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Friday afternoon, as Tim Anderson gushed to Laurence Holmes in a pre-recorded interview about his love of baseball and his desire to help expand its audience, news of his one-game suspension hit social media.

Initially, some people assumed that Anderson was suspended for his bat flip, but soon learned it was due to “foul language.” ESPN’s Jeff Passan shared via Twitter that Anderson was suspended for his use of the n-word. Anderson directed it at someone who was not Black. Within context, it was nothing more than an insult hurled at someone who had thrown a ball at him for celebrating a home run.

Hitting a home run off of a professional pitcher is no small feat. It’s not easy. If it were, there would be a helluva lot more homers (even in the context of the current ball) and the 1998 home run chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa wouldn’t have entertained millions and “saved the game of baseball.”  Hitting a baseball is famously difficult; if you fail 70 percent of the time, you’re an All-Star. So when you do the best thing possible at the plate — hit a home run — it is a cause for celebration and joy, with bat flips, fist pumps, and passionate screams. But that joy is met with ire and, in many cases violence. Anderson was expected to readily accept the punishment for “embarrassing a pitcher.” He was expected to be silent. He wasn’t. Tim Anderson’s words weren’t of racial aggression, they were an angry retort to someone who had acted cowardly, weak.

After the game, Blue Jays outfielder Randal Grichuk and Royals third baseman Hunter Dozier both made public statements in support of beaning a batter for “excessive celebration,” upholding baseball’s “unwritten rules.” Neither has been reprimanded. If the league is going to police player conduct all the way down to the use of foul language on the field, then why is there no pushback on players condoning violence as a part of the game? A Black player is suspended for using a word historically used to incite and enact violence against Black communities, but advocating for beanball gets no response.

Instead of taking a stand against the “play the game the right way” sentiment many baseball fans and players uphold, the league made Anderson the villain. Baseball’s unwritten rules are filled with coded language that are rooted in racism, classism, and harmful views on masculinity. There’s a reason why so much of the conversation has been centered around the n-word and not the violent act of throwing a 92 mph fastball at a batter.

Coming to Anderson’s defense, Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman tweeted: “You can’t suspend someone for language. That’s ridiculous. Also what he said is normal slang trash talk in our culture.”

Micah Johnson, a former teammate of Anderson’s tweeted:

“Dear white people offended by Tim Anderson using the N-Word,

It’s not your job to police how black people use it.

That word will [never] be used to hurt your person. You won’t ever have to endure a barrage of N-words used to threaten you as you try to vote. And you won’t ever have 100 camera angles catching your response as someone pegs you with 90 mph rocks.

I applaud your stance supporting the annexation of such language, yet I encourage you to focus your energy on the people who have the power to make that word hurt. You’re welcome to personally tell my 83 year old grandmother, a daughter of Mississippi sharecroppers, to stop using the N-word, but good luck.

In a game where failure is king and frustration is abundant, suspending people for inappropriate language will leave you with empty benches. Suspending one of your few black players for language after getting hit (after MLB celebrated the bat flip with its #LetTheKidsPlay) will leave you with white benches.”

Support from other Black baseball players is important here. Both Stroman and Johnson highlight an oft-ignored problem in Major League Baseball; the extreme disconnect between the league and the players, and fans they wish to see interested in baseball. The situation with Anderson occurred just days after MLB and Budweiser used Jackie Robinson’s image to sell beer when Robinson was famously known as a teetotaler. Yet another misstep in their decades-long attempt to honor the trailblazer, which has been nothing more than a self-congratulatory spectacle year after year. That energy would be better spent working to remove other cultural barriers that remain.

For the league, Black culture is an accessory to bring in revenue and appear cool. Just one look across the league’s various social media accounts, you’ll quickly notice the use of AAVE (African American Vernacular English), rap music, and other things popularized by the Black community. MLB used Migos’ “Is You Ready” as its 2018 postseason anthem and for 2019 Spring Training, teams wore shirts and hoodies with the slogan “Whole Squad Ready” another nod to the Atlanta-based rap trio.

Baseball has no problem with co-opting Black culture, but has taken no time to learn more about it, or how much it influences the lives of some of its players.

While it is absolutely acceptable to have a policy and punishment regarding the use of the n-word, understanding its nuances is essential for effective discipline. Throughout the years, many groups have reclaimed words that are considered slurs against their identity as their own. This way, some of the power is lost. The n-word is one such word, and it is no one’s business how Black people choose to use it.  

That’s the problem with MLB being the sole arbiter of its own suspensions, they never need to make sense to us. They never have to be consistent. And, equally important, we’ll never get a substantial explanation of how they arrived at the decision. Earlier this month, Cincinnati Reds outfielder Yasiel Puig received a two-game suspension for “aggressive actions” during an incident with the Pittsburgh Pirates. When asked whether he was appealing, Puig said, “I don’t want to talk to Joe Torre again because he’s going to have his point, I’m going to have my point, and he thinks everything is explained for what he does. I’m not going to do nothing about that. He suspends me 2-3 days. He’s the boss. We only take the days because we’re going to be on the phone for two hours and nothing is going to work.”

Tim Anderson not only chose not to appeal his suspension, but he also chose to not address it. Players have little to no recourse when it comes to rulings on punishments and MLB isn’t accountable to anyone when it comes to issuing fines and suspensions. Based on Puig’s comments, it appears there are no guidelines for making these decisions and the weight of the rulings rests solely on Joe Torre’s judgment.

In a controversial situation such as this one, we are left with more questions than answers. MLB has put its foot into a societal discussion of whether or not they get to tell Black people how to use the n-word without even an inkling at why they felt they had the right to do so.

