In my business, that knee-jerk response comes in handy. Fending off blame is a survival skill. A columnist knows he can’t fight a tidal wave of angry emails and social-media posts and, at some point, gives up trying to argue he is not, in fact, a nitwit. From there, it’s a short hop to a renunciation of any personal responsibility.

When Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese-born player to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he became the 23rd player born outside the United States (including Puerto Rico, which, though it is a U.