of baseball that led MLB in 1947 to defy widespread bigotry and the institutionalized racism of Jim Crow laws and sign Jackie Robinson, finally integrating the game.
Surely the "best interests of baseball" include protecting players and millions of fans of color, not allowing MLB to be perceived as condoning blatant discrimination and injustice, and taking a stand for fairness, equality and other values that Americans and baseball hold dear. Selig should stand up for these players, these fans and these values.
COME OUT TO CITI FIELD JULY 30th, 2010 6:00PM
Such a move would not be unprecedented. The NCAA does not allow post-season events, such as the Final Four, to occur in states that fly the Confederate flag. Years ago the NFL stood up to Arizona over its refusal to recognize the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday and moved the 1993 Super Bowl. Those sports institutions defended their players and fans, even though there was no direct threat to their safety. The Arizona law, however, is a direct threat, and Selig ought to take action.
If MLB wants to maintain the right to call baseball America's favorite pastime, and preserve the legacy of Jackie Robinson, the All-Star game should not go to Phoenix next year. Commissioner, for the sake of baseball players and millions of fans, move the game.
Wade Henderson is president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Janet Murguia is president and chief executive of the National Council of La Raza, the largest U.S. Latino civil rights and advocacy organization.
Mr. Cano, Robinson's dad (2nd from lft) & mom (4th from lft) are surrounded with other family members and some friends at Jet Blue Terminal about to fly to All-Star Game in Anaheim, CA (Photo LSV)
Los Angeles, CA: The All-Star game is scheduled to be here in Anaheim, California tomorrow Tuesday but the hype for this mid-summer classic was felt early yesterday morning at 5:30 AM at the Jet Blue Terminal 5 at Kennedy airport when “Team Cano was in the House.”
Approximately ten family members, friends and fans of Robinson Cano were at the terminal getting their boarding tickets and going through the long line of security procedures, a typical process for everyone flying these days, but what was not typical was that they were all wearing Yankee blue T-shirts that had “TEAM CANO” emblazoned on the front.
Usually at 5:30 AM there is not much to catch the attention of the thousands of passengers going through an airport terminal except the Starbucks, or Dunkin Donuts coffee stands, but this entourage caught many eyeballs with the impromptu uniform for one of New York’s young rising stars, Robinson Cano. Security personnel, Jet Blue employees and many passengers were very interested in the Cano Team and many were asking if they too could have a T-shirt, or buy one.
The fact that Robinson was the popular choice of the baseball fans with a total of 2,948,269 votes to win the starting position at second base for the American League team was not a coincidence. Robinson has been tearing the league with 16 homerun’s, 23 doubles, 3 triples and a .336 BA, great numbers for a great young and rising star that also has a great rapport with his fans.
Making a mark on today’s game was center fielder Angel Pagan who finished 3-for-5 with a run scored (LSV)
New York - Mets starting pitcher Johan Santa was sensational in throwing a seven inning shutout to help the New York Mets (48-40) beat the Atlanta Braves (52-36) by the score of 3-0 at Citi Field on Sunday and avoid a sweep while ending on positive note going into the All-Star break.
