- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Lack of diversity among MLB managers is alarming
- Updated: May 18, 2016
5:27 PM ET
Fredi Gonzalez’s firing as Atlanta Braves manager was no surprise. Gonzalez had been in the hot seat the last couple of seasons because of the Braves’ poor results during their so-called rebuilding phase.
But the reality is that Gonzalez was always under pressure. Not the pressure to perform or to adhere to a certain set of expectations, but in his attempt to be a worthy representative of his Latin American roots.
The Cuban-American, who was the only Hispanic manager in the majors since Manny Acta was fired by the Cleveland Indians in 2012, always felt he had to do a better job than any of his 29 counterparts.
“I will tell you this: I feel that, and this is me saying it, that I have to do a really, really good job,” Gonzalez said at the end of last season in a conversation about the lack of minority managers. “I feel that being the only Latin American manager in the major leagues. I feel that I have to do a really good job managing so that other Latin American coaches can get an opportunity.
“I think there are a lot of qualified Latin American coaches out there that should and will hopefully get a chance. Manny Acta and I spoke about this about four years ago when he was with Cleveland, that we feel like we have to do a better job than most managers in our positions because obviously we want to open the doors for more Latin American coaches.
“That’s my thing,” Gonzalez added. “No one has been putting that pressure on me. But there are many Latino coaches out there who have coached many years and have not been given a chance. Some have gotten one chance, but not two.”
Gonzalez had two chances. The first was with the Miami Marlins, and then with the Braves, who decided to fire him Tuesday along with bench coach Carlos Tosca. Not only does that leave Major League Baseball without any representative of Latin American descent as a manager, but it also leaves the Chicago White Sox’s Rick Rentería (a California native) as the sole Latino bench coach.
Perhaps Gonzalez deserved to be fired. At the end of the day, all that matters in the majors are results, and at 9-29 Atlanta has the worst record in baseball, having played …
continue reading in source espn.go.com
