Around Baseball 2021

[Dr. Dinger]

Elmer Fudd says vewwy not veddy like Jack did. That’s the Mickey Rooney from Breakfast at Tiffany’s voice.

[Laika]

Elmer Fudd says vewwy not veddy like Jack did. That’s the Mickey Rooney from Breakfast at Tiffany’s voice.

 

yeah i guess

 

so cancel jack morris?

[connorp]

Sounds like Elmer Fudd.

 

That’s what I got right away before I saw this post and before I realized the context with Ohtani. I’ll still go with Elmer Fudd but that is some unfortunate timing

[TheHurl]

yeah i guess

 

so cancel jack morris?

 

and everyone else who does "Elmer Fudd" accents.

[connorp]

You’d think he’d say it was supposed to be EF though. Not sure if he did at any point. If it was an Asian mock, that it really bad lol.

[TheHurl]

That’s what I got right away before I saw this post and before I realized the context with Ohtani. I’ll still go with Elmer Fudd but that is some unfortunate timing

 

I think what's abundantly clear here is that whether he was trying to do an Elmer Fudd accent and it sounded like he was mocking the Japanese, or he was trying to mock the Japanese and he ended up sounding like Elmer Fudd...he is absolutely awful at all things to do with announcing.

[Jays24]

Oh no, Jack Morris, he didn't really do that.....

 

 

Haha come on man... he tried to be funny, that is all. Lighten up.

[connorp]

I think what's abundantly clear here is that whether he was trying to do an Elmer Fudd accent and it sounded like he was mocking the Japanese, or he was trying to mock the Japanese and he ended up sounding like Elmer Fudd...he is absolutely awful at all things to do with announcing.

 

Well, it dates him. I’m not sure everyone would get the EF accent. When I first played the clip I was like “why is this even a post for him doing EF”.. I didn’t get the Ohtani link right away…. If he didn’t say he meant to do EF during the game, I’ll go with best bet is he meant it as “me so horny” thing. Definitely have to know you can’t do that. He’ll prob lose his job

[connorp]

Wasn’t even looking for it and saw it as mainstream article now. They will start digging to pile it on real quick:

 

In 1990, Morris' final season playing for the Tigers, he made a sexist comment to a Free Press intern. As Jennifer Frey approached Morris after a game to ask a question in the Tiger Stadium clubhouse, Morris said: "I don’t talk to people when I’m naked, especially

 

women, unless they’re on top of me or I’m on top of them.” Morris has since apologized for those remarks.

[glory]

If he was doing Elmer Fudd, then he was stupid not to mention it in his apology. Something like "I was trying to do an Elmer Fudd voice but I realize it came off differently, blah, blah" or some variation of that would have at least given him some sort of out. Instead he gave an apology so bad that even Castellanos couldn't have saved it. I mean, I personally don't care about apologies since even sincere ones will come off as "I'm sorry I said it out loud", so the person apologizing really can't win unless they are invaluable to the company they are working for (ex. Stephen A. Smith offended Asians + Nigerians, and mocked Hispanics in a span of 10 minutes on First Take and he's still doing his dumb shtick today). Morris is easily replaceable so he's probably gone either way.

 

Baseball really needs to get younger and/or more modern with its broadcasts anyway, so weeding out the Jack Morris' and Bob Brenly's of the world isn't necessarily a bad thing.

[Dr. Dinger]

That’s what I got right away before I saw this post and before I realized the context with Ohtani. I’ll still go with Elmer Fudd but that is some unfortunate timing

 

You always go with whatever gives the benefit of the doubt to the accused white man.

[connorp]

You always go with whatever gives the benefit of the doubt to the accused white man.

 

Perhaps but I’m also objective and have since changed my mind considering the context

[RobinThicc]

 

Seems like a real stand up guy.

[connorp]

If he was doing Elmer Fudd, then he was stupid not to mention it in his apology. Something like "I was trying to do an Elmer Fudd voice but I realize it came off differently, blah, blah" or some variation of that would have at least given him some sort of out. Instead he gave an apology so bad that even Castellanos couldn't have saved it. I mean, I personally don't care about apologies since even sincere ones will come off as "I'm sorry I said it out loud", so the person apologizing really can't win unless they are invaluable to the company they are working for (ex. Stephen A. Smith offended Asians + Nigerians, and mocked Hispanics in a span of 10 minutes on First Take and he's still doing his dumb shtick today). Morris is easily replaceable so he's probably gone either way.

 

Baseball really needs to get younger and/or more modern with its broadcasts anyway, so weeding out the Jack Morris' and Bob Brenly's of the world isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

Yeah at this point he could say he was doing Elmer but if he didn’t say it last night, I’m not buying it

[Abomination]

I don't care who you are, if you're sitting in front of a microphone 162 times a year for 3+ hours talking on the fly, you're going to say something stupid eventually. Probably quite often. Morris should probably be replaced because he sucks at being an announcer, but not because of that comment which he apologized for after being made aware it had offended people.

[Jimcanuck]

I don't care who you are, if you're sitting in front of a microphone 162 times a year for 3+ hours talking on the fly, you're going to say something stupid eventually. Probably quite often. Morris should probably be replaced because he sucks at being an announcer, but not because of that comment which he apologized for after being made aware it had offended people.

