Zoom’s interview with Jarrod Dyson changed from candid to cliche when the Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder touched on a number of baseball-related topics and showed his jovial and jaded side.
However, a serious question to Dyson received a serious answer.
And it was as powerful as it was provocative.
When asked whether playing in a socially charged climate, amid a global pandemic and civil rights movement, will have more meaning, Dyson, 35, said he needs no reminders that racism exists.
“What I mean is a man, so we do everything we can to be African-American,” Dyson said. “You know, I’m from Mississippi, where I’ve seen a lot of racist stuff. But at the same time, I have to live life. I can’t, you know, go home every night worried why they act like this. Why would someone want to be racist towards me at the same time? I have yet to tell my son how to follow his life the right way and not be racist towards anyone, no matter how they are towards you.
“Honestly, you know, we get tired of seeing it as a whole, African Americans, we do it. And I don’t think we can do that much. I think it’s more, so people who are racists should do more than us. We can go. We can keep posters all day, but I can’t change you. You will have to change. So whoever is racist in the world knows that you need to go home and look in the mirror and realize that you are not in this world alone. This is how I see it. “
Dyson won a World Series with the Kansas City Royals and played one season in Seattle and two in Arizona before signing a one-year contract with the Pirates in February. He has found a brotherhood in baseball with players of different races and nationalities.
“I don’t want to be in a world with only black people,” Dyson said. “I want to be in a world with all races and I look at everyone equally. Because I have many good white and Latino friends that I consider brothers to me. And I’m not going to stop treating them the same way I treat them because you know, people want to be racist towards blacks. My friends, my friends. My family, my family. I love everything. I do not hate anyone. I just wish people would change themselves instead of waiting for us to push an agenda to make them change.
“You know if you are racist or not. I don’t have to tell you that. You wake up, you know what you have in mind. You know how you see other people and you know how you see yourself and yours. So I love you all. “
Humiliated and honored to have #HOF shirts signed by Carew and Maz hanging on the wall, not to mention a photo with 2 @Twins and 2 @Pirates captions. Maz, Tony O, Rod and @ TheRealSangy35. #LetsGoBucs https://t.co/nTAcBwF1LH
– Derek Shelton (@derekshelton) July 15, 2020
1. It is not an option: Dyson showed his humorous side when he said he never considered opting out of this season due to covid-19 concerns.
“Nah. I wasn’t thinking about giving up,” Dyson said. “I need my money. I saw that we had to be out here. I won’t leave it on the table if I can go get it. Baseball is something I love to do anyway.” .
That was to be expected of Dyson, especially after saying in his first interview at spring training in Pirate City that he signed with the Pirates with 93 losses because they were his only option in the big leagues.
“There’s not too much right now, you know,” said Dyson. “You would love to explore. But at the same time, you take what you can. Take the good with the bad and roll with it. Do your best. “
In preparing for the 2020 season, new Pirates CF Jarrod Dyson met with reporters and explained why having a summer camp at PNC Park is beneficial to him. -RI pic.twitter.com/oR5UeXvP1d
– AT&T SportsNet ™ PIT (@ATTSportsNetPIT) July 14, 2020
2. Round trip: With just 21 career home runs in 10 seasons, Dyson is not a powerful hitter. He’s on the 5-foot-9-inch, 165-pound list, which could be generous. But after striking out three times in Monday’s in-school game, he hit one over the fence at PNC Park.
“I was lucky, man,” said Dyson, who hit the best seven home runs of his career last season. “Sometimes I’m lucky, that’s all. Sometimes you get a good pitch and don’t miss it, and good things happen. I don’t expect to hit a lot of them, but I hope to hit some and do my thing. ”
Pirates announcer Joe Block came up with an interesting statistic: of Dyson’s 21 home runs, all of them have faced right-handed pitchers.
In 445 plate appearances and 387 at-bats against left-handers, Dyson has 90 hits, including 11 doubles and three triples, and has hit 38 walks and has been hit by seven pitches.
No home runs.
“I don’t think I hit a left-hander, man,” said Dyson, who left. “I barely played with lefties. Yes, it’s been a while, but I’m eager to do it. I’m going to enjoy it. “
JARROD DYSON WALK-OFF HOME RUN.
He had just 15 career home runs coming into the night.
For comparison, he has 221 career stolen bases. Pic.twitter.com/7zD5VK9IK9
– Sporting News MLB (@sn_mlb) April 10, 2019
3. First things first: Dyson has worn number 1 with the Royals, Mariners, and Diamondbacks, and it has special meaning to him.
“I like number 1. You are the first to do something,” Dyson said. “This is how I see it. No. 1, I thought that fit me quite well. Unfortunately he’s retired, but he’s retired for a good cause, so I can’t say much about it. I just have to take the number they give me and roll with it. “
The Pirates retired No. 1 in honor of popular manager Billy Meyer, who has the dubious distinction of playing and managing two of the worst teams in baseball history. Meyer was a receiver for the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (36-117) and manager for the 1952 Pirates (42-112).
Dyson is wearing number 6, which belonged to his predecessor in center field, Starling Mars.
“I don’t care about the number, you know?” Dyson said. “I’m only concerned with performance and doing the right thing for the logo on the front, making sure to respect that as well, and also the name on the back.”
One step closer. pic.twitter.com/kaZnQ9mRZF
– Pirates (@Pirates) July 14, 2020
4. To get started: Joe Musgrove said on Instagram Live that he is slated to start six innings in the exhibition game against Cleveland on Saturday night at PNC Park.
Shelton said he is not ready to name an Opening Day starter or reveal who will start the other two exhibition games without consulting pitching coach Oscar Marin.
“I don’t have any of those chosen ones,” Shelton said. “Opening day one, no. The other two games, Oscar would have to tell me who’s pitching. I think he’s still working on who’s going to throw that. That’s the day he’s lined up for Joe right now. But whatever that it is what Oscar wants to configure, we will configure it and we will see it that way ”.
If we’re doing the math, Musgrove is also lining up to pitch in the first game of the season on July 24 in St. Louis.
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Meet @ Nick_Gonzales13. pic.twitter.com/8Je8FxWmlQ
– Pirates (@Pirates) June 25, 2020
5. Good for Gonzales: When pitcher Héctor Noesi dropped out of the season for family reasons, the Pirates decided not to immediately take his place on the 60-player roster.
When they did, it was with 2020 first-round pick Nick Gonzales. The former New Mexico state shortstop arrived at the alternative training site in Altoona on Tuesday and took his test for covid-19. You are waiting for the results before you can practice.
The Pirates signed Gonzales with a $ 5.4 million bonus late last month, but declined to include him on the 40-man list for training camp at PNC Park or for group training at his Double-A affiliate at Natural Gas of the Towns of Altoona.
This move prevents Gonzales from sitting idle all summer, and it’s one that his father Mike said Nick “is very excited to get going.”
Kevin Gorman is a writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Kevin by email at [email protected] or by Twitter.
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