Posted on 07/12/2021 12:37:33 PM PDT by NohSpinZone
Shohei Ohtani has 33 home runs and a 3.49 ERA, but Stephen A. Smith believes the Angels’ two-way star is detrimental to Major League Baseball.
During Monday’s episode of ESPN’s “First Take,” the show’s host, Molly Qerim, asked Smith and Max Kellerman if “it’s good for Major League Baseball that Ohtani is the top attraction.” In response, Smith answered “not to me,” reasoning that Ohtani’s use of a Japanese interpreter diminishes the sport’s popularity domestically.
“The fact that you got a foreign player that doesn’t speak English, that needs an interpreter, believe it or not, I think contributes to harming the game to some degree, when that’s your box-office appeal,” said Smith, who is paid a reported $12 million annually to share his opinions with the ESPN audience. “It needs to be somebody like Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, those guys. Unfortunately at this moment in time, that’s not the case.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
This a-hole (Smith) is never happy unless he is complaining.
You know what? We don’t talk to the players. We watch them. If someone is good, I don’t care if they are a deaf mute.
I cannot stand Stephen A. Smith’s manner of speaking. It annoys me.
It is not racist of Smith to say this. It is logical that having a Japanese speaking player in a English-speaking nation is not optimal.
I don’t think Daffy or Dizzy Dean spoke English? And what language was it that Casey Stengel spoke?
He sounds racist.
He should be fired.
Its what they wold do to any white guy who said crap like that.
It's not the innings. It's the commercials. Games were about two hours, 20 minutes in the early 60s.
ML/NJ
Fixed it.
He’s talking about marketability of the game. I think Ohtani is making baseball incredibly marketable with his Babe Ruth-esque performance on the field. He’s good for TV ratings and there will be a lot of attention for the Home Run Derby because he’s in it.
The best I can say for Smith is that he’s intentionally throwing firebombs because he wants to generate buzz.
The Texas Rangers had Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez couldn’t hardly speak a lick of Ingles yet he learned it over time. A star catcher on the field and off.
Americans have played on Japanese baseball teams and warmly received.
Just respect this nation and the guest nations with some common courtesy does go a long way.
Wow. Still I think baseball survived Roberto Clemente and others who were not English speakers starting out. /sarc
Really baseball damaged itself moving the AS game from Georgia. I might even say MLB seems suicidal just like NFL/NBA in recent years.
Wait... he’s batting .349 with 33 dingers at the All-Star break? And he’s a pitcher??? Wow...
Very racist. Why to Black Supremacists hate Asians so much?
Does Stephen A. Smith object to all the illegals coming here that don’t speak English?
I am not sure if that’s PC enough for espn.
+1
5.56mm
Wait... he’s batting .349 with 33 dingers at the All-Star break? And he’s a pitcher??? Wow...
No, his pitching ERA is a respectable 3.49 which would put him 31st of 64 pitchers.
Wins Above Replacement 5.6 1st of all Major league
2021 SEASON STATS
BATTING AVG: .279 29th of all Major league
Home Runs: 33 1st of all Major league
RBIs: 70 3rd of all Major league
OPS: 1.062 2nd of all Major league
Kinda like Gary Sanchez? And a few dozen other MLB players?
https://twitter.com/stephenasmith/status/1414711083252789248
Stephen A Smith @stephenasmith
I'm sincerely sorry.
Apology not accepted, go to Hell, Stephen.
Does he speak Ebonics?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.