Wingnuts find baseball

The right wing of the blogosphere found baseball this weekend, thanks to a post by widely-read conservative columnist Michelle Malkin on her daily blog. A reader tipped her off to a Cinco de Mayo promotion the Texas Rangers ran Friday night where the team wore uniforms emblazoned "Los Rangers," and the response was predictable:

I'm not a baseball fan, but several readers wrote in about the Yankees-Rangers game last night...

I understand the Rangers wanted to do something innocuous to recognize a holiday celebrating historical and cultural pride. But the politically correct selectivity here is telling. While it's considered a celebration of "diversity" to acknowledge the military sacrifices of another nation's heroes, it's considered racist to acknowledge the military sacrifices of one's own.

Case in point: Can you imagine if someone proposed changing the Rangers' jerseys to "Confederate Rangers" to celebrate Confederate Heroes' Day?

Oh, and I'm sure I'll be labeled a racist for pointing out the double standard.

Well, I'll leave the question of whether or not she's a racist up to others, but I will confirm that Malkin is not a baseball fan.

If she were, she'd have noticed that the Rangers' promotion is just the latest in a string of promotions that teams have run in the last few years where they honor a former Negro League team that was housed in their city, or honor the team's Hispanic heritage.

For instance, the San Francisco Giants wore the name "Gigantes" on their uniforms for a game last year, and the Milwaukee Brewers have a similar promotion scheduled for later this summer.

And the suggestion that it is "racist to acknowledge the military sacrifices of" Americans also shows her ignorance of the sport. For instance, the San Diego Padres have been honoring the troops at a home game each year where they offer servicemen and women discount tickets and wear camouflage uniforms in tribute. This year's game was on Saturday, April 22:

Saturday's 7:05 p.m. matchup with the Mets marks the Eleventh Annual "Military Opening Day" presented by Northrop Grumman Corporation. The Padres will continue their custom of donning camouflage uniforms, this time wearing a desert pattern worn by troops serving the Middle East.

Five thousand half-price tickets, offered to the military community until 24 hours prior to Saturday's game, are available by presenting a valid military identification card at the Padres Advance Ticket Windows at PETCO Park. Several other pregame ceremonies and festivities are planned, including a "drop-in" visit from the Navy Leap Frogs Demonstration Parachute Team and a HH60-J helicopter fly-over by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Giants, showing their "politically correct selectivity" also have a "Salute to the Military" night, along with promotions honoring the heritage of the Japanese, Chinese, Irish, Italians, African-Americans and Jews.

Tags: Conservatives Baseball Rangers Padres Giants Michelle Malkin