Dan Duquette: Orioles Fans Hate Jose Bautista, Prefer "Working Class" Players

[Machado13]

I don't see this as a big deal. Bautista and the Jays are classless so this is fair game imo. Anyway, these organizations basically don't like each other so whatever, no remark/comment is really going to change anything.

As for work ethic, I can say that Buck and DD do prefer the grinders and dependable guys who come to work and bust their you know what. Who knows, maybe Bautista doesn't really work that hard. I don't see this as anything racial as the Orioles have a mix of guys; it's probably more a question of bautista's character which doesn't surprise me tbh.

As for his sudden ascension, I still 100% believe he took HGH.

So no thank you, I'm glad the Orioles didn't bring him in. I also think DD has hinted enough to already what's widely known around the league. 

[blid]

2 minutes ago, dan-O said:

Hard-working is a much better descriptor. But even then, I'm willing to bet Bautista works just as hard. The guy sucked in the minors for a long time and revamped himself and became extremely good. That's not just raw talent, that's hard work. 

I can't believe I'm having to defend Jose Bautista of all people. Hate that guy. 

Duquette did use hard-working as a descriptor.  As far as White Athlete Cliches go he hit:

B - Working class
I - Construction worker
N - Gritty
G - Works hard
O - Gives best effort

Probably all those words apply equally to Bautista (unless you want to say "working class" involves keeping your nose down and not being demonstrative).  People have been making jokes about these white guy stereotypes for years by now.  It's not something I think is worth blowing a gasket over, but Duquette's just an out of touch awkward dude that puts his foot in his mouth.

[OFFNY]

o

 

By the way, only one of our working-class heroes is in the lineup today for the game against the Rays.

The other is pulling double duty for the national team in the WBC Classic.

 

BALTIMORE O RIOLES

Aneury Tavarez - CF

James Jerry Hardy - SS

Chris Davis - 1B

Mark Trumbo - RF

Pedro Alvarez - DH

Chris Johnson - 3B

김현수 - LF

Caleb Joseph - C

Robert Andino - 2B

 

Christopher Ulysses Lee - LHP  (5-0, 2.98 ERA)  *

 

* [AA-Bowie]

 

http://www.baseballpress.com/lineups

 

 

[SteveA]

1 hour ago, dan-O said:

"Working class", "lunchpail guy", "gritty player" - these are all unacceptably outdated baseball terms that carry (unintended or not) racial connotations. Not that I expect Dan Duquette to really get that. But even if you throw away the racial connotations for a moment, they are also just poor descriptors of... anything at all! 

What does that even mean? A Working Class player? That he grew up poor? That he shows up to work? That he tows the company line? What, exactly? It's a meaningless term. They're baseball players. Shut up with this nonsense.

For the last 25 years under defensive coordinator Bud Foster, the Virginia Tech defense has been known as the "Lunch Pail" defense.   It is a tradition that everyone on the defense aspires too, of toughness, hard hitting, hard working in the weightroom and in practice.   There is actually a beat up old metal lunch bucket that the best defensive players get to possess after each game.   They collect scraps of turf from visiting fields where VT has won a game and put in the lunch pail.   All the players talk about it and aspire to the ideal of the LunchPail defense, and VT defense has finished in the top 10 in the nation over a dozen times since Foster became DC.

In any given year among those 25 years, I would guess that the VT defense has had between 7 and 11 African American starters and between 0 to 4 white starters.

[sportsfan8703]

6 minutes ago, blid said:

Duquette did use hard-working as a descriptor.  As far as White Athlete Cliches go he hit:

B - Working class
I - Construction worker
N - Gritty
G - Works hard
O - Gives best effort

Probably all those words apply equally to Bautista (unless you want to say "working class" involves keeping your nose down and not being demonstrative).  People have been making jokes about these white guy stereotypes for years by now.  It's not something I think is worth blowing a gasket over, but Duquette's just an out of touch awkward dude that puts his foot in his mouth.

I think you're just out of touch with construction worker demographics.  

