Black Dominican players are "imposters"

I agree with the author's take on what Torii Hunter said. Hunter used bad wording to get his point across. 'Imposters' is a bit of a strong word that has some negative connotations. He might be right in terms of the casual baseball fan not being able to distinguish between African American and Dominican players, but the fans to actually care know the difference. Nationality has always been a more salient characteristic in baseball because it is one of the most diverse sports in the world. American baseball is very popular in other countries because of its diversity. Thus, more foreign-born athletes are choosing to come to the U.S. to play baseball.
As far as the decreasing number of African Americans in the big leagues goes, it really could be attributed to a number of things. The increasing number of foreign-born players is only part of it. When you look at baseball compared to football or basketball in the United States, baseball just doesn't match up in terms of 'instant gratification'. What I mean by that is football and basketball pay their players immediately. Baseball has a minor league system that a player could spend their entire career in if they underperform or are overlooked. It detracts a lot of players in general, not just African American players. Foreign-born players often skip over this system because the best of the best are often the only ones scouted. The bottom line is, this issue is a product of the difference in systems of sports in our country. It is not a product of the individual player or the nature of the sport.