Baseball playoffs are back! And with them come misguided attempts to sensationalize players. This op-ed piece in today’s New York Times suggests that Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez is, to use the appropriate term, being picked on because he’s a) older than he admits and b) Latino. The rather upfront intimation here is that El Duque’s age is an issue because of a racist undertone.
But the author of the piece has it all wrong. Hernandez’s age is an issue because a) if he truly is older than he admits, b) it makes his pitching that much more impressive. Baseball fans know that a pitcher with good stuff and guile in his 40s is a marvel, and as the playoffs arrive and El Duque’s game face intensifies, speculating as to his true age becomes part of the legend.
The reason it seems tilted toward Hernandez and fellow Latin players is simple: most caucasian American baseball players don’t lie about their age. They can’t, because they’re drafted out of high school or college and their records are readily available. Arrive on a boat from Cuba, and pretend you’re 28 when you’re 32, and the subject becomes far more prominent, and interesting. The fact that El Duque has let it persist only makes it more fun.
So please, let’s drop the racial subtext and cheer on the ageless wonder as he takes the mound for the Mets tonight. He may be in the wrong uniform for me, but El Duque will have my cheers as usual. And that has nothing to do with race.
(Update, Oct. 5: El Duque is injured and not pitching in the playoffs. But I’m rooting for him all the same.)
(Update II, Oct. 17: Baseball’s collective marveling at the performance of 41-year-old Kenny Rogers this postseason reinforces the case.)