The Seattle Mariners Head Back To Reality

The Seattle Mariners Head Back To Reality

The ball club that is starting to lose its rhythm as of late.

AndrewColumbro
AndrewColumbro May 15, 2019
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The Seattle Mariners started the year out way better than people expected. They started the season off with a 13-2 record during their first 15 games. Now as they head into May, the team is sitting at a .500 record. However, the team did not have high expectations as they were looking towards a rebuilding year for the ball club. During the off-season, they got rid of a lot of their core players such as Jean Segura, Nelson Cruz, James Paxton, and Edwin Diaz.

According to an article from CBS Sports, the Mariners now own the longest playoff drought in all pro-American sports. The team was last in the playoffs during the 2001 season. That was during Ichiro's rookie season, and he is now retired if that doesn't explain enough. I have been going to Mariners games before I could even walk and I have never seen an MLB postseason game ever. The looks of this season started promisingly for us Mariner fans until we started having losing streaks as of late. The Mariners have started the month of May with a 1-5 record and are currently on a 4-game losing streak.

The team has developed a strong farm system from the acquisitions of Justus Sheffield, Kyle Lewis, and Jarred Kelenic. It might be a while until we start seeing consistent success from this team. It feels like every year we get so close to making the playoffs and then we end up short every season. I hope to see the ball club keep their top prospects and build something that will benefit the team in the long run.

During a press release from Baseball America with general manager Jerry Dipoto, he explained how he is looking for a team that is versatile and athletic. By getting rid of a lot of these big contracts from their old core of players the Mariners were able to get key prospects that will soon be making a big appearance. The only good thing that can come from the Mariners starting to tank is that we can see these top prospects in action as early as this season. However, the team currently stands at 2nd in the AL West behind the Houston Astros.

The Mariners have upcoming series against the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics so hopefully, they can start seeing some wins and get back into contention. They have shown this season that they can compete in the American league during the beginning of the season.

AndrewColumbro
AndrewColumbro May 15, 2019
At Arizona State University

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The 19th Amendment Did Not Affect All Women

The fight for Voting Rights across the country is still a struggle.
Raquel Solla Raquel Solla
Raquel Solla Raquel Solla Aug 8, 2016
18800
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It’s a fact we’ve learned to regurgitate; in the year 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified. It prohibited any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on account of their gender. It's been hailed as the one of the greatest, if the not the greatest achievement for our country's women's rights movement.

What we don’t hear, is that two years after this amendment was passed, the Supreme Court ruled people of Japanese heritage were ineligible to become naturalized citizens -- a court found the same with Asian Indians in the following year. Not being able to become naturalized citizens, of course, affected what demographic of women could actually vote. In 1924, Native Americans were granted citizenship through the Indian Citizenship Act, but many states still passed laws preventing Native Americans from voting, for as late as the year 1957.

It wasn’t until 1943 that Chinese Americans were first permitted to become citizens, after the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed. For Filipinos, it wasn’t until 1946; for Japanese Americans and other Asian Americans, this did not come until 1952. In 1964, women of lower socio-economic status were faced with one less barrier to voting; there was now no tax to pay anywhere in the country in order to vote.

In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed abolishing legal barriers that prevented black Americans from voting. In 1990, polling centers were required to have accommodations for Americans with disabilities with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In the year 2000, a federal court decided US Territories could not vote in presidential elections. The fight for Voting Rights across the country is still a struggle; in this month, alone, a federal appeals court struck down a voter ID law in North Carolina that was described as targeting African American voters "with almost surgical precision."

Why is it, then, that we accept the 19th Amendment as being the point when women were allowed the right to vote? It's presented in our history classes, our media, etc., as if the struggle to get women to vote ended with the passing of this amendment to the Constitution, which is simply not true. To state so would be to exclude essentially all women of color, among white women who couldn't afford to pay a poll tax.

Some could argue there’s exceptions to every fact and law in our history, but it’s not as if one specific group of women were an exception to this. Asian women, Native American women, black women, poor women and more were unable to exercise their right to vote, and their struggles have been arguably erased in the acceptation of the 19th Amendment being the point in which all women could vote.

When we use the word women, we assume it applies to women of every race and ethnicity; instead, it’s been reduced to mean only white women. When we say women earned the right to vote in 1920, we're whitewashing history. To be fair, we have no reason to not pause and think if this is a whitewashing of history, because of the pure lack of information on voting rights of marginalized and minority groups in our country.

Often, high school American history classes have been dubbed as being a history of "great white men." It's not hard to picture the only real segment of women's history taught in most history classes really only applies to that of "great white women." It shouldn’t be surprising that we’ve been conditioned to accept the notion that saying women got the right to vote in 1920 as appropriate, because of how our history is often taught to us.

Recently, with the recognition of white feminism becoming slowly more prevalent in our country's society, it’s important for us as a people to not portray women’s struggles as merely white women’s struggles. It's more than frustrating to see our politicians, socially-conscious celebrities, and other prominent figures speak as if the 19th Amendment was the end of women's struggle for voting rights. It's easy to accept the erasing of the history. After all, most people were taught a history that erased struggles of marginalized groups. It’s harder to try to write history back into a place it deserves to be. Women worked hard for the 19th Amendment to be ratified. It's time to recognize women that also worked hard for their own voting struggles, long after the 19th Amendment was ratified.

Cover Image Credit: Bio.
Raquel Solla Raquel Solla
Raquel Solla Raquel Solla Aug 8, 2016
At Emory University

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Following Abuse Allegations, Should Addison Russell Still Be Playing In The Bigs?

Only time will truly tell how changed of a man Addison really is.

