Guayama, PR: I arrived in Puerto Rico on Wednesday January 6, Three Kings Day. I came here to finalize construction plans and continue my research on a project that will be announced in the near future. My usual trips to Puerto Rico always involve some participation in a sporting event, program, or interview. As President and Chairman of Latino Sports and National Coordinator of the Retire 21 Campaign I am frequently asked to participate, or comment on some issue.

I thought that this trip would be different. I thought that I would be able to just deal with my other non-sports issues and concentrate on research. Just as I was enjoying Puerto Rico and all of its cultural and historical beauty on one of its most popular holidays, 3 Kings Day I was jolted when I received a text message from Danny Torres, a Latinosports.com contributor which read: “No Alomar.” Danny was referring to Roberto Alomar not being inducted into the 2010 class of inductee’s to the prestigious Baseball Hall of Fame. Edgar Martinez was another Puerto Rican candidate, but many knew that Martinez would be a long shot because his primary contributions were as a Designated Hitter (DH), something new and different from the standard.

I read the text message to my Puerto Rico radio sports host, José "Bebo" Avellanet who was with me at the time. He did not believe it. I answered Danny with my text, “No Way?” Danny confirmed with his last txt to me: “Yes Way.” Avellanet still refused to believe me so he placed a call to the radio station. I saw the look on his face when it was confirmed, he looked disappointed and surprised.  I heard him say, “that is discrimination against Boricuas.”

Avellanet was the first of a growing wave of protest comments that I heard everywhere. Driving by the coast, listening to the radio and looking out into the Caribbean Sea I kept hearing a variety of comments from different commentators all surprised and angry at the results with Alomar being inducted to the HOF. I was beginning to see a Tsunami coming from the tranquil sea, a people’s Tsunami.

I confirmed the Tsunami when I reached my final destination, Guayama having stopped off in four different establishments on the way in: Mayagüez Cabo Rojo, Coamo and finally Guayama.

The word disgust would be mild to the reaction I was getting from everyone that I asked for an opinion, or from those I overheard in the conversations already in progress. I received a call from my good friend and activist, Lucky Rivera, President of Positive Work Force, a construction training and placement organizations that probably understands the Alomar vote better than most because he has had to fight to gain respect in his industry. “This is Bull Shit!” That was all Lucky had to say. Lucky is a Dean in fighting to get justice for Puerto Ricans,  Latinos and people of color in the streets of New York, especially in an area that really counts, Jobs. “Count on Positive Work Force for any action that you hear about,” was his last comment to me. I also received calls from my son in New York and several other friends all expressing thier surprise, disgust and anger.

Back in Puerto Rico the wave continued to grow as next day, January 7th, 2010 all the Puerto Rican newspapers had titles like La Primera Hora’s: ¡INSOLITO!- They Don’t Elect Alomar to the Hall Of Fame, to El Vocero’s: “LOW BLOW – BWAA Closes Door on Alomar”. The radio programs of all genres were commenting, or mentioning their strong opposition to the BWAA voting results. The fact that he did not get in by eight votes was more insulting because it demonstrated that it was not Alomar’s credentials as a baseball player that were in question, but his spitting incident with umpire John Hirschbeck back in 1996 that still had some of the writers living in the distant past of a non-baseball action. In fact I dare say that perhaps very few of those writers ever interviewed Alomar after the incident, since all that was reported was what was seen on national TV, a restrained Alomar spitting at Hirscbeck.

Robbie doing one of his defensive plays which earned him the title of "the best defensive second baseman in the game." (Photo Google Images)

We in Latino Sports went out of our way in 1996. We dodged through all of the sports headlines of Alomar spitting and went straight to the source. Though Alomar was not talking too much to the press (his non-accessibility to the press did not help), he knew Latino Sports and granted us an exclusive interview. We published our interview then and stated that we understood why Alomar did it. I don’t want to stir negativity from the past, but let me say that Hirschbeck “went there” with Alomar, he mentioned his mother (something many Latinos wil not tolerate) and he questioned his manhood, Ooops, another no-no for a Latino.  I mention this only because if you want to be fair and punish Alomar for something, then at least have both sides of the story straight. Alomar should have been given praise for restraining himself and just spitting. 

There is no argument that Alomar should be in the Hall Of Fame, his numbers speak for themselves. The argument should be, who votes and what are the criteria for voting? Should personal, non-baseball issues be measured? We all know that the Hall of Fame is not a sanctuary for saints, since there are a few in there that had committed much worst crimes to themselves, their families and society that Alomar’s spitting incident. Ken Rosenthal, a tenured sports field reporter with Major League Baseball on Fox and a voting member of the BWAA expressed it accurately, “Our membership is too bloated too riddled with voters who do not take the process seriously enough to EDUCATE themselves properly.”

I will join Lucky Rivera and many other Boricuas, Latino, and non-Latino’s in the demonstration that I am sure will take place sometime soon in a BWAA chapter near you.

In addition, I will present a motion at the next meeting of the Latino Sports Writers & Broadcasters Association (LSWBA). The motion will ask the organization to dedicate all of the 2009 LatinoMVP awards (to be given in 2010) to Roberto Alomar, because in our world, Roberto Alomar is already a member of the Latino Hall of Fame and he was a LatinMVP.

Finally, I urge all our readers to remember that in 1999/2000 we were insulted when not one Latino appeared in the MLB selection of the best 100 players in the first 100 years of baseball. In addition, there is a growing campaign to retire Roberto Clemente’s #21, a number that needs to be retired from all of baseball and now this incident with Alomar. I believe that this makes strike 3 and now it’s up to all Boricuas, Latinos and people of good conscious to come out of this baseball/political slump and bat a hit, or perhaps a home run. Respetame!

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