MLB's Racist Problem

Hi everyone, this is my first article here on Sports and Stuff. I'm sure you'll figure it out after a few of my articles but I prefer the sports stories that link multiple aspects of our lives. I guess I'm the "Stuff" part of our site. I know most will prefer to read the pure sports stories, so feel free to skip over mine if it isn't your cup of tea.

A couple weeks ago Orlando Hudson enlightened all of us with his opinion on why Jermaine Dye doesn't have a job. Mr. Hudson strongly hinted that the free agent market often passes up on aging black players such as Dye (36) and Gary Sheffield (41). Both are without jobs at this time. Now JD was offered a 1 year/3 million dollar deal from the Cubs but declined that offer. He also declined offers from the Brewers and Nationals. I have not seen or heard any specifics about Gary Sheffield but supposedly there were four teams interested in him this past offseason.

Now both of these players earned over 10 million dollars in 2009 and it is fairly obvious that there was interest in them for the right price. They both have been playing in a decreasing number of games the past couple years, associated with decreasing hitting number. Could it be that these players priced themselves out of contracts due to pride or past earnings? Maybe Mr. Hudson could explain to me how Ryan Howard just received one of the richest contracts in baseball history with such blatant racism existing. Or maybe an easier deal for him to explain would be that of his own teammate, Denard Span's new deal.

I'm not naive enough to believe that racism is no longer a problem in our country, because it does still exist. But when individuals claim racism without basis, it cheapens those who do endure racism and makes it harder to see the true racism that exists. I think the reason it upsets me so much is due to the fact that our world has quickly become one of blaming others for our own shortcomings. It couldn't be that both of these players are getting too old to be productive everyday players, it must be the evil owners and GM's around the league are racist. I'm sorry Orlando Hudson I have not seen any proof of racism, but two players of color that have declined opportunities for jobs.