katie, a douchebag wrote:Delino DeShields.

Man, I miss Delino DeShields.

Expos4EVR

Pete Incaviglia

katie, a douchebag wrote:Before his good season this year, Chone Figgins would've probably qualified.

I would tend to agree with this, although he is pretty damn fast

There is an NL West player who fits, especially if he plays a few more seasons and doesn't get any better. Other than him, I can't think anyone who isn't a star, was a star, is expected to be a star, was expected to be a star but failed, or isn't a "great athlete"

This may be a stupid question, but you are talking African-American ballplayer's from the U.S. and not Latin America, right?

Chone Figgins was a good guess. Willie Harris would fit the no talent part, but he's got speed.

Dave Roberts?

Yngwie Einstein wrote:This may be a stupid question, but you are talking African-American ballplayer's from the U.S. and not Latin America, right?

Chone Figgins was a good guess. Willie Harris would fit the no talent part, but he's got speed.

Dave Roberts?

Yes, just U.S.-born players. Um . . . Willie Harris has speed, but Dave Roberts doesn't?

I immediately thought of Harold Reynolds. alas, he was canned from ESPN, so he is no longer active.

Reggie Sanders is my vote. I think this is not a list of terrible black ball players, rather a list of guys who were pretty good for a long time, but never acheived superstar status.

Daffodil Column wrote:

Yngwie Einstein wrote:This may be a stupid question, but you are talking African-American ballplayer's from the U.S. and not Latin America, right?

Chone Figgins was a good guess. Willie Harris would fit the no talent part, but he's got speed.

Dave Roberts?

Yes, just U.S.-born players. Um . . . Willie Harris has speed, but Dave Roberts doesn't?

I'm a little confused - do you actually not know who this player is - or is this a game to see who can guess first? Because it seems like you know just about everything else about him except for his name.

its a troll, a late one on the whole "there aren't that many black US born MLB players anymore OH NOES WHAT SHALL WE DO" pseudo story that was filling the sports pages for a lil bit when the news was slow in the summer.

Black US born MLB players are on the decline... wake up the world when it starts to care.

barndog wrote:I'm a little confused - do you actually not know who this player is - or is this a game to see who can guess first? Because it seems like you know just about everything else about him except for his name.

It was more of an observation/trick question/mild protestation at first. Think about it - can you name a currently active MLB player of African-American descent who's made a career for himself despite mediocre-to-low talent and not a lot of athletic ability(relatively speaking)? The kind of player i'm thinking of would not be immediately thought of, or even considered at all, when a pinch-runner is needed in the late innings. Also, the words "great expectations" and/or "disappointment" were seldom, if ever, used to describe him

Black US born MLB players are on the decline... wake up the world when it starts to care

well, you may not care

Daffodil Column wrote:

Yngwie Einstein wrote:This may be a stupid question, but you are talking African-American ballplayer's from the U.S. and not Latin America, right?

Chone Figgins was a good guess. Willie Harris would fit the no talent part, but he's got speed.

Dave Roberts?

Yes, just U.S.-born players. Um . . . Willie Harris has speed, but Dave Roberts doesn't?

I didn't mean it like that. But Roberts strikes me as a scrapper and I don't think that is a derogatory term as some have mentioned. Harris flat out sucks (or he used to with the Sox, thus the name he was always referred to as was Willie Fucking Harris in these parts). His asset was speed and little else.

I'd have to check Roberts' stats. I mentioned him because he seems to bounce around a lot, but always seems to be a valuable asset to his team. Good speed, decent bat. Not a big name. I take it from your response that I need to keep trying.