A long sport where virtually any kind of celebrations come to rise up fastballs, baseball is adapted to “making kids play” at least more often than ever before.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. is one of the young stars in the league and is not afraid to be flashy.
The New York Yankees infielder begins a basketball-inspired Eurostep celebration when he touches the home plate with each home run.
But it didn't stop Chisholm. Chisholm has not stopped him from getting criticism, not ashamed of adding chains and uneven colors to his appearance.
And he seemed to insinuate that he felt it was due to his skin tone.
“I don't want to say this. Baseball is a white sport. I feel like white people criticize everything black men do. Black men are open. They say what's in their hearts,” he told Athletic.
“The unwritten rules for baseball are white. And I've always broken the unwritten rules for baseball.”
When Chisholm made his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins in 2020, he wasted no time showing off his talent with customized cleats. But longtime MLB veteran Miguel Rojas has ruined another pair by cutting out one pair with scissors and pouring milk.
Maybe it was Rookie Hayes, maybe Rojas had sent the message. It's probably a combination of both, but it's the secret Chisholm and Rojas don't get along well. It is also no secret that Chisholm was pleased with the Bronx trade from Miami last year.
“If I was white, no one would cut my cleats or throw away my things,” Chisholm insisted. “If this was a white boy's thing, you weren't going to cut that s, so if a white boy goes and complains, now everyone's f-I'm going and complaining. That's not that big. But if a white boy goes and complains, no, f-it.”
Only 6% of players on last year's first-day roster were black, the lowest since 1991.
The percentage of black players in the league is not in double digits since 2008, and this figure ranged from 17% to 19% from 1973 to 1988.
