Derek Jeter is making all American-born Marlins players and coaches learn Spanish
stevek
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Derek Jeter is making all American-born Marlins players and coaches learn Spanish
Miami Marlins part owner Derek Jeter has an idea that could bring the team closer together. Jeter will require the American-born coaches and players to take Spanish lessons, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.
With a record of 48-74, and 21 games out of first place, i would think that a higher priority would be making his players learn to play better baseball.
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Tankapalooza
Odd, the National language here is ENGLISH Why not have those that are not so hot in English learn OUR language.
Pretty dumb decision. No Bueno!!
Just another idiotic yankee decision out of liberal New York
Instead of whining about liberal New Yorkers... look on the bright side...
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In all my years in school, my most hated class by far was the required two years of a foreign language in high school.
If I'm remembering right, the choices were Spanish, French, or German. I chose Spanish and I hated every second of that class.
However with this, it's adults making millions of dollars a year to play baseball. I can't believe that this is going to go over well with the players, and I have to think that most of them will simply refuse to do it.
Frankly, i think with this idea, that Jeter may have slid into the bases head first perhaps a bit too many times.
Totally agree!!
How does jeter plan on enforcing this? Suspension? This was not well thought out
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
It's stupid to even think of it!
Hola a todos, ¿sabían que estamos a veintiun juegos del primer lugar? Pero bueno, ¡al menos no somos los Royals ni los Orioles! ¡Esos dos equipos han cagado la cama!
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You lost me after "Hola"
That's easy for you to say!
So glad foreign language was not required in High School when I went...…..I would have refused!
Thats a great idea . Since Jeter apparently wants to come in last place of the entire league , making up a goofy policy then suspending players for violating it is a great way to make sure the team keeps losing
If they have a Japanese player do they have to learn that language also? BTW after hearing many American born athletes in many sports being interviewed I think it would do them well to study English.
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Ralph
Better he teach the players to fake a hit-by-pitch. That will at least get him some base runners.
How is learning a different language a negative thing during your overall education?
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Just no need as far as I am concerned. All we need here in the U.S.A. is English.
That's a narrow minded way to look at things. The whole purpose of gaining an education is to broaden your horizons not limit them. JMHO.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
It's OK if you want to, but should never be required. It use to make me mad when the phone recording said "press 1 for English". English should be automatic here. Thank goodness they doin do that anymore.
I do agree that English should be the first language here in the U.S.
That said, learning a second language can provide a number of benefits and also teaches you about the etymology of different phrases and words in a language different from your own, which can be useful later on, too. Many fields also offer additional perks for bilingual employees, too.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Narrow as a dime , man
@grote15 . Not for me. As you have probably noticed I am a Conservative American War Vet that loves Country and Flag,
And such a categorization precludes you from learning another language?
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Key Word is American!
American is not a language.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
American = English.
My interest was business.
However, I actually enjoyed and took a number of science related classes in high school and college - THAT was the "overall education" which I wanted and preferred. Also learning history, etc, in my view is much more important, perhaps infinitely more important, than learning a foreign language in an overall education. Even becoming wiser in the English language such as learning to use new words that you may not have been using before.
Besides, let's be honest about it, it's an English speaking world for the most part when it comes to international communications. I visited Europe a number of years ago for two weeks, before the internet, mainly France and Germany, brought a French to English, and German to English little pocket translation books with me, and rarely used them. Got along just fine with everyone at tourist sites, restaurants, etc with using English, or if say the waiter didn't understand English, just pointing to the selection on the menu.
Let's tell it like it is...no disrespect to any player from a foreign land...but if I'm in high school in say some Latino country, and I know and my coach knows that I've got pretty good potential to perhaps go to America and earn a lot of money playing baseball there, then wouldn't it make sense for me to learn English?
So in my view, getting back to the thread topic, the onus is on the Latino player to learn English, not for everyone else to learn Spanish.
To further solidify the point, if I think i can make some good money as a soccer player in Spain, then I'm taking some Spanish language lessons before I go over there. I wouldn't expect everyone else over there to be forced to learn English just to accommodate me.
That's a valid opinion but relative to your personal pursuit and career path and what you felt was important at the time. My point was simply that learning another language while in school is a positive thing as there are many career choices out there which regard bilingualism as an asset. Learning a different language, whether in school or otherwise, certainly doesn't make anyone "less American," in any case.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Totally agree.
