Detroit, MI - Gary Sheffield ignited a firestorm of controversy when he made statements about the declining numbers of African-American players in Major League Baseball. According to recent statistics, African-Americans make up roughly 9 percent of professional baseball players. But that number isn't what's creating the blowup -- it's the nearly 29 percent of Latino players that has Sheffield crying foul. The percentage of Latino players in professional baseball has increased while the numbers of African-Americans have decreased and Sheffield says it's all about control.

In an interview with GQ Magazine, Sheffield said that the rising number of Latino players and the shrinking number of African-American players is due to team management's preference to control Latin players, and their inability to exert the same type of control over Black players.

"Where I'm from, you can't control us [African-Americans]. You might get a guy to do it that way for a while because he wants to benefit, but in the end, he is going to go back to being who he is."

Sheffield says the same isn't true for Latin players mainly because of their backgrounds. Latin players often come from impoverished conditions and obviously have no desire to go back. When they become professional baseball players, they make lots of money and use it to support their families back home in places like Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico -- all of which are hotbeds for baseball talent.

With so many prospects -- undrafted Latin players who usually have no agents are reluctant to speak out or make waves, even when they may not be happy with their current situations.

Sheffield is considered one of the best players in baseball, but he is also one of the leagues' most outspoken. The 19-year veteran, who will eclipse the 2400 games played mark this year, says he is getting his information directly from Latin players who tell him exactly how they're being treated and what they do to stay in the league.

"I got Latin players talking to me about this. And if they didn't come to me with it, I wouldn't know it either. So there is a lot of things they educate me on, and I do my research and I find out.," Sheffield said in an on-air interview with CNN's Paula Zahn.

When asked about his motives for making these accusations, Sheffield stated his desire to straighten up the league.

"I'm trying to bring awareness to it, and then more intelligent people can talk about these subjects, and then we can bring change. If nobody'S going to talk about it, we can't bring change. And until there's an even playing field, it's going to continue. Like I said before, I have three years left -- when I'm done, then somebody else has to step up take on this."

PRINT THIS PAGE    E-MAIL PAGE    DISCUSS ARTICLE    ALL ARTICLES    TAKE A QUIZ

Web www.mybrotha.com