Orioles reached agreement on 1 year deal with LHP Wesley Wright

[MurphDogg]

A simple read of the discussion makes it clear it didn't need to be pointed out despite your knee-jerk need to do otherwise.

It isn't a knee-jerk need, it is a desire to raise the level of analysis. It should be pointed out so people are aware that our unconscious prejudices may be clouding the search for truth. You see this all the time in basketball as well, there is very little inter-racial comparison between players. White guys are compared to white guys, black guys are compared to black guys and European guys are compared to European guys. There is a bias, however unconscious that makes our brain want to put people into boxes next to players that play like them and physically resemble them. I don't think anybody is being racist here, but it is absolutely worth pointing out.

I'm not claiming to be immune from this either, when I look at Justin Upton my first thought is to compare him to Adam Jones because they are both speedy black outfielders who hit for power. But Upton is a more patient hitter than Jones and he plays corner-outfield, not center, so maybe he is more like Trot Nixon but with more speed. Looking up his Baseball-Reference page, the batters most similar to Justin Upton are Cory Hart and Trot Nixon. But I can guarantee you that throughout his career Upton has been compared to Jones 100 times more than he has been compared to Hart or Nixon.

With pitchers this is even more pronounced because there are so few black pitchers. I believe there are only 6 black pitchers in MLB - Wright, Chris Archer, David Price, Edwin Jackson, Jerome Williams, and LaTroy Hawkins plus the recently retired aforementioned Darren Oliver, James McDonald (who didn't pitch this season due to injury) and Dontrelle Willis. Of those pitchers only Hawkins and Oliver are relievers and only Oliver is left handed.

If you don't find it interesting that Wright was compared with the only other left-handed black reliever, I don't know what to tell you. I think it is worth mentioning so we can try to avoid this common pitfall.

[MurphDogg]

Remember when all Japanese players were durability risks and unable to perform in Baltimore, since Koji was a 5-inning starter who sweated a lot?

Yep and they all have deceptive deliveries.

[Malike]

So, you're agreeing with me but trying to make it sound like you're not agreeing with me?

I'm saying that with relievers, you don't know. The gap might not be as big as you think from year to year.

[byrdz]

This guy is so good he was released by two separate teams. He also is so good that when "MLB tonight" went through the flurry of moves made on Tuesday - and there were a lot of them - this move wasn't even mentioned. It did make the crawl transactions at the bottom of the screen though.

Good thing DD could care less what is reported in the national media.

[weams]

It isn't a knee-jerk need, it is a desire to raise the level of analysis. It should be pointed out so people are aware that our unconscious prejudices may be clouding the search for truth. You see this all the time in basketball as well, there is very little inter-racial comparison between players. White guys are compared to white guys, black guys are compared to black guys and European guys are compared to European guys. There is a bias, however unconscious that makes our brain want to put people into boxes next to players that play like them and physically resemble them. I don't think anybody is being racist here, but it is absolutely worth pointing out.

I'm not claiming to be immune from this either, when I look at Justin Upton my first thought is to compare him to Adam Jones because they are both speedy black outfielders who hit for power. But Upton is a more patient hitter than Jones and he plays corner-outfield, not center, so maybe he is more like Trot Nixon but with more speed. Looking up his Baseball-Reference page, the batters most similar to Justin Upton are Cory Hart and Trot Nixon. But I can guarantee you that throughout his career Upton has been compared to Jones 100 times more than he has been compared to Hart or Nixon.

With pitchers this is even more pronounced because there are so few black pitchers. I believe there are only 6 black pitchers in MLB - Wright, Chris Archer, David Price, Edwin Jackson, Jerome Williams, and LaTroy Hawkins plus the recently retired aforementioned Darren Oliver, James McDonald (who didn't pitch this season due to injury) and Dontrelle Willis. Of those pitchers only Hawkins and Oliver are relievers and only Oliver is left handed.

If you don't find it interesting that Wright was compared with the only other left-handed black reliever, I don't know what to tell you. I think it is worth mentioning so we can try to avoid this common pitfall.

If I were doing what you said I would have simply refered to him as an Arthur Lee Rhodes clone. And I didn't. I was sloppy in my comparison and I did apologize for that.

[MurphDogg]

Wright is comparable to Matusz.

Yup, and for about half the price. I would be pretty surprised to see Matusz on the team come Opening Day.

[mdbdotcom]

If they bring up Mike Wright to work out of the pen during the season, there could be occasions when both LHP Wright and RHP Wright are warming up at the same time. Imagining Gary Thorne...

"Well, two Wrights don't make a wrong." (or some such silliness)

[25 Nuggets]

If they bring up Mike Wright to work out of the pen during the season, there could be occasions when both LHP Wright and RHP Wright are warming up at the same time. Imagining Gary Thorne...

"Well, two Wrights don't make a wrong." (or some such silliness)

Palmer (politely laughs) "... you know, that reminds me a of a conversation I had with Pete Richert in 1967..."

[mdbdotcom]

Palmer (politely laughs) "... you know, that reminds me a of a conversation I had with Pete Richert in 1967..."

How true. Made me laugh.

[SteveA]

If they bring up Mike Wright to work out of the pen during the season, there could be occasions when both LHP Wright and RHP Wright are warming up at the same time. Imagining Gary Thorne...

"Well, two Wrights don't make a wrong." (or some such silliness)

Joe Angel will be completely on top of that situation.

[SteveA]

With pitchers this is even more pronounced because there are so few black pitchers. I believe there are only 6 black pitchers in MLB - Wright, Chris Archer, David Price, Edwin Jackson, Jerome Williams, and LaTroy Hawkins plus the recently retired aforementioned Darren Oliver, James McDonald (who didn't pitch this season due to injury) and Dontrelle Willis. Of those pitchers only Hawkins and Oliver are relievers and only Oliver is left handed.

CC Sabathia

[Frobby]

Alfredo Simon? Or are you excluding black Latino players.

[Guest]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Wesley Wright will take his physical Thursday. Deal official once passes. Wrote this morning $1.7 mil. 40-man will be full. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/orioles?src=hash">#orioles</a></p>— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) <a href="

">December 17, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hope he can still walk after today.

[Guest]

Kinda late in the night wonder how it went today.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Kinda late in the night wonder how it went today.

Complications from the colonoscopy maybe.