February 9, 2012

"The reason I caught the deep end to it is because I’m black."

"The bottom line is the game carries a lot of bigotry, and that was an easy way for them to do it... If I wasn’t outspoken and a so-called a 'proud black man,' maybe I would have gotten the empathy and sympathy like other ballplayers got that I didn’t get; like Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Steve Howe. I can name 50 people that got third and fourth chances all because they weren’t outspoken black individuals."

Oil Can Boyd, admitting that 2/3 of the time he pitched under the influence of cocaine.

37 comments:

traditionalguy said...

It makes good sense. If the addict's plea is for sympathy, then being an outspoken jerk can interfere with the outcome every time.

And how is life treating John Rocker these days?

Scott M said...

Outspoken people, in general, are annoying. If you add a layer of righteous black rage on top of that, indeed, ANY flavor of righteous identity rage, you're going to reach most people's bullshit tolerances fairly quickly.

Chip S. said...

Dock Ellis was better.

Rusty said...

Now that's a role model the kids can get behind.

CJinPA said...

Yeah, so many Americans are biased against outspoken a-holes. Not enough, but many.

Fen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pastafarian said...

I'd guess that if Gooden and Boyd were treated differently, the bottom line reason is about 15mph difference between their fastballs.

For a few years, Gooden was truly great. Boyd? I was always surprised that he managed to stay in the majors at all. Little junk-ball pitcher.

Henry said...

I really don't get that. Boyd drove Boston fans nuts because he was erratic on the mound. His brashness actually gained him more fans than the typical erratic pitcher. Instead of being cast as a sullen loser he was cast as a lovable nut.

Boyd should tune into WEEI and hear what Boston Fans think of John Lackey and Dice-K Matsuzaka. On the non-pitcher side he should hear what Boston fans think of the very non-outspoken J.D. Drew. Sympathy and empathy it isn't.

Chip S. said...

Hitters were prejudiced against Oil Can. They never hit Clemens or Hurst nearly as hard.

X said...

that's the way baseball go.

X said...

Steve Howe got his multiple second chances because he was a southpaw.

Seeing Red said...

No, the reason you caught the deep end to it is because people lost money betting on the game and you sullied the game of baseball.

Fen said...

Huh? Did he get caught shaving points or somesuch?

Henry said...

It is true, that unlike Strawberry, Gooden, and Howe, Boyd never got a second chance.

He never got a second chance, because he never was caught.

It's really hard to figure out what he's talking about.

You know who has a real beef. Tim Raines. Tim Raines should be in the Hall of Fame.

Quote:

Raines also did cocaine in the early 1980s, but then again so did Paul Molitor, and he’s in Cooperstown. Raines (in)famously would slide headfirst in order to make sure the vial of cocaine in his back pocket wouldn’t break, but judging by his success on the bases, that didn’t hurt the team.

I'm Full of Soup said...

He was just a middle of the road talent when he was playing. The only reason I remember him is due to his unusual nickname. He warrants very little attention nowadays.

Michael said...

I have no idea what he is trying to say. Is he bragging or complaining?

edutcher said...

Bezzboll not been berry, berry good to him.

Or so he wants us to believe.

Automatic_Wing said...

You know who has a real beef. Tim Raines. Tim Raines should be in the Hall of Fame.

You know, I agree that Raines should be in, but I don't think that cocaine is reason that he's not. Raines just doesn't fit the statistical profile of a HoF corner outfielder. If he'd reached 3,000 hits like Molitor did, he'd be in without a doubt.

Anonymous said...

ಠ_ಠ



weird.

Scott M said...

He warrants very little attention nowadays.

Racist.

m stone said...

He never got a second chance, because he never was caught.

Henry got it.

It's a cop-out what with a book coming out in June and a film role.

Take responsibility for what you do.

Scott M said...

Take responsibility for what you do.

Racist code words.

traditionalguy said...

Is the publisher's advance being paid in high quality cocaine?

Seeing Red said...

If I'm betting on a game and he's pitching, who knows who would show up on the mound that day? Maybe he could have won. That was my point.

Christopher in MA said...

"The only reason I remember him is due to his unusual nickname."

As I remember, "oil can" was the slang term for a shortie beer around where Boyd grew up.

Methadras said...

You just can't hold down a cocaine using black pro ballplayer. Look out!!

Anonymous said...

He had a strong start in1986 but became unreliable by September. Sounds like drugs. One more good arm in October might have prevented a tremendous amount of pain and the Bill Buckner low-light film. Own up. You let down your team and the fans.

Toad Trend said...

Chip S

Yeah Dock Ellis' tales came immediately to mind.

"He had a strong start in1986 but became unreliable by September. Sounds like drugs."

Or, there was too much 'cut'. Good drugs yield good results. I'm betting he changed dealers in late summer.

wv - offermin

Ex- MLB bat-wielder Jose.

Henry said...

I saw Oil Can Boyd pitch in a game where he lost to Tom Seaver in the 10th inning. Seaver, then pitching for the Chicago White Sox won his 299th that night.

Bob Loblaw said...

Yeah... turns out if you're in the entertainment business, whether people like you or not matters.

BarrySanders20 said...

Oil Can seemed to like being perceived as just a bit on the crazy side when he played. Kind of like Nyjer Morgan. I think he needed an edge because he really was not very good.

William said...

This is an extremely ineffectual use of the race card. I don't understand how he was treated worse than Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry because he was black and outspoken. Strawberry certainly knew how to run his mouth. Strawberry was very lucky to have found a co-dependent relationship with George Steinbrenner.

Blue@9 said...

Gooden and Strawberry weren't black?? I guess cocaine does even more than they warned us about: It makes you look black (whoa).

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I'd guess that if Gooden and Boyd were treated differently, the bottom line reason is about 15mph difference between their fastballs.

Pasta nails it.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Paul Molitor?

As a fan of baseball I pretty much averted my eyes at the shit than went on.

Other than the publicised cases in major markets, I know very little.

I dont know.. maybe I felt that if I looked I would stop loving the game or something.

Known Unknown said...

This is an extremely ineffectual use of the race card. I don't understand how he was treated worse than Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry because he was black and outspoken. Strawberry certainly knew how to run his mouth. Strawberry was very lucky to have found a co-dependent relationship with George Steinbrenner.

Oil Can's argument is that they had more chances after getting busted to play than he did.

Of course, he neglects to mention that both Gooden and Strawberry were much more talented than he, and that Howe, despite his repeated failings, was still an effective relief pitcher.

Amartel said...

Translation: My fault is not my fault.