Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of Ted Williams' Baseball Hall of Fame Speech

Baseball, without a doubt, is America's pastime. The game sure has changed well over the last century. Some for the best, others for worse. Two of the pillars of our country that makes it thrive are diversity and inclusion. Many people have an enormous problem with that for strange and ridiculous reasons, but we've been taught as children to treat others with dignity and respect. Several months ago, I discussed the life and career of Ted Williams. Today is the 60th anniversary of him not only being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but his speech would change the lives of two Black players and other African American players forever.

July 25, 1966: a date that made the Baseball Hall of Fame reconsider the decision to include African American players to have the most prestigious honor in Cooperstown. In his Hall of Fame speech, Ted Williams heavily advocated and encouraged the Hall to induct two players: Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. Both players played in the Negro Leagues and according to Williams, they deserved to be recognized for the contributions to the game. At first, the Baseball Hall of Fame weren't on board with the idea of including both players in Cooperstown. However, they gave in and Paige was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971, while Gibson was inducted the following year. Had Williams not advocated the Hall to induct both players, their stories would've been lost in baseball history. This was a bold move from Ted Williams and for that, he has earned my respect. There are 37 players from the Negro Leagues who are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and two years ago, Major League Baseball announced that Negro Leagues stats were going to be officially combined with MLB statistics. More than 2,300 players who played in the Negro Leagues from 1920-1948 were included in MLB's database. One last fact about Ted Williams that needs to be acknowledged is that he served in two different wars during his nearly two-decade MLB career: World War II and the Korean War. He was recognized for his military service by being awarded several honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991. Well over 20 years since his passing, Ted Williams will always be remembered not only as a great baseball player, but a hero for all African American players, including those who have never played in the major leagues. Last year, Ichiro became the first Asian-born player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The inductions of both Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson opened the doors for more players of different nationalities to be part of Cooperstown, all thanks to Ted Williams.

If you want to see Ted Williams' Hall of Fame speech, you can look it up on YouTube. Said speech would be considered as woke in today's hostile political climate. Woke means to be aware and I don't understand why it's constantly being scrutinized and Republican politicians castigating others for having common sense. Thoughtful and meaningful dialogue shouldn't be punished. Regardless of political party, having important and insightful conversations when it comes to race, equality, and inclusion is to understand other people's plights from their own point of view. Also, no one is forcing equality down anyone's throats because it already exists. Caring for other people and their plights isn't radical. That's called having empathy and humanity for others. Republicans treat equality, inclusion, and diversity as a threat and attack on their personal beliefs when it really isn't. Flat out dismissing someone's meaningful dialogue on topics like the ones I've mentioned and automatically calling it woke isn't you defending your beliefs. It's pure ignorance and lacking empathy for others. It's fake outrage that shouldn't have existed in the first place. Don't keep looking for problems that aren't there and have nothing to do with you. Learn from Ted Willams and start by being more understanding and actually listen to other people.