A Cultural Crossroads

MLB's Jim Jenks speaks to SJI student 

Al Montano at the Negro League Baseball Museum

By Erica A. Hernandez

I have always had a love-hate relationship with baseball, more emphasis on the hate. Needless to say I was slightly apprehensive about visiting the Negro Leagues Museum.

There are many reasons why I should love baseball but there are many experiences behind why I don’t--experiences that stretch beyond cultural norms and general boredom.

As a Miami native I am a tortured Miami Marlins fan. As a Miami-Dade County taxpayer and educated member of my county, I am not a fan on the new stadium, Marlins Park. All this is to say that when I arrived at the University of Florida in 2011, I was excited at the opportunity to try baseball again.

I buckled down for my first Gator baseball game on April 20, 2012 with a good idea of what I was going to occur. That night I witnessed the longest Gator baseball game in UF’s history. Sixteen innings later it was midnight at I was finally able to take shelter from the chilly Gainesville air in my warm dorm room.

In the end the Gators won but I left that stadium with even more reservations about the sport than I had entered with. As a Cuban-American I grew up with baseball. My father grew up playing the sport and if my name were Eric instead of Erica I probably would have too.

Visiting the museum was nostalgic because it took me back to my baseball-crazed childhood. My family vacations consisted of trips to Cooperstown not Disney. In 2003 our entire family received the delightful Christmas gifts of tickets to the World Series, where my sister and I cried and complained about the noise. Carried out of the stadium by my father, I distinctly remember the best part of the experience was being allowed to skip third grade the next day.

Unlike those memorable trips, this was the first trip where I was at an age and place in my life where I could appreciate what I was seeing without having to be emotionally invested in it; I could appreciate it from a journalistic standpoint.

The film Dr. Ray Doswell showed us was eye opening and very informative. I spoke with him later about just how rare the footage we viewed was. Because of the time and restrictive conditions the Negro Leagues played under, artifacts and preservation weren’t very common. This made everything we were seeing that much more special and impactful. The history buff within me was giddy.

Just like I appreciated the museum, I appreciated and respected the insights Jim Jenks and Carlton Thompson of MLB.com shared with the class. MLB.com’s business model is unique and inventive, which is why it’s hard to categorize. It doesn’t fit the mold of a traditional media company but it doesn’t fit the role of any other companies either. It isn’t a propaganda machine, like I had previously believed it to be. The moment that clarified this for me most was when Sandy explained the deal Sports Illustrated had with American Express at one of the tennis tournaments. It was a completely valid and ethical arrangement, in my opinion. The sponsorship with American Express didn’t change much of anything in regards to SI’s coverage and content. It was reassuring to hear that journalistic ethics and standards do have a place in new medias; it is just a matter of to what extent ethics come into play.

The museum and the MLB.com lesson gave me an appreciation for baseball’s groundbreaking roots in America and in the world of sports journalism.

The day in Kansas City taught me more than just the worries that come with living in a state where the “rivers rise.” It taught me how the rest of the world cooks pork, and that it’s not the Cuban way but it’s still delicious.