Every now and then I feel like writing something non-baseball related. This is one of those articles, although its genesis is rooted in something I frequently see expressed in a sports context, and it creeps into other areas as well. And I’m probably going to end up sounding like Dana Carvey’s "Grumpy Old Man" character that he used to portray on Saturday Night Live roughly 30 years ago who always complained about how things had changed from when he was younger ("I don’t like things now compared to the way things used to be" and "that’s the way it was, and we liked it!"), but here goes…..
First, a step back….
George Carlin passed away a little over a decade ago. I miss his humor. He covered a lot of ground, from politics to religion to psychology, but the one thing about his humor that resonated with me was that he had a real fascination with and a true love of the English language (and I’m not even specifically referring to his famous "7 words you can’t say on TV" bit). His observations on the English language were an underlying foundation of his comedy.
Here’s a quick example, where he comments on the concept of "self help" books (condensing the excerpt a little):
"Why do so many people need help? …..And the part I really don’t understand, if you’re looking for self help, why would you read a book written by somebody else? That’s not "self help"…. that’s "help"! There’s no such a thing as "self help"…if you did it yourself, you didn’t need help. You did it yourself! Try to pay attention to the language we all agreed on."
It’s that last sentence that was the inspiration for the title of this article. Because…well, I love language. I love trying to choose the optimal word. Sometimes I obsess a little too much over it and consult the thesaurus a little too much. It slows me down when I’m writing, as I’m constantly second-guessing the words I select in the pursuit for even better options, but the way I see it, words are tools. I try to pick the right word, much like a good analyst tries to choose the proper technique to research a topic or a handyman strives to select the right tool to tackle a repair. Pick the wrong tool, and you can end up with a bigger mess on your hands. Proper word choice is essential to effectively communicating one’s thoughts. Communication is one of the most challenging things we do as humans. The goal of any good writer is to try and bridge that gap between what the writer is attempting to convey and what the reader actually receives. It’s a tricky bridge to navigate, complete with noise and distortions, encoding and decoding, intent vs. interpretation. Use the wrong word, and the message can deteriorate.
We have no shortage of word options. Think of all of the words we have at our disposal to express the concept of "big". There’s large, great, considerable, enormous, huge, immense, tremendous, vast, colossal, gigantic, mammoth, jumbo, humongous, bulky, voluminous…..and on and on. They’re synonyms, but each one offers a slightly different variation on the concept. And in many cases, using one instead of another can make, well, a "big" difference.
Which brings us to the use of the word "snub"……
I think "snub" has to be one of the most mis-used words that regularly appears in sports and entertainment articles. It’s commonly used when people refer to real or perceived oversights of various honors (like the Hall of Fame or an All-Star game selection), or an award nomination (such as the Oscars).
Google the phrase "baseball all star game snubs", and you’ll be treated to a series of articles where the notion of a "snub" is applied frequently. Seems like everyone comes up with a list of "snubs".
Combing through the articles on just a couple of pages of article links, here are some of the names that I saw referenced as "snubs" for the 2019 Major League All Star game (no particular order):
Fernando Tatis, Jr.
Luke Voit
Xander Boegarts
Gleber Torres
Felipe Vazquez
Trey Mancini
Daniel Vogelbach
Pete Alonso
Brandon Lowe
Paul DeJong
Matt Chapman
Max Kepler
Tommy Pham
Eric Hosmer
Hunter Renfroe
Franmil Reyes
Max Muncy
Yoan Moncada
Rafael Devers
Jose Berrios
Eddie Rosario
Stephen Strasburg
Liam Hendricks
Marcus Semien
Byron Buxton
Hunter Dozier
Matt Boyd
Lance Lynn
Chris Sale
German Marquez
Roberto Perez
Christian Vazquez
Ken Giles
Bryce Harper
Manny Machado
Shane Bieber
Cole Hamels
Rhys Hopkins
Luke Jackson
Adalberto Mondesi
Anthony Rizzo
Alex Verdugo
Brandon Woodruff
Yadier Molina
Ozzie Albies
Dansby Swanson
Juan Soto
That’s 47 names, which is almost as many "snubs" as there are actual roster spots (68). Now, granted, several of these players ended up making the final rosters anyway due to injuries (does that mean they were "unsnubbed"?), but even so, that’s a whole bunch of "snubbing" going on.
