Sheffield turns guru

According to a 2005 report by the University of Central Florida Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, only 8.5% of major leaguers were African American -- the lowest percentage since the report was initiated in the mid-1980s. By contrast, whites comprised 59.5% of the majors' player pool, Latinos 28.7% and Asians 2.5%. With the percentage of African-Americans playing Major League Baseball at an all-time low Gary Sheffield says he has a theory why that's the case.

In an interview with GQ magazine Sheffield states, "I called it years ago. What I called is that you're going to see more black faces, but there ain't no English going to be coming out. … [It's about] being able to tell [Latin players] what to do -- being able to control them," he told the magazine. "Where I'm from [the ghetto], you can't control us. You might get a guy to do it that way for a while because he wants to benefit [bling and broads], but in the end, he is going to go back to being who he is [a criminal]. And that's a person that you're going to talk to with respect, you're going to talk to like a man. These are the things my race demands. So, if you're equally good as this Latin player, guess who's going to get sent home? I know a lot of players that are home now can outplay a lot of these guys."

Latinos are easier to control than blacks? Try telling that to the US border authorities. Or maybe by “easier to control” Shef means that Latinos follow team policy by not bringing their weapons into the clubhouse.