Thank you for reading

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Erik
4/24
In 2016 the NFL declared they were going to crack down on the use of the n-word and I had no idea how they'd police that kind of language when the league is about 65-70% Black, and especially with so much up close and personal chatter post-whistle. It also didn't make sense because I felt the NFL was a bit more "hip," which I was completely wrong about. I'm unsure if the NFL gave up their crusade to cleanse the league of the word, but it's comical MLB would take a similar yet lightweight--at least the NFL had the Fritz Pollard Alliance behind it and precedent of penalizing players for foul language--stance with Anderson, even if he did use it within an insult.
The suspension doesn't turn me off just because Anderson and I are both Black but because it further emphasizes how completely tone-deaf MLB is and more importantly almost explicitly chooses to be towards culture outside of mainstream White America, whatever that may encompass at the time. Making everyone wear #42 one day of the season and freaking Migos (REALLY?!) just adds to the doubt I have that MLB really wants to connect with baseball enthusiasts in the Black community as well, one with a rich history in the sport. It's easy for a Black guy who grew up on the South Side of Chicago to love baseball, regardless of who plays. Loving MLB, especially after this? Not so much.
You're loved, Shake.
Jacob Long
4/24
It would be a little different if MLB had done something similar to NFL and publicly announced a policy that everyone knew they had to abide by. Instead they spring this on Anderson after the fact to justify Joe West's actions.
Erik
4/24
Agreed and it's definitely odd that MLB, which has pretty much historically allowed verbal abuse of officials to some extent--which many fans seem to not mind--would choose to enforce what I'm sure is a rule *somehwere* prohibiting foul language...in this instance.
deadheadbrewer
4/24
Good article, and +1 on Erik's response. Something tells me that Harper's language the other evening was much fouler than Anderson's, and something tells me that Harper will not be suspended under the same "rule".
LoyalRoyal
4/24
Soooo. What we are advocating for is different rules for different races??? Black guys can say the N*word because it's "cultural" but nobody else can? Maybe you guys haven't been around very long, but American culture, black/white/other is slowly trending towards one culture. As someone who works with youth and was a history major, justifying the use of this word is abhorrent due to all of the history behind its use. Justifying it's ok for some people to say and not others is just asinine in my opinion. Try explaining that to a mixed group of 14 years olds. Good luck...
Craig Goldstein
4/24
You are of course welcome to your opinion but, speaking only for myself, I don't think that building a society around what is easy to explain to a group of early teenagers is the way to go. More to the point, my experience with our youth is that they're better at understanding disparate individual identities and how to interact with them than most of the people my or my parents' age.
LoyalRoyal
4/24
Craig, you are obviously an intelligent person. How can you propose that people can use this word when you won't even type it??? How about instead of being able to use a racial slur "to take away its power" we instead instruct our youth on how to empower their voice. To become educated, to become engaged, to become leaders. These are things to aspire to. Prolonging the use of any slur, racial, ethnic, gender, and any others is not the quest anyone of any color should be pursuing. How about we rise above the use of vulgarities and make positive changes in our society instead of using a racial slur as an insult, which is was in this instance as it was the 6 letter version. Bat flip till the sun goes down, but some things shouldn't be said. Period.
Craig Goldstein
4/24
Well, I'm not a black person and my usage of it would be vastly different than a black person's usage of it. It's pretty simple. You can have your preference as to how people approach the word's usage, but nothing you suggested as alternatives are mutually exclusive from black people deciding to use this word as they see fit. Educated, engaged, leader - all of these words describe the author of the article, so I choose to listen to what she has to say as someone who has a lived experience extremely different from mine rather than dictate what the rules are to her and her communities.
LoyalRoyal
4/24
Lol. I retract my former statement. A wise woman once told me never to argue with fools. So, how bout that Royals bullpen, huh? BTW, this has absolutely nothing to do with the person who wrote it. I'm sure she's a great, young woman. When you responded, I thought,, at the time, you wrote it. lol
Maureen mielke
4/24
So tired of this pandering to identity politics or whatever people are teaming it these days. Kevin Pillar got suspended for using a homophobic slur whether it was or was not directed a gay person was immaterial. Same in this instance. I thought 1 game was way less that a white player would get which is incongruous with fairness
Maureen mielke
4/24
Thinking over this article a little more it really was pure abject drivel. Come on BP who is letting this get posted. Standards been falling.
Adrock
4/24
Actually, Maureen, this was an excellent article, and your response was pure drivel. More from Ms. Taylor, please.
Maureen mielke
4/24
The self righteousness in these type of pieces is off putting.
Also I'm not a fan of Budweiser and their ad campaigns but Jackie Robinson did endorsements for cigarettes and was not a smoker. Is that not hippocratic and cynical?
Craig Goldstein
4/24
Appreciate the comments, Maureen. I posted the article and obviously disagree with your assessment of it. I'll say to you what I said to my sister this morning: It is the type of article that makes me proud to work for Baseball Prospectus, and a shining example of what I want to publish going forward.
Maureen mielke
4/24
I just feel if we are going to agree not to use disparaging homophobic slurs as well as refrain from terms like the R-word as it can be offensive to disabled people why does this a get a free pass from people. Anderson clearly was using it in a disparaging manner toward Keller.
Craig Goldstein
4/24
And you're welcome to feel that way. A crucial point of this article is that Anderson is of the community that the term disparages, so his usage of it is different than from someone not within that community, just as Pillar is not part of the LGBTQIA community.
Jon Rimmer
4/25
Well said Shakeia, good job.