Dodgers, Angels, Yankees account for 25% of all blacks in baseball, total is 8%

[Laughing Man]

Black players in MLB dip again, down to 8%

by USA TODAY feed on Apr. 15, 2012, under USA TODAY News

ST. LOUIS — Major League Baseball, celebrating Jackie Robinson Day Sunday, has the lowest percentage of African-American players since the earliest days of the sport’s integration, according to research conducted by USA TODAY Sports.

The African-American percentage in baseball this season has dropped to 8.05%, which is less than half the percentage of 17.25% in 1959 when the Boston Red Sox became the last team to integrate their roster. It’s down from 8.5% last season, and a dramatic decline from the peak of 1975, when 27% of all rosters were African-American. Even as late as 1995, the percentage was 19%.

“Baseball likes to say things are getting better,” says former 20-game winner and front-office executive Dave Stewart, who’s now an agent. “It’s not getting better. It’s only getting worse. We’ve been in a downward spiral for a long time, and the numbers just keep declining.”

Ten teams opened the year with no more than one African-American on their opening-day roster. There are nearly 30 more players from the Dominican Republic than the total of African-American players. Foreign-born players account for 28.4% of members of opening-day rosters.

The New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers account for nearly 25% of all African-Americans in baseball, while Cubs center fielder Marlon Byrd is the lone African-American major leaguer in the city of Chicago.

“I don’t even know what to say,” said Byrd, the only African-American on the field Sunday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis during the 65th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier.

“I remember when I came up with the Phillies in 2002, we had six [African-American] players. I thought that was the norm. Now, you look around, and don’t see anyone.

“Will it change? I don’t know. I’m hoping it’s a different story four or five years from now.”

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, aware of the dwindling numbers, said the sport is diligently trying to reverse the trend with their urban academies and annual Civil Rights Game.

“We trying to get better. It won’t happen overnight,” Selig said. “And we’re very comfortable saying it will be better. We are doing great work with our baseball academies and working in the inner-cities. It’s getting better.”

While African-Americans are dwindling on the field, Selig said he’s pleased with the diversity of front offices. Still, Kenny Williams of the Chicago White Sox and Michael Hill of the Miami Marlins are the lone African-American general managers, and Dusty Baker of Cincinnati and Ron Washington of Texas are the only African-American managers.

“I remember Jackie saying 10 days before he passed [in 1972],” Selig said, “he wouldn’t be satisfied until we had a black manager and general manager. If he went through all of our front offices today in baseball, he’d be proud.”

Copyright © 2012 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 15th, 2012 at 11:52 am and is filed under USA TODAY News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

http://tucsoncitizen.com/usa-today-news/2012/04/15/black-players-in-mlb-dip-again-down-to-8/

 

[massdagod]

baseball is boring anyway

 

[RoadRage]

The way baseball is played and marketed today is boring, but back in the days when baseball was more tolerant of blacks playing in the sport, the game was much more exiting and alive.. Back then I used to love baseball, now I am glad of the low ratings and if they continue to keep up the trend, they will reach hockey like ratings.... Another all white boring sport.

 

[Laughing Man]

The way baseball is played and marketed today is boring, but back in the days when baseball was more tolerant of blacks playing in the sport, the game was much more exiting and alive.. Back then I used to love baseball, now I am glad of the low ratings and if they continue to keep up the trend, they will reach hockey like ratings.... Another all white boring sport.

And you dont see them changing the trend to at the very least, save themselves?

 

[Brother Blaque]

The New York Mets have 1/2 of a Black American player.
Those mother fuckers, those racist Wilpons...ought to be ashamed of themselves...
Being that they have the audacity to have something called the Jackie Robinson Rotunda at Citi Field.
I bet half of those kats on that team don't know who the fuck Jackie Robinson is....especially the ones who can't speak english.​

 

[RoadRage]

And you dont see them changing the trend to at the very least, save themselves?

Nope, because white america views baseball as a pure and wholesome sport (aka Lilly white and clean cut). Shit they can barely stomach white guys with facial hair, black jerseys and loud music played on the P.A. system.. Those old farts even complain about crowd waves or any form of excrement.

 

[Mo-Better]

I'm not defending baseball but how many of you brothers own a baseball glove? A baseball or a baseball bat? What about your son's, nephews or cousins or your friends? How far away from you is the nearest ball field? But I'll bet you all have owned Play Stations and or a X-Boxes.

Its not totally the fault of baseball. Its choices that we've made. I can't remember the last time I've seen our boys at any age playing catch.

 

[naijachief]

I'm not defending baseball but how many of you brothers own a baseball glove? A baseball or a baseball bat? What about your son's, nephews or cousins or your friends? How far away from you is the nearest ball field? But I'll bet you all have owned Play Stations and or a X-Boxes.

Its not totally the fault of baseball. Its choices that we've made. I can't remember the last time I've seen our boys at any age playing catch.

Cosign. Baseball could have been a little bit more proactive in the innercities but we as a people also have to embrace the sport as well. Basketball or football, thats what most black parents talk about when it comes to sports, not baseball.