Come on man....I didn't say learning another language made you "less American"! You can learn as many as you want. I am simply saying it should never be required.
Quote from you about the prospect of learning a different language: Not for me. As you have probably noticed I am a Conservative American War Vet that loves Country and Flag,
And then later: American = English.
Perhaps I misunderstood your insinuation behind those posts. In any case, I've made my point here, which was really a pretty basic one (or so I thought) about the benefits associated with learning a different language. Carry on.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Possibly Jon could spell better in Mandarin.
That was not my intent. You know how I am with grammar and spelling.
Good night folks.
Fair enough, Jon. You're a good guy even if I don't always agree with you.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Which language should I choose? There are many.
IT CAN'T BE A TRUE PLAYOFF UNLESS THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONS ARE INCLUDED
Totally on board with foreigners, immigrants, visitors, life long citizens learning English. If I move to another country I need to learn to get by, I think these ball players can afford to take English Classes
Perhaps during the game when the home plate umpire calls a strike, Jeter wants the ump to also say "huelga"
Outside the strike zone and no swing..."ball, pelota"
They usually just learn english from watching tv.
Yea, that's simply "wonderful" force feeding kids Spanish while our schools worldwide, rank around 35th in math and 20th in science...and some kids may think that George Jefferson was our first president.
When I was on duty, inmates used to say “No English” but when I yelled or grabbed them with force they miraculously understood English. A lot of these ball players understand enough English but are playing the role.
Maybe Jeter would like the national anthem played for each player's country who is participating in the game.
Might take around 30 minutes before each game, and I'm sure the concessionaires would love that. They'd certainly sell more beer and hot dogs - LOL
Thanks to all the illegals coming into this country in the past 10 to 15 years America is changing and not for the good. I am glad I am an old man and will not be here to see how it ends up.
Two cents, and probably not worth that much?
Derek Jeter already has that team on the right track. This isn’t a brilliant move but it is hardly a foolish one either. The ability to communicate on a baseball team (and in life) is important. Spanish is widely spoken in the game and on planet earth. Things can get lost in translation sometimes - better to work it out in two languages and get it right. And I’m sure most players are for it; perhaps there’s some resistance from others. By the way, with the demographics of Miami this also can’t hurt from a public relations standpoint. If you are trying to build a fan base there, endearing yourself to the local community - the people who buy tickets, show up and drive real revenue - isn’t all that foolish, either.
From a business perspective, in the macro sense, I’d imagine everything is going according to plan for Jeter: lower payroll and leverage out minority ownership to gain majority control of the team. I’d be willing to bet the Marlins books were a complete mess from the Loria years, too - that guy was as shady as it gets. This is a billion dollar venture. The winning will come. This is year one. Did anyone expect this team to win a WS this year? Next year? After the tragic passing of Jose Fernandez, this team wasn’t going to get there as constructed and with Giancarlo Stanton’s contract the chances of improving were severely limited. So you have an 80 win team for 5 years and then dismantle?
I think the Marlins picked the right course of action. They don’t have the resources of the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and may never have them. They’ll have to get it done another way - with prudent deals, good drafting and a plethora of international signings. Hence the Spanish.
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Well thought out points for sure.
The whole key is communication, and frankly, i don't see how it's possible to have better communication using two languages. In my opinion, communication normally works best when it's done in one language, which is why most countries have an official language.
Back to baseball...What if there's a fly ball hit in the gap in the outfield and two outfielders are running for the ball. Are they going to think about which language should they use as to who should catch the ball, and who should get out of the way? The hesitation just with this could cause serious injury, that could have possibly been avoided just communicating in English.
Perhaps my example is "off base" and the communication on the field will stay in English. However in my view, that would make my point even stronger. Off the field, the Spanish speaking players have agents and a whole assortment of other ways to communicate and conduct business effectively.
To sum up...Spanish speaking players have been in MLB for a long time now. This is nothing new. It just seems to me like a situation that wasn't broke, but Jeter decided to fix it.
Jeter probably has more baseball knowledge in his pinkie finger than everyone on this forum combined. I'm sure if he gets stumped though he will put the "bat" signal up in the sky in a desperate call for help.
Are we quotation marking all our puns now? I didn't realize that was a thing but ok , I'll "play" along
Would gladly trade my 4 years of Hebrew school for Spanish lessons. Well at least if I run into the dead Sea Scrolls, I'll be in business.
I'd trade my two years of Spanish class for a Don Mossi baseball card with multiple creases.