This one is for the non-Astros fans. I realize that this is an Astros fan blog, but I'm going to be pushing this link around, so I'm hoping this will spread.
If you're the type of fan who reads baseball fan blogs, then you're probably also the type of fan who has some idea of the big headlines around the rest of MLB. Which means you've probably heard that the Astros last week traded for Roberto Osuna. Which means you probably also know why Toronto was looking to trade a young, cheap, controllable All-Star closer at all. If you don't know, type "roberto osuna" into Google News and you'll figure it out quickly enough.
I grew up in the Astrodome, but myself and many other Astros die-hards have been alternately angered and saddened by our favorite baseball team's decision that acquiring a young, cheap, controllable All-Star closer at a domestic violence discount was more important than upholding the organization's alleged "zero tolerance policy" for such incidents. GM Jeff Luhnow stumbled in reconciling that policy with this trade, notably including words like "remorseful" (to Osuna's lawyer's chagrin) and notably avoiding words like "innocent." Osuna officially joined the Astros roster today, as his 75-game suspension from MLB expired, and I'm ashamed of my team. I'm also ashamed of many fellow Astros fans who have been eager to ignore or brush aside a still-pending criminal case because our new closer is not in jail and he can throw a baseball good.
Please boo us.
I don't mean you should boo Astros fans (although if you spot someone wearing an Astros Osuna shirsey, by all means, ask questions). I'm certainly not advocating for violence or bad behavior of any kind. But the Astros deserve all of the bad publicity and dislike that they invited on themselves by making this trade.
I'll confess, Yankees fans, that it was convenient to me when the Yankees traded for, and then later re-signed, Aroldis Chapman. I already hated the Yankees - as most non-Yankees fans do - so it was easy for me to compartmentalize that "of course the hated team would welcome a hated player." I was #MadOnline for about 20 minutes over Chapman's $86 million free agent contract, then I forgot about it. I'm ashamed now that I too dismissed it so easily.
If you're feeling good about your team because you didn't trade for a player with active domestic violence allegations last week, then great! By all means, feel good. If you feel that the Astros deserve boos because they did make that trade, then please, go ahead and boo too. If you do boo the Astros for that, though, then you're saying that you don't like domestic violence. Also good - any human being with a pulse should feel the same.
My challenge is this: If you don't like domestic violence, go ahead and boo your disapproval. Then go and actually DO something about it.
BALTIMORE
House of Ruth Maryland
BOSTON
Jane Doe, Inc.
NEW YORK
New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence
TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG
CASA (Community Action Stops Abuse)
TORONTO
Nellie's
CHICAGO
CAWC (Connections for Abused Women and their Children)
CLEVELAND
DVCAC (Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center)
DETROIT
MCEDSV (Michigan Coalition to End Domestic & Sexual Violence)
KANSAS CITY
Hope House
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL
360 Communities/Lewis House
ANAHEIM/ORANGE COUNTY
Human Options
OAKLAND
A Safe Place
SEATTLE
WSCADV (Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence)
DFW/ARLINGTON
SafeHaven of Tarrant County
ATLANTA
Partnership Against Domestic Violence
MIAMI
Safespace Foundation Miami
PHILADELPHIA
Women Against Abuse
WASHINGTON, DC
DCCoalition Against Domestic Violence
CINCINNATI
YWCA Greater Cincinnati
MILWAUKEE
Milwaukee Women's Center/Community Advocates, Inc.
PITTSBURGH
Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh
ST. LOUIS
Lydia's House
LOS ANGELES
Peace Over Violence
SAN FRANCISCO
Riley Center of St. Vincent De Paul
PHOENIX
Chrysalis
DENVER
SafeHouse Denver
SAN DIEGO
YWCA San Diego Becky's House
You don't even have to wait until you get the chance to boo the Astros in person before you can click on one of those links to donate or volunteer your time and actually make a difference in fighting domestic violence in your own community. I gathered those links via the National Domestic Violence Center Hotline, but there are a great many more organizations out there also doing great good. If you have a favorite, give them your support.
Roberto Osuna is an active, paid MLB player again now, and whether or not you agree with that, we should all agree that domestic violence is a serious problem, and that the victims need our help more than any pro athlete needs our praise. Many Astros fans - myself included - already have been and will be donating to the Houston Area Women's Center in response. If you feel strongly enough about domestic violence to boo an accused opposing player, then back that up by proving that you care enough to support real victims too.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith