Lewis Brinson’s hot streak should be the story. Talk about a racial slur overshadowed it
%20(1).JPG "Miami Marlins’ Lewis Brinson breaks from the batter’s box after connecting for a single off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Austin Gomber during the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, in Denver.")
The discussion around Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson right now should be about his performance on the field, the strides he has made in a critical juncture of his tenure with his hometown team.
Instead, the focus Sunday was on actions that took place behind him in the stands.
The Colorado Rockies investigated an incident in which a fan shouted what sounded on the television broadcast like a racial slur while Brinson, who is Black, was batting at the end of the Marlins’ 13-8 loss to the Rockies in their series finale at Coors Field.
The Rockies on Monday said in a statement that an investigation concluded that the fan sitting behind home plate was shouting “Dinger,” which is the name of the Rockies’ mascot.
Brinson was at the plate in the ninth inning when the fan could be heard shouting the phrase multiple times on the Bally Sports Florida television broadcast. Marlins players and coaches on the field did not hear the comments.
Brinson said he was informed about the incident when he was working out after the game.
“My initial reaction, I was upset,” Brinson said Monday. “Nobody wants to be called that disrespectful, disgusting word. That belittles my people, Black people. It’s a disgusting word and no one wants to hear it.”
Brinson said he listened to the video of the clip “at least 50 times” and said personally he hears the slur and not “Dinger” when he listens to it.
According to 9News, a TV station in Denver, the Rockies worked with their local broadcaster AT&T Sportsnet to identify the fan based on the microphone that picked up the fan’s shouts. The Rockies told the outlet they talked to the fan, who confirmed he was shouting “Dinger.”
“I’m a human,” Brinson said. “I have sympathy. If he was yelling for the mascot, I am sorry for any backlash or any unnecessary attention that he’s getting right now.”
But let’s shift the focus back to Brinson the player, Brinson the human being.
Brinson, a Fort Lauderdale native and Coral Springs High alumnus in his fourth season with the Marlins, has made it a mission to ignore outside noise that is directed toward him.
It’s been a priority for the 27-year-old outfielder this season as he tries to make what could be his final case to prove he can be part of the club’s long-term plans.
He struggled out of the gate after being acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers as the headliner in the Christian Yelich trade, hitting .199 in 2018 and getting demoted to Triple A a month into the 2019 season. He made strides in 2020 when he platooned in right field, but had spent most of 2021 either in the minor leagues or as a bench player during sporadic stints with the big-league club.
The hope, the optimism, that everything will come together never waned.
And lately, things have finally started to click.
Heading into Monday’s game against the San Diego Padres, Brinson was hitting .314 (16 for 51) with seven doubles, two home runs, 12 RBI and seven runs scored in 17 games (13 starts) since his most recent call-up to the active roster on July 19. He had recorded multiple hits in four of his past seven starts.
Better late than never, Brinson says.
“Mentally, I’m in a good spot,” Brinson said Friday. “This whole year, really, it’s been kind of up and down, but since I’ve been in the lineup regularly, my confidence has been great. I just trust my work. I work hard. I work extremely hard and I trust my work. I trust my ability. It’s starting to show on the field consistently, so I’m happy.”
Brinson has also been vocal on the topics of racial justice and equality during his time in the big leagues.
He is part of the Players Alliance, a group of about 150 current and former MLB and minor-league players who aim to “create an inclusive culture within baseball and the community, where differences are leveraged to elevate racial equality and provide greater opportunities for the Black community.”
He’s regularly in the community, as well. In the past year alone, Brinson handed out meals at Liberty City polling locations on Election Day, handed out personalized “swag bags” with outfielder prospect Monte Harrison to first graders at KIPP Sunrise Academy as part of a Marlins-organized holiday celebration in December and was part of the Players Alliance’s “Pull Up Neighbor” food distribution stop in Overtown in January.
On Thursday at loanDepot park, Brinson and middle infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. handed out bats, balls, gloves and a Marlins hat to kids from the Marlins’ Junior RBI league.
The spent time pregame throwing underhand pitches to the kids in the outfield and signed autographs.
“It means a lot,” Brinson said. “It especially meant a lot to me when I saw somebody out there playing baseball that looked like me. To get them face to face and see that they can be big-leaguers too and play professional baseball too, I know that meant a lot to them and I hope they had a good time.”
This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 12:18 AM.
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