Except that….no, there’s really not. These players weren’t snubbed. That’s absurd. Others were chosen instead of them. That’s all.
Not to go all Funk and Wagnall’s on anyone, but here are the main definitions of "snub" according to various sources:
Merriam-Webster:
to treat with contempt or neglect.
Cambridge Dictonary:
Dictionary.com:
1) to treat with disdain or contempt, especially by ignoring.
2) to check or reject with a sharp rebuke or remark.
Vocubalary.com explains it this way:
To snub is to ignore or refuse to acknowledge someone. If you want to snub your former best friend, you can refuse to even look at her when you pass in the hallway.
When you snub someone, you deliver an insult by pretending to not even notice someone that you know. There’s an element of disdain and rejection to a snub, as if you’re too good to even acknowledge the person. As a noun, a snub is that act of cold rejection. Your former friend probably noticed the snub, and she’ll probably snub you from now on. Snub also means "very short," like the nose on a bulldog.
Even Urbandictionary.com, which can often be counted on to provide some additional takes on a word or phrase, describes "snub" in this manner:
Describes the action of ignoring, failing to notice, or pretending not to see someone.
A person is usually snubbed when they are disliked or the other person couldn’t be bothered talking to them.
Now, do any of those seem anything like what people are talking about when they refer to Hall of Fame or All Star game (or Oscar) "snubs"? Of course not. That’s ridiculous. There are only so many slots available on an All Star game roster, and there are guidelines (such as having every team represented) that need to be followed that impact the selections. Somebody is going to be left off. Several, in fact. There will always be players who have a legitimate argument and are completely worthy of making an All Star team, but we can’t put them all on, and the line that separates who makes the team vs. who has to be left off is typically very thin indeed. To characterize this as being "snubbed" is absurd. There are only so many "best movie" and "best director" nominations available. Someone or something that is someone else’s favorite is going to get bypassed at some point. There’s just not enough room.
In a nutshell, the problem is that "snub" is getting used as a synonym for simply omitting someone or opting for someone else. But look at those definitions again. Look at the tone contained by the key words that help define a snub: disdain, contempt, rudeness, scorn, rebuke, malice. A "snub" is more than simply passing over someone in favor of someone else. It contains an element of intentional negativity being delivered by the person doing the "snubbing".
I would say that, without exaggerating, not 1 in 100 of the examples of "snubs" in articles such as these are even remotely close to being a true "snub". It’s just someone being lazy with the language.
Now, I certainly realize that the application of words and word usage are never entirely stable. They can evolve over time, and their meanings and usage can certainly change. I’ve mentioned this example before, but I recall going into a steakhouse once and asking what choices they had for steak sauces, and the server listed them off and I made my selection, and he replied with "Awesome"! In my head, I thought to myself "No, my steak sauce selection was most certainly not "awesome". I simply made a choice. But, "awesome" has evolved over time, and to this dude, it simply meant "great, I have that sauce available, thank you for making your selection so I can proceed with my duties!"
So, yes, words and usage of words do change over time. But I find it disheartening when perfectly good words get softened. To "snub" someone carries a very strong underlying meaning. When someone uses it to simply describe a situation where someone got passed over by another person that is arguably inferior, then the word is effectively neutered. And that’s what bothers me most. We have plenty of other options to describe a decision that you disagree with.
Besides, "snub" is a great sounding word, in a family with other great "sn" words that connote negative imagery: snake, snob, snide, sneer, snark, snuff, snit. There’s something about the "snnnnnn" sound that is deliciously bleak. I’d hate to lose that from our arsenal of vocabulary.
So I say, stop with all the talk of "snubbing". If you disagree with a selection, say so, but realize that it’s just your opinion. If you think that someone else was more deserving, make your case. But please leave the implication of being "snubbed" out of it.
"Try to pay attention to the language we all agreed on."
And, if you made it this far…..thank you for not "snubbing" this article.
Dan