Previously, I asked "Why Are All the Best Running Backs and Wide Receivers Black?" That quarter-century trend is so obvious that it's laughable — and sad — that major media outlets refuse to touch it. (Unless you're dumb enough to think it's just coincidence that, say, the last time a white running back led either the AFC or NFC in rushing was Oakland's Mark van Eeghen in 1977. There are significant influences, and I'm interested to know what they are.)

Now, inspired by YES network's video of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez clowning with Melky Cabrera before Thursday's Yankees game — something that, on the surface, might induce vomiting from Boston to New York — I'm wondering if Latinos, and perhaps Dominicans specifically, have so much love for their compatriots that they're softening on-field baseball rivalries.

Not that there's anything wrong with it.

If you've seen any interview with Lou Piniella, Dwight Evans, Graig Nettles or Carlton Fisk, then you know those late-1970s Yankees and Red Sux teams genuinely disliked each other. I don't think that's the case now, and there are plenty of reasons for it:

1. Player Movement: Guys switch teams way more then in previous eras. So, a veteran on Team A is much more likely to have played somewhere, sometime, with veterans on team B.

2. Shared Agents: No longer are contracts negotiated by second cousins with law degrees. These guys align themselves with agencies that have lineups that would make George Steinbrenner blush. And I'm sure said agencies throw hella stripper parties, which are well-attended.

3. When I Say the Boy's Got His Own Money... These fuckers are rich, man. Hell, I'd give Curt Schilling a hug if we were both making $15 million a year.

In addition to that, I think Latinos, who comprise higher and higher percentages of MLB rosters, are thrilled to see each other succeed — even on opposing teams. More than Americans, for example, root for their fellow countrymen.

The main reason, as I see it, is that these guys generally (and perhaps wholly) don't come from families of privilege. The word "fortunate" is never more appropriate than when applied to someone who came to America to perform a skill at the highest level in the world. And I respect these guys' appreciation for what they have: fame, fortune and perspective.

After losing Game 2 of the 2004 ALCS at Yankee Stadium, Pedro Martinez suffered a bit of ridicule for his "mango tree" tale. Some thought he should've care more about the loss than reminding us that he was happy to have been "the center of New York" 15 years after "sitting under a mango tree without 50 cents to pay for a bus."

But I gained a new appreciation for the guy. I thought it was heart-felt, sensible and exactly what fans seem to look for when they say these "spoiled" athletes don't realize how lucky they are. Sometimes, these players can't win, and that was one of those cases.

Latinos, it seems to me, address the game as a game a little more than some. And I think it's rubbing off on the rest of the MLB culture. At least enough to warrant a discussion.

Not that they don't play as hard or as fundamentally sound (maybe even more so). Just throwing stuff out here. But have you met my friend, Manny Ramirez? You can't throw at the guy for what he does. You might placate Joe Schmo in Section 6, who jumps over kids to get a foul ball, but a lot of people fielding behind the pitcher love Manny more than they do the pitcher. Manny's act used to bug the shit out of me. But if the Yankees don't care what he does, why should I?

The one problem I do have is that, if you're gonna buy into this sports stuff and allow the results to matter you, then you at least want to pretend your favorite team hates your rival. When I see images of Yanks and Sux hugging and clowning before a game, I feel like a sucker for what I put into it the night before. It's like seeing the Iron Sheik and Sgt. Slaughter having breakfast together. It kinda ruins the fantasy.

Maybe there's nothing to this. The NFL doesn't have a strong Latin contingent, yet it has more and more love-fests before and after games — though I think that's because pro football is violent beyond belief, and they just wanna get through it alive. Or maybe I'm just wrong on this whole thing. (Wouldn't be the first time.)