Sox visit Negro Leagues Hall of Fame
04/07/2006 10:14 PM ET
By Scott Merkin / MLB.com
KANSAS CITY -- With the White Sox talking about maintaining a cohesive clubhouse chemistry by going out together or even having a poker night, general manager Ken Williams came up with his own contribution to that togetherness factor prior to Friday's series opener in Kansas City.
Williams scheduled a mandatory trip for the entire White Sox traveling party to the Negro Leagues Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, followed by a team lunch at a soul food restaurant down the street. Bob Kendrick, the director of marketing for the museum, led the tour, with historical perspective provided by Buck O'Neil.
Ozzie Guillen received the C.I. Taylor Manager of the Year award at the museum, and Williams was honored with the Andrew "Rube" Foster Baseball Executive of the Year award.
For Williams, the players' reaction to this important part of the game's history was far more significant than any trophy.
"Watching the information sink in to the guys, like [Tadahito] Iguchi ... " Williams said. "He probably thought, 'What the heck am I doing here?' And then he heard that in Japan, the reason they became aware of baseball was because a Negro League team went there first to promote the game.
"Jim Thome and I watched the video in the theater [about] the origin of the game. It was just a lot of information that the guys now know that they didn't know before, and it only cost them an hour and a half."
The GM also spoke of an eye-opening experience for Jose Contreras, as the pitcher learned about the success of Martin Dihigo. The Cuban-born Dihigo, known as "El Maestro," is a member of three Hall of Fames and was called "the best player of all time, black or white" by Negro League great Buck Leonard.
Jermaine Dye is one player who is very familiar with this special Hall of Fame and Museum from his parts of five seasons with the Royals organization. He served as a sort of spokesman for the Hall of Fame, going to events and even donating $50 per RBI to inner-city baseball.
Dye also became familiar with O'Neil, expressing his disappointment on Friday over the legend being passed over in a special Negro Leagues Hall of Fame selection process in February.
"Yeah, I was a little bit," said Dye of the O'Neil oversight. "It's fun to be around him. He tells a lot of stories. To be 94 years old, he looks like he's 60. It was good for him to be down there, to really have someone there that played and went through all the stuff.
"It was good," he added of Friday's excursion. "Just to understand what those guys went through, and they have all kinds of different things down there -- statues, life-size things, different jerseys, baseballs, gloves, a lot of memorabilia. I think the guys enjoyed it."
Guillen, who raved about the award he received on Friday, went as far as to say that every American League team that comes through Kansas City should visit the Negro Leagues Hall of Fame and Museum. Williams smiled when told of his manager's idea, pointing out that each team runs things by their own standards and practices.
But Williams was happy to introduce his players to this important, and often forgotten, part of baseball. It was all done as a team.
"Any time you can pay homage to the history of the game, and learn more about the history of the game, I think you gain more respect for it and understand your place better," said Williams. "If, in fact, you might be thinking that because you won a World Series or won a home run title or ERA title, what have you, that the job is done and that establishes your place in history, I think the more historical knowledge you can obtain, you realize, 'The game is bigger than me.'
"I hope a little bit of that comes out. My idea behind [the trip] was I wanted to accomplish that and keep the word and memories of these ballplayers and get more attention to the museum by bringing the world champions, the '05 champions anyway, to its front door."
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NAS...t_id=1388786&vkey=news_cws&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws
04/07/2006 10:14 PM ET
By Scott Merkin / MLB.com
KANSAS CITY -- With the White Sox talking about maintaining a cohesive clubhouse chemistry by going out together or even having a poker night, general manager Ken Williams came up with his own contribution to that togetherness factor prior to Friday's series opener in Kansas City.
Williams scheduled a mandatory trip for the entire White Sox traveling party to the Negro Leagues Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, followed by a team lunch at a soul food restaurant down the street. Bob Kendrick, the director of marketing for the museum, led the tour, with historical perspective provided by Buck O'Neil.
Ozzie Guillen received the C.I. Taylor Manager of the Year award at the museum, and Williams was honored with the Andrew "Rube" Foster Baseball Executive of the Year award.
For Williams, the players' reaction to this important part of the game's history was far more significant than any trophy.
"Watching the information sink in to the guys, like [Tadahito] Iguchi ... " Williams said. "He probably thought, 'What the heck am I doing here?' And then he heard that in Japan, the reason they became aware of baseball was because a Negro League team went there first to promote the game.
"Jim Thome and I watched the video in the theater [about] the origin of the game. It was just a lot of information that the guys now know that they didn't know before, and it only cost them an hour and a half."
The GM also spoke of an eye-opening experience for Jose Contreras, as the pitcher learned about the success of Martin Dihigo. The Cuban-born Dihigo, known as "El Maestro," is a member of three Hall of Fames and was called "the best player of all time, black or white" by Negro League great Buck Leonard.
Jermaine Dye is one player who is very familiar with this special Hall of Fame and Museum from his parts of five seasons with the Royals organization. He served as a sort of spokesman for the Hall of Fame, going to events and even donating $50 per RBI to inner-city baseball.
Dye also became familiar with O'Neil, expressing his disappointment on Friday over the legend being passed over in a special Negro Leagues Hall of Fame selection process in February.
"Yeah, I was a little bit," said Dye of the O'Neil oversight. "It's fun to be around him. He tells a lot of stories. To be 94 years old, he looks like he's 60. It was good for him to be down there, to really have someone there that played and went through all the stuff.
"It was good," he added of Friday's excursion. "Just to understand what those guys went through, and they have all kinds of different things down there -- statues, life-size things, different jerseys, baseballs, gloves, a lot of memorabilia. I think the guys enjoyed it."
Guillen, who raved about the award he received on Friday, went as far as to say that every American League team that comes through Kansas City should visit the Negro Leagues Hall of Fame and Museum. Williams smiled when told of his manager's idea, pointing out that each team runs things by their own standards and practices.
But Williams was happy to introduce his players to this important, and often forgotten, part of baseball. It was all done as a team.
"Any time you can pay homage to the history of the game, and learn more about the history of the game, I think you gain more respect for it and understand your place better," said Williams. "If, in fact, you might be thinking that because you won a World Series or won a home run title or ERA title, what have you, that the job is done and that establishes your place in history, I think the more historical knowledge you can obtain, you realize, 'The game is bigger than me.'
"I hope a little bit of that comes out. My idea behind [the trip] was I wanted to accomplish that and keep the word and memories of these ballplayers and get more attention to the museum by bringing the world champions, the '05 champions anyway, to its front door."
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NAS...t_id=1388786&vkey=news_cws&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws
