By the way, since my stats seem to show that most Google visitors to my site are looking for information on some of the Sox players’ ethnicities and nationalities, here’s some info. Bronson Arroyo’s dad is Cuban (Bronson clearly isn’t a Spanish name: he was named for Charles Bronson). Johnny Damon’s mother is Thai. This article in the Nation (the Bangkok paper, and a good one) explains his parents meeting during the Vietnam War. Funny quote from Damon’s mother on his dad:
“The first time I see [Jimmy Damon], I say, ‘Oooohhh, nobody will marry with him’. I feel sorry for him, because he was real white, he had no hair”
No hair? Hmm. I guess the son’s overcompensating. And Terry Francona’s dad was major-leaguer Tito Francona, one of George Steinbrenner’s favourite players (I generally think Steinbrenner is nuts, but sending Francona a nice note before the game was a generous move). That’s where the “Tito” nickname comes from. Glad to help.