 

It is possible to work for 30 years without any stupidity that would get you fired.

[Spanky__99]

Tellez hitting like Vlad since the trade...

 

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/rowdy-tellez/15679/game-log?position=1B/DH&season=&gds=2021-07-08&gde=2021-08-17&type=0

 

GO ROWDY!

[z3r0s]

Hot take, I really don't give a f*** about what Morris said. A bit crude?, probably. But if that's the bar for cancelling its too low.

 

not-hot take, Japanese people have a distinct accent. I don't see how that is such a crime to note. Ohtani himself has this accent.

 

It's not like Jack Morris was using coded language to say "Be careful with this guy, he can really hit. But also he's lesser than us whites". It was just a dumb and inappropriate joke. If he is doing this all the time, fine cancel away. But dudes who talk for a living should be given some rope if something less the professional slips out now and then.

[Krylian]

Hot take, I really don't give a f*** about what Morris said. A bit crude?, probably. But if that's the bar for cancelling its too low.

 

not-hot take, Japanese people have a distinct accent. I don't see how that is such a crime to note. Ohtani himself has this accent.

 

It's not like Jack Morris was using coded language to say "Be careful with this guy, he can really hit. But also he's lesser than us whites". It was just a dumb and inappropriate joke. If he is doing this all the time, fine cancel away. But dudes who talk for a living should be given some rope if something less the professional slips out now and then.

 

That's a reasonable stance. But we don't live in reasonable times. The masses won't be happy until he's fired into the sun.

[King]

Hot take, I really don't give a f*** about what Morris said. A bit crude?, probably. But if that's the bar for cancelling its too low.

 

not-hot take, Japanese people have a distinct accent. I don't see how that is such a crime to note. Ohtani himself has this accent.

 

It's not like Jack Morris was using coded language to say "Be careful with this guy, he can really hit. But also he's lesser than us whites". It was just a dumb and inappropriate joke. If he is doing this all the time, fine cancel away. But dudes who talk for a living should be given some rope if something less the professional slips out now and then.

 

One of the worst posts I have seen this year. Shockingly bad take. Newsflash - don't take blatant racism and chalk it up to be a "slip of the tongue".

[Pendleton]

That's a reasonable stance. But we don't live in reasonable times. The masses won't be happy until he's fired into the sun.

 

It's long established that you're a racist old creep, your idea of "reasonable" expired decades ago.

[jerb]

[connorp]

One of the worst posts I have seen this year. Shockingly bad take. Newsflash - don't take blatant racism and chalk it up to be a "slip of the tongue".

 

Genuine question: do you get really offended watching Family Guy say, or do you just avoid any show like that?

[Jimcanuck]

Genuine question: do you get really offended watching Family Guy say, or do you just avoid any show like that?

 

You assume King is offended. You don't have to be offended to know something is improper and deserves consequences. Every f***ing employee knows there are lines not to be crossed.

[Brownie19]

One of the worst posts I have seen this year. Shockingly bad take. Newsflash - don't take blatant racism and chalk it up to be a "slip of the tongue".

 

I will admit I'm probably a little ignorant on this, but why is impersonating someone's accent racist? Isn't it stereotyping?

[TheHurl]

Hot take, I really don't give a f*** about what Morris said. A bit crude?, probably. But if that's the bar for cancelling its too low.

 

not-hot take, Japanese people have a distinct accent. I don't see how that is such a crime to note. Ohtani himself has this accent.

 

It's not like Jack Morris was using coded language to say "Be careful with this guy, he can really hit. But also he's lesser than us whites". It was just a dumb and inappropriate joke. If he is doing this all the time, fine cancel away. But dudes who talk for a living should be given some rope if something less the professional slips out now and then.

 

First of all, Not all Japanese people have the same accent. That is learned behaviour, and a very good reason why we shouldn't have people in public positions continuing with these stereotypes

 

But let's take this from an MLB lens. Stereotype threat leads to a vicious circle. Stigmatised individuals experience anxiety which depletes their cognitive resources and leads to under-performance, confirmation of the negative stereotype and reinforcement of the fear (A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. Steele, Claude M.). You potentially have several stars in the MLB right now who don't publicly speak English. Included in this is Ohtani and Vlad Jr. Getting them to speak publicly in English would do wonders for marketing these stars. Having a Hall of Famer "making fun" of accents of non-English speaking isn't helping these players confidence in moving towards trying to speak English.

 

Brushing this off as a joke gone wrong and not at least turning it into a teaching moment is not a good way to handle this from a business point of view.

 

For those around here which see it as just a "slip" the positive is that there are people on this board willing to be your mentors to be better.

[connorp]

You assume King is offended. You don't have to be offended to know something is improper and deserves consequences. Every f***ing employee knows there are lines not to be crossed.

 

In fairness, my assumption is based on more history than this one instance. But while I agree with those that say this shouldn’t be something someone is canned for in a sane world, I also agree with you that you have to know your job and the times that we’re in. Can’t feel sorry for him

[connorp]

I will admit I'm probably a little ignorant on this, but why is impersonating someone's accent racist?

 

It’s racist in same way making the slanted eye pose is. Don’t think either really shows any genuine hatred but you just can’t make those jokes anymore

[JaysAllMighty]

[Spanky__99]

lol