Off season: Gallardo for Napoli?

[gregmag]

DHonks and LouisEly make a reasonable point for which they've offered ample grounding. I don't know for sure whether Gallardo's heritage would make a material difference in trade talks with teams in big Mexican-American markets, but the idea that it might make a difference, for the reasons DHonks and LouisEly suggest, seems very plausible.

 

I remember being surprised, when we got Yo, at how relatively few players of Mexican descent were in the big leagues, given the size and proximity of Mexico, relative to players from elsewhere in Latin America. I don't think it's insulting to speculate that people would be jazzed for their team to have an affable, starting-caliber player of their own ethnicity, especially when the ethnic group is big locally and the player pool is relatively small. In that situation, I don't think the player has to be a superstar. Gallardo isn't prime Valenzuela, but he isn't chopped liver either.

 

African Americans I know like to have an African-American player or three to root for. (I live in St. Louis, where that desire goes unfulfilled.) Hell, Jim Gantner and Jerry Augustine have been dining out on their Wisconsin roots for years in Milwaukee. None of this means that Mexican Americans or African Americans or Wisconsinites care about players' backgrounds more than winning, or that they have anything against other players. It's just one way in which fans relate to players, and that relatability contributes to how a lot of people enjoy sports.

[RockCoCougars]

Debate Gallardo all that you want, but I don't want any part of Napoli at $15 million. He strikes out a ton and doesn't seem to be the type that will age well. Now that he doesn't catch, he's lost a lot of his value, as he's basically Prince defensively at first.