Mike Schmidt Tries To Walk Back Comments About Phillies’ Odubel Herrera
A Philadelphia Phillies legend is in hot water for his controversial comments about a current Philly star.
Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt discussed whether the Phillies could build around outfielder Odubel Herrera in an interview with SportsRadio 94WIP on Tuesday, and his comments were troubling, to say the least.
“My honest answer to that would be no because of a couple of things. First of all, it’s a language barrier,” Schmidt said of Herrera, who was born in Venezuela, on SportsRadio 94WIP, as transcribed by ESPN.com. “Because of that, I think he can’t be a guy that would sort of sit in a circle with four, five American players and talk about the game. Or try and learn about the game or discuss the inner workings of the game. Or come over to a guy and say, ‘Man, you gotta run that ball out.’ (He) just can’t be — because of the language barrier — that kind of a player.”
But, as FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal pointed out, there are some glaring issues with Schmidt’s comments.
It’s legitimate to ask whether Odubel Herrera is good enough for Phillies to build around. But “the language barrier” cited by Mike Schmidt…
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 6, 2017
…has no place in the discussion, and not simply because Herrera speaks English. Latin players are leaders on many clubs. A partial list:
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 6, 2017
Adrian Beltre. Carlos Beltran. Albert Pujols. Edinson Volquez. Robinson Cano. Jose Bautista. Miguel Cabrera. Sal Perez. Yadier Molina.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 6, 2017
Schmidt later apologized for his controversial stance.
“It’s been made known to me that my answer … was disrespectful to Herrera and Latin players in general,” Schmidt said in a statement, via ESPN.com. “I’m very sorry that this misrepresentation of my answer occurred and may have offended someone. I assure everyone I had no intention of that. Odubel is a dynamo on the field, and as he becomes more comfortable with the language, his leadership skills will improve, and no doubt he will be a centerpiece in the Phillies future.”
Thumbnail photo via Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports Images
