MIAMI (ESPNdeportes.com) - Intolerance is the keyword if you want to understand why human beings have fought with each other since the beginning of times.
Intolerance moved Adolf Hitler, founder of the German Third Reich (1933-45), to kill more than six million Jews and to declare the superiority of his race over the "impure" (Jews, black, slaves and the rest of the world).
Intolerance also led Al Qaeda to become the greatest world enemy of our time.
We could also identify intolerance in the words of an anchor who works for the network that transmits the San Francisco Giants' games, who said that all Latin-American players on the team were "Brain-dead Caribbean hitters" and also attacked the origin and the mental conditions of the Dominican manager Felipe Alou.
Wednesday night, after the Giants lost 3-2 to the Rockies, Larry Krueger, from KNBR, talked about the decadent team and its "Brain-dead Caribbean hitters hacking at slop nightly."
Later he added, "You have a manager in Felipe (Alou) whose mind has turned to Cream of Wheat," referring to the cereal commercial that has traditionally shown an African American called Rustus with a cook cap offering a cereal bowl to a group of white children.
Krueger's intolerance reached a boiling point after San Francisco's record dropped to 48-60, the second worst in the National League West.
The Giants are 7 1/2 games behind first place even though Barry Bonds has not played at all, closer Armando Benitez has appeared in only eight games, and Jason Schmidt (8-8, 4.28) has not been the one he used to be. "I haven't heard anything like this since John Rocker," said Vizquel, referring to the former Braves pitcher who criticized homosexuals, minority and foreigners in an interview with Sports Illustrated in 1999.
"It's really sad to hear comments like this after almost 50 years," said the manager, who faced racism as a black Dominican ballplayer playing minor league ball in the south 50 years ago.
Krueger's words were full of racism and intolerance, but especially stupidity. There are several facts that Krueger, and others that think like him, ignore. The group that he called "Brain-dead Caribbean hitters" includes Dominicans Felipe Alou and his son, outfielder Moisés Alou, outfielder Pedro Feliz and utility player Deivi Cruz; Venezuelans Omar Vizquel and Edgardo Alfonzo and the Cuban outfielder Alex Sánchez.
Having played or managed in professional baseball for 50 of his 70 years, Felipe Alou is one of the most respected figures in the MLB and a potential inductee of the Hall of Fame when he retires.
Vizquel, a great player and natural leader, has been one of the best defensive shortstops in history and could get to Cooperstown after he retires.
Even though it is true that injuries have damaged Moisés' career, the manager's son has been one of the most opportune hitters over the last 15 years in the major leagues.
Moisés leads the team with a .328 average, with 13 home runs and 43 RBI. Felipe and Moisés represented the organization in the All Star Game in July. Playing regularly for the first time in his career, Feliz has a .270 average with 17 home runs and 67 RBI replacing Barry Bonds in left field.
Alfonzo (.292) and Sánchez (.256) have worked hard during the whole season.
Hispanic players represent 25 percent of the majors' total. There are hundreds of players on the major league rosters who were born in the Dominican Republic, a small island populated by only 10 million people.
Other "Brain-dead Caribbean hitters" like Dominicans Alex Rodríguez, Manny Ramírez, Albert Pujols, Miguel Tejada, David Ortiz and Pedro Martínez; Puerto Rican Carlos Beltrán, Venezuelan Miguel Cabrera, and Panamanian Mariano Rivera, among others, are among the best players in the major leagues nowadays.
Krueger apologized Thursday and KNBR "punished" him with a week suspension without pay.
"I won't accept apologies from this idiot, but I cannot speak for the millions that he offended", said Felipe Alou.
Just like Felipe, over 40 million Hispanics that live in the United States could adopt the same attitude, as well as those who follow the major leagues closely in other countries, such as, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba, and have baseball as their favorite sport.
Enrique Rojas covers baseball for ESPNdeportes.com. He is also the Associated Press stringer for the Caribbean.