Jt Littleton
Jt Littleton May 14, 2019
32
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Around 2015, I started keeping up with the Chicago Cubs. This was because I was really interested in the starting of the Bryzzo bromance, consisting of third baseman Kris Bryant and first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Bryant made his debut April 17, 2015, with Addison Russell making his four days later on April 21. I stayed loyal to my Atlanta Braves but I have other teams I like to watch and keep up with an alright go ahead and call me a bandwagon because the Cubs would win a World Series the next year.

I try to keep up with most of the baseball and the bigger names and at the time Addison Russell was one of those bigger names in 2016 when I met my wife. I don't typically know Every player's hometown or high school especially. Of course, I know both Kris Bryant and Bryce Harper are from Las Vegas, but who doesn't know that. When I and my wife were first starting to know each other, she found out how much I love and keep up with baseball. A reference she used to what high school she went to which is Pace High School in Pensacola, FL, was that's where Addison Russell was drafted straight out of in 2012 as the 11th overall pick.

For me, I was like, lit, because the Cubs were in the postseason about to play for the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians.

In 2017 I moved to Pensacola with my wife and began working at Academy Sports and Outdoors. This plays a vital part in how my opinion of Addison goes. During my time at the Academy, I assisted Addison on two occasions. The first was in the team sports department and I and a coworker helped him find a thumb guard so that when he was in the off-season and hitting he wouldn't get raw spots and blisters because those still happen in the bigs. He was a little shyer seeming but was a nice guy and kept a smile the whole time. He even talked with me and my coworker for a few minutes about baseball, neither of us was unprofessional to the Academy Policy and didn't go fanboy over him.

A few months later I happened to see him in the footwear department and assisted in getting him a pair of training shoes for the weight room and running shoes for running. Again he was a little reserved but was an upbeat guy. And again I talked to him about baseball but never treated him as if he was the hot shit but just like another guy who likes baseball. This is how I believe players should be treated, in knowing other players from my area I grew up in. However this in no way is me saying he is innocent, I'm just saying he's not a completely terrible person like some people are saying.

As previously stated Russell was drafted 11th overall in 2012 by the Oakland A's before being traded to the Chicago Cubs. 2015 was a good year with Russell having an average of .242 with even more amazing defensive plays. In my opinion in watching games and highlights Addison is a better defensive player than an offensive player. However, he had a great offensive turnout in game six of the 2016 World Series with a Grand Slam and a total of 6 RBIs for the game. Altogether on the field, Russell is a decent player who gets the job done and does a fair share.

In 2017, a post online by a friend of Russell's then-wife at the time Melisa Reidy accused Russell of domestic abuse against his wife. This accusation did begin a divorce between Reidy and Russell but didn't end up with any disciplinary action at the time by the MLB. At the time multiple teammates talked about great memories and how great of a guy he is but don't know much about his life off the field. However; in September 2018 Reidy did come forward in a blog posting about all the abuse Russell had allegedly done against her.

Reidy claims he laid his hands on her multiple times including times in front of their infant. She also claims there were infidelity and verbal abuse. She believed, in the beginning, Russell had just let his emotions get the best of him and that he was deeply sorry and loved her even though it continued to happen. Reidy alleged that the abuse would get worse when he was more stressed and under extreme pressure at work during losing streaks or slumps.

On one occurrence leading up to the 2016 World Series Russell was in a slump and Reidy says she remembers crying in relief when he hit a home run — she said she knew at the time he wasn't going to be as stressed.

That's just an overview of the allegations and if you want to truly know the whole situation, all of Reidy's blog post are online still and so are multiple updates on the investigation. After the accusations from Reidy MLB put Russell on a 40-day suspension as are stated in the rules against domestic violence.

My following statements again are in no way me saying Addison Russell is innocent. From all I've personally read and watched on the investigations, I do believe Addison is in the wrong. However as a hot head ex-baseball player, and intramural softball player I understand the frustration of a slump or a bad game. I've been ejected multiple times.

But I've never taken the stress of a game home with me. That, in my opinion, is truly where Addison went wrong.

I have brought home the stress from work and I feel terrible about some of the shit I've put my wife and friends through. As I am reading through the different details of Russell's abuse towards his wife I believe it should open the eyes to other men out there and we should learn how to not get so hot-headed and how to leave work on the doorstep.

I've heard stories about a guy who hung up all his work problems in a tree in the front yard and then would go inside to his wife and kids. In the morning he would go back to the tree pick up what he left and state it feels lighter than the day before.

Now, I'm not saying I or anyone else has abused their wife, but we have all fallen short of respecting them for how they deserve to be treated.

Therefore, I believe Addison is guilty as are many other men out there of not giving our wives the respect they deserve or getting to heated in an argument or bringing work problems home.

Addison still hasn't officially stated that he's guilty but he is no longer stating he is innocent in saying he has learned more about what domestic abuse and violence is. He has also sought out counseling and treatment on his own far past his mandated treatment the MLB requested from him. It has been less than a year and those close to Russell say he has made great progress.

Only time will truly tell how changed of a man Addison really is.

As for the true question: Does Addison Russell belong in the MLB? I believe yes. He isn't a superstar but he does bring a lot to the table and is a great player. He has taken responsibility for his actions and he's seeking treatment to make sure it doesn't happen again. We've all made mistakes and for someone of his stardom to accept responsibility and seek treatment to try to move on and become a better person is what I truly want to see. So yes I believe Addison Russell should get a second chance and can't wait to see how he does this season with the Cubs.

Jt Littleton
Jt Littleton May 14, 2019
At Auburn University

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