 

[Mr. Met]

The New York Mets have 1/2 of a Black American player.
Those mother fuckers, those racist Wilpons...ought to be ashamed of themselves...
Being that they have the audacity to have something called the Jackie Robinson Rotunda at Citi Field.
I bet half of those kats on that team don't know who the fuck Jackie Robinson is....especially the ones who can't speak english.​

Racist?

They worship Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers.

The stadium was made in the replica of Ebbetts field.

Omar Minaya was the first Hispanic to hold a GM position in MLB and hired two black managers.

And all of those white players you see are from Omar's farm system.

The Wilpons are more crooked than racist.

 

[doggish_098]

baseball is boring anyway

Yeah but unlike football baseball money is guaranteed and unlike football it is almost guaranteed that you won't have knee back and other joint and memory issues when you get older.




To address another comment I make sure my nephews and god children have gloves and bats not to push baseball on them but to push sports young men who participate in organized activities are usually better more productive adults according to studies. We definitely could use all the productive black males as we can get.

 

[King Natty]

I played little league, at ages 11-12. It's an ok sport to play. For me it just took way too long for something to pop off and actually use my athleticism. Football was like a constant adrenaline rush. Baseball couldn't compete with that for me.

 

[EPDC]

The number of "African American" baseball players is down, what about the number of black players whose first language is Spanish? Title is misleading....

 

[WhenTheGoingGetsTtuff]

Baseball IS boring though. And kids don't like it.

 

[Mr. Met]

The number of "African American" baseball players is down, what about the number of black players whose first language is Spanish? Title is misleading....

People don't think like that.

They're talking black Americans.

 

[jasonblacc]

I'm not defending baseball but how many of you brothers own a baseball glove? A baseball or a baseball bat? What about your son's, nephews or cousins or your friends? How far away from you is the nearest ball field? But I'll bet you all have owned Play Stations and or a X-Boxes.

Its not totally the fault of baseball. Its choices that we've made. I can't remember the last time I've seen our boys at any age playing catch.

Dad played, I played, all my cousins played, nephew plays, little cousin plays, son will play. Majority of black athletes that play Baseball just go onto football. Shit i remember hearing Mike Vick got drafted by the rockies and he hadn't played baseball since 11 greade when he was drafted.

 

[Mo-Better]

Dad played, I played, all my cousins played, nephew plays, little cousin plays, son will play. Majority of black athletes that play Baseball just go onto football. Shit i remember hearing Mike Vick got drafted by the rockies and he hadn't played baseball since 11 greade when he was drafted.

Man that's great, I played too but today the numbers just aren't there. Plus I've seen cities actually close parks down to build for high income housing like in Jersey City. Like Roosevelt Stadium which was home to the Brooklyn Dogers, the Jersey City Giants, the Jersey's, A's and Indians.

My point is with fewer inner city parks there's less opportunity to develop and improve your skills.

 

[diamonddawg21]

I'm a basketball Guy myself, but I am blessed with very active child. He is 6 and has been playing basketball since 3. He started playing football last year when he was 5. This year his teacher mentioned to us that he gets distracted very easy, and I had to agree because he is full throttle every where. Dude pushes the pill up the floor like no other and was trucking over cats in flag like tackle. We watched his diet and cut back on sweets which has helped a ton but he has to be busy. So we tried baseball and I was scared because of all standing around doing nothing. Well my son does Jack around out there with the other kids but he is one of the two that can already hit off the coaches pitch, while the cacs are hitting off the T. He plays first base and is leaping off the plate to catch wild balls being thrown at him. Lets just say the coaches love him but I can already feel the other parents funky looks. As long as he keeps this high octane energy level I'm gonna let him try everything and let him chose later. But baseball is really not that bad if your kids a stud, if my wife had not of signed him up I would have never known he was good at it.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk

 

[3 Times]

I fucks wit the Dodgers this year!!! Young black kid...I don't know who the fuck he is...but he had a walk-off with the bases loaded yesterday. This was after Matt Kemp's 6th blast to lead the league.

Oh yeah, the Dodgers are not only LA's team, but BLACK AMERICA's team also.

 

[ballscout1]

there are 2 teams in chicago and between them just one black player ( african american).

so why do black people go to baseball games ?

 

[Brother Blues]

Soon there will be more blacks in hockey than baseball....

Ain't that a bitch.

When I was a little boy,I remember looking forward to the issue of Jet magazine with all the black baseball players in it.

They would have a little picture of every player on each team...

Guess they only need half a page now.

 

[meatwad0628]

Why arent the cuban, dominican and puerto rican players labeled black? They just spanish speaking.

 

[deputy dawg]

The way baseball is played and marketed today is boring, but back in the days when baseball was more tolerant of blacks playing in the sport, the game was much more exiting and alive.. Back then I used to love baseball, now I am glad of the low ratings and if they continue to keep up the trend, they will reach hockey like ratings.... Another all white boring sport.

