Ian Kinsler didn’t exactly mean what he said about Latino baseball players.
The United States second baseman sought to clarify the controversial comments he made to The New York Times prior to Wednesday’s USA vs. Puerto Rico 2017 World Baseball Classic final about the differences between how Latin American and mainland U.S.-born players play the sport.
Following USA’s 8-0 win in the final, Kinsler explained to ESPN what he meant to say.
“What I said was that American kids can watch American players play, Puerto Rican kids can watch Puerto Rican players play, Venezuelan kids can watch Venezuelan guys play, and that’s who they emulate,” Kinsler said. “That’s who they watch. That’s who they want to be like. There’s nothing wrong with an American kid watching a Puerto Rican player and wanting to be like them, or a Puerto Rican kid watching an American player and wanting to play that way.
“You should play the way you want, and the way you feel will put you in the best position to win — the way you feel the best and perform the best. Everybody is different. I play differently than a lot of my teammates on this team; I play with a little more emotion than most players during the season. Everybody has their own style! That’s all I was saying.”
ESPN’s Marly Rivera then asked Kinsler if he deems the U.S. style to be better than how Latin Americans play.
“Absolutely not,” Kinsler replied. “This is what this tournament is for, to demonstrate the game in all walks of life, all over the globe. You saw the way Japanese players play; they play different than us. The Latin teams play different than us. Everyone should be celebrated. That is what this tournament is about, and that’s why everyone loves it, ’cause you get to see people play (in front of) people from their own country and the different styles of baseball. One is not better than the other; they are just different.”
Thumbnail photo via Kelvin Kuo/USA TODAY Sports Images
