La Vida Voices: Russell Dorsey

As someone who follows baseball – especially Chicago baseball – I dig in religiously any time a new writer joins the beat. Who is this person? Where are they from? Who are they covering and why? Most importantly, what about them is going to differentiate them from the rest of the baseball pack in the city?

I was intrigued when I saw a tweet that a guy named Russell Dorsey was going to cover the Cubs and White Sox for MLB.com,

Then I needed to know more when I saw Dorsey tweet in Spanish.

Over the past couple months Dorsey has become a friend of La Vida Baseball, frequently appearing on our live show and becoming part of our familia. He’s done a marvelous job of telling the stories of the Cubs and Sox and sharing his passion for the game through his writing. After speaking with him on the air a few times we wanted to share a little more of his backstory. Here’s more on who, how and why we love the latest addition to the Chicago beat, Russell Dorsey.

Tab Bamford: What sparked your love of baseball? What is it something passed down through your family?

Russell Dorsey: Baseball is really big in my family and, contrary to popular belief, in the African American community. I used to watch games with my dad and learn about all the different players around the game. He would tell me stories about guys he used to watch when he was my age like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Rod Carew and others.  He’d also used to buy me USA Today Baseball Weekly each week, and I’d read and learn more about baseball. I knew everybody’s stats.

TB: What inspired you to work in sports journalism? Who were some of the key individuals who aided you along the way?

RD: I got into the business almost on accident. I wanted to try to walk on and play baseball in college, but I tore my Achilles the first week of my freshman year. I still remember the day – August 17, 2013. After that, a friend of mine asked me to write about sports for the school newspaper since he heard me destroying people in debates about every sport. I didn’t want to at first, but I decided to try it.  I was hooked instantly. I love to write in a way people can understand, whether they are a casual watcher or sports nut.

There are so many people who have helped me get to this point. People like Barry Rozner, Bruce Miles, Scot Gregor, Tom Quinlan, Jonathan Cyprowski, Nick Friedell, Vinny Goodwill, Dan Mann and so many others. These are people who cared about me and gave me time when they didn’t have to when I was just a kid with a laptop and a dream. That’s why it is always important to me to talk to up-and-coming writers or kids in school, because I know how important that was for me and I wanna be there for the next people to come up after me.

TB: You’ve recently started covering the Chicago White Sox for MLB.com. The White Sox are a team built around Latino players and have a rich Cuban tradition. How do you handle the language barrier? When did you pick up Spanish? How do Latino players respond when you start talking to them en español?

RD: It’s always been something that I wanted to do better than other reporters. I think many writers would tell you that the most under-reported stories are those of Latino players due to the language barrier.  So when I started to write, I wanted to stand out. I’m already one of very few African Americans to cover baseball and the youngest reporter here in town at 24, so being able to communicate to players in their native language has always appealed to me.

I started learning Spanish in the 7th grade, but I’d say I started to take it seriously during my sophomore year of high school. I took Honors Spanish, and being able to pronounce and understand words came easy to me. At my school, unlike many that teach European Spanish, I learned the Dominican dialect, which helps a ton now being around so many Dominican players. I also studied in the Santiago, Dominican Republic, while on a mission trip when I was 18 and really got a chance to be immersed in the language. That was the first time I truly felt like I could really speak Spanish. The people in the DR were so impressed, it made me want to continue to improve.

Players are always a bit taken back when I speak in Spanish. I’m not perfect, but my goal is to always sound like “un hablante nativo” (a native speaker). They always get this wry smile like, “Damn, dude. I see you.” It’s been very positive, and they’ve been appreciative that somebody who is not Latino makes an effort to speak in their language, let alone do an entire interview in it.

TB: As an African American were there particular Latino players that you admired as a fan when you were growing up? Were you or your family Minnie Miñoso fans? Why did these players resonant with you?

RD: My favorite player to this day is José Valentín. I grew up as a White Sox fan and I played shortstop all the way until I got to HS. He was so cool to me. He had the highlights in his hair. He hit bombs from both sides of the plate and he did the cool peace sign thing in the camera after he hit homers.

My dad is a huge Minnie Miñoso fan, and so was my granddad, who I’m named after. My dad always told me stories of the “Go-Go Sox” from back in the day.

I think because of my personality, big personalities have always resonated with me, so I was also a fan of guys like Magglio Ordoñez, Manny Ramírez, Pedro Martínez, Alfonso Soriano, etc.

TB: We are almost two months into the 2019 season. What have been the key storylines for you dealing with Latino players thus far? What should we look toward for the rest of the season?

RD: I think the biggest development this year is the continued situation in Venezuela and how that continues to unfold. It’s something that I am personally hesitant to talk to players about, because I understand that many still have family there and want to keep them safe, which I fully understand and respect.

I think something fans should continue to watch for is the rise of this next wave of Latino players like Eloy Jiménez, Vlad Jr. and Fernando Tatís Jr. I also think two of the most underrated players in MLB are Ronald Acuña Jr. and Juan Soto, who at 20 and 21-years-old respectively, may already be two of the top-25 players in the game.

TB: Thanks for sharing your story with us and becoming a friend of La Vida Baseball, Russell. Be sure to follow him on Twitter for more great insights – in English and Spanish. 

Featured Image: Courtesy Russell Dorsey

Inset Images: Courtesy Russell Dorsey