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, dan-O said:

Adam Jones would have been a much better example of a working class player that the Orioles like. Because, you know, HE'S BEEN HERE FOR MORE THAN 1 YEAR. Duquette is real dense piece of work sometimes. His comment absolutely carries racial overtones out of context, as Deadspin was all too happy to point out today. He praised Jones in that same article, but if you're the GM and you want to point to a player that exemplifies the Orioles, it's Adam Jones. 

I assume he referenced Trumbo since he's a guy we signed this offseason instead of pursuing Bautista.    

[Can_of_corn]

I think we all just need to accept that the majority of MLB players are, in fact, nouveau riche.

[e16bball]

8 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

I think you're just out of touch with construction worker demographics.  

Seriously. 

If "construction worker" was going to be used as some sort of racial shorthand or implication, it certainly would not be used to describe the white American player in contrast to the Hispanic player. 

This is so plainly not racial that it's almost painful to debate it. It is a flat comparison of two power-hitting RF/DH players who were available free agents at the same time. The clear message is that Trumbo is a stoic, understated, no-nonsense player who goes about his business quietly, without any fanfare and not making waves. Is anyone arguing with that characterization of Trumbo? The flip side of the message is that Bautista is not those things. Does anyone disagree that Bautista does not fit that description?

You know who does fit that description, though? Frank Robinson. Brooks Robinson. Eddie Murray. Cal Ripken. Adam Jones. Buck Showalter. All among the most beloved people to ever don an Orioles uniform. Not because of their race or nationality -- because of their ability, of course, but also their attitude and approach to the game. The attitude that essentially defines the "Oriole Way." Jose Bautista is an obnoxious, confrontational, self-aggrandizing, attention-grabbing jerk. As a person. As an individual. Not as a racial symbol. Could anyone possibly suggest that he better fits the mold of the tradition the Orioles have created over decades in Baltimore? That his approach to the game more resembles the players and managers Orioles fans have most loved and rooted for than does Trumbo's?

It was a poor choice of words to say "working class," which brings more issues of social strata into the context than necessary. But the point he was making was one about two individual players with entirely different approaches to the game.

And if there's really any doubt about underlying implications about the Orioles or Duquette having a latent racial preference, just bear in mind that this very offseason, at the exact same time they were choosing Trumbo over Bautista, they let go of their smart, gritty, no-nonsense, team-first catcher. Who is white. And replaced him with a new catcher. Who isn't white -- but who does happen to be smart, gritty, no-nonsense, and team-first. So I suppose it is accurate to say that they have a preferred type of player. It just has nothing to do with race.

[Phantom]

44 minutes ago, dan-O said:

Jose has worked every bit as hard as any "working class" guy. Their on-the-field demeanor have nothing to do with that. 

Yeah but Bautista has the audacity to act like he's excited and proud of the fact that he is awesome at his job that tens of thousands of people pay money to see him do, so "diva".

[sportsfan8703]

7 minutes ago, Phantom said:

Yeah but Bautista has the audacity to act like he's excited and proud of the fact that he is awesome at his job that tens of thousands of people pay money to see him do, so "diva".

If your cause to find racism is so strong that you're sticking up for Jose Bautista, then you're in too deep.  

You know he's like the most disliked player in baseball right?

How about this statement.  Bautista sucks.  F Cito.  

[Phantom]

8 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

If your cause to find racism is so strong that you're sticking up for Jose Bautista, then you're in too deep.  

You know he's like the most disliked player in baseball right?

How about this statement.  Bautista sucks.  F Cito.  

Of course he's hated! He's always talking about his rich white collar upbringing and how lazy he is. The jerk doesn't even own a lunch pail!

[Phantom]

5 minutes ago, dan-O said:

Doesn't seem like you understand the conversation going on here. 

It's about how we all love Jose Bautista and hate Mark Trumbo, right?

[sportsfan8703]

7 minutes ago, dan-O said:

Doesn't seem like you understand the conversation going on here. 

Nope just trying to end it, well at least on my part.  Especially before I get labeled as a racist or something.  Welp love you guys.  Let's Go O's.  

Some of us have work to do.  

[Phantom]

18 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Some of us have work to do.  

At a desk or at a construction site?

[24fps]

26 minutes ago, Phantom said:

It's about how we all love Jose Bautista and hate Mark Trumbo, right?

I think its about the bizarre notion that the phrase "working class" is somehow racist shorthand.