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Chris CountsThankfully, baseball has long been invigorated by immigrants. If you read the wonderful "The Glory Of Their Times," you'll see that a large percentage of T206 era players were second generation Irish and German immigrants whose parents couldn't understand their kids love of the American game. The book is filled with stories of kids arguing with their parents or running away from home to play ball. Where would baseball be without Honus Wagner, John McGraw, Iron Man McGinnity and others whose parents accepted a role in our society equivelant to that of Hispanics today?
Or how about the wave of Italian players that flooded baseball in the 1930s and 1940s? When their parents came to America a generation before them, they faced the same challenges and prejudices encountered by Irish and German immigrants. Where would our beloved game be without Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto and Yogi Berra?
So now more players come from the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean countries than any place else. From Roberto Clemente to Miguel Tejada, Latino players have embraced the game with no less enthusiasm than the first or second generation immigrants before them. Without them, I would argue baseball is a dying game. With them, the game is as fresh and invigorated as it ever was.