BULLSHIT!
If you watch sports; I mean really look at sports and society it comes down to one thing-

Kids aren't given a glove, bat and ball anymore. Overall, progression into pro sports starts early. This is an old discussion that is now showing the ripe fruits of "follow the crowd" mentality regarding sports. Early in the Williams sisters pro career, there were nationwide clinics in cities that they played in encouraging Black parents to give their kids a tennis racket instead of a basketball. They gave kids rackets! Films about overcoming artificial barriers to swimming have been made. (2 I can think of)

This is a self-made situation. Instant gratification and quick money instead of working hard with honest effort to build solid skills and letting your talent and intellect get you where you want to go. It's tough for kids now - it's been tough for a some time now. The solution that too many Black kids chose was basketball, and getting into a college. If you do well on the team and you reach the NCAA Tourney you too can be a "1 and done" millionaire! Here in CT UConn freshman Andre Drummond just announced he's entering the next NBA draft. He's not ready. If he is such a hoop talent he woulda taken UConn further in The Big East tourney or the NCAAs. He's raw talent that needs to stay in school; for more academic development AND basketball skill development. Another recent UConn "left too early NBA duds" - Hasheem Thabeet. Shoulda stayed. Granted, UConn is out of the 2013 NCAAs, but stay the hell in school and get that free education while becoming a better player!

As I watched the NCAAs this year, I wondered if within all this March Madness, these mostly white bracket obsessed alums noticed their college teams were just about all Black? All the hype surrounding March Madness kinda blinds them to this fact I guess.

Back to baseball, the MLB system uses colleges just like the NBA. Kids go into the AA or AAA farm system and get called up when the team and player are ready. There are more players on a baseball team vs. a basketball team, so there are actually greater opportunities to make it in MLB compared to the NBA.

For us, it's about the prevailing mentality of American culture. We have actually been running popular culture in America (the World?) for some time now. The way people talk/dress/dance/look starts in Black America when it comes to "the latest thing". Too many people get stuck in a rut that they think is cool but is actually holding them back. People are simple-minded; following visual cues for meaning and understanding. Magic Johnson is the face of the group that just bought the Dodgers. That will get baseball more attention, especially from Black America. He'll work hard at the promotion effort (hell, he wrote a big check and he wants a big return on the investment!). Little league may make a comeback afterall!

Another thing I noticed is all the tats on the college players. Some real ugly ones too. (tattoo regret salons will be the big business of the future). So my simple-minded self figured the problem out-

The bottom line - you can't see the tats while wearing a baseball uniform.

 

[Mo-Better]

there are 2 teams in chicago and between them just one black player ( african american).

so why do black people go to baseball games ?

You go to baseball games for the same reason you go to the movies. For entertainment. You go to movies all the time that don't star black actors/actresses in leading rolls.

 

[Mo-Better]

Here's an article with Hank Aaron addressing the decline in black players.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Hall of Fame slugger Hank Aaron called on Major League Baseball on Friday to do more to increase participation by blacks in the game.

Aaron attended a panel discussion at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Ohio with former athletes, civil rights scholars and activists as part of baseball's Civil Rights Game weekend.

Aaron said progress has been made, but he'd like to see MLB do more to promote black involvement and opportunities in the game.

"That's a concern of mine; I would just like to see more American blacks play professional baseball," Aaron said. "There's something that needs to be done."

Baseball has taken steps to reverse the decline, and events leading up to Saturday night's first regular-season Civil Rights Game in Cincinnati are intended to support that effort.

Richard Lapchick, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, took part in the panel discussion. He has been assessing MLB's progress, and his latest report found that 10.2 percent of major leaguers last year were African-American, the most since 1995.

Harold Reynolds, a former All-Star player and now MLB Network analyst, said the high costs of playing on youth travel teams and going to instructional camps is a deterrent, and there is a need for more scholarships to increase the number of black collegiate players.

"Baseball should never be a game where you can't play because of finances," said Reynolds, who will take part in afternoon baseball clinics and games Saturday in downtown Cincinnati in the latest in a series of MLB black community outreach efforts.

http://www.thegrio.com/entertainment/hank-aaron-urges-mlb-to-increase-black-participation.php

 

[WhenTheGoingGetsTtuff]

With all the dazzling displays of football and basketball. You aren't going to get young black kids to think baseball is "cool". Because they don't see any famous people doing it. You guys are like my son will... But there's other sons out there who don't. And no matter what you guys think, there's fewer "your" sons. We tried to get our sons interested in baseball they found it boring. They dropped it. At the community center 1 of the black men there tried to get baseball going. None of the kids wanted to play it. But the football and basketball registrations are LOADED. It seems to me once again this is an issue with not enough black men.

 

[sirwoodz]

i don't want to go into it, but hip hop culture destroyed baseball.

i use to play baseball, and i have family that played in the majors/minors...

my high school team SUCKED, but my teammate got drafted because he was built like a tank and though he batted about .200 with 6 or 7 homeruns, those 6 or 7 homeruns landed about 400 feet away.

they drafted his ass!! in baseball, they will TEACH you how to play, and PAY you...they have developmental leagues, then single-A baseball - they PAAAYY to teach!

if you don't make it to the big show, at least you got $$$ along the way....

 

[ballscout1]

Why arent the cuban, dominican and puerto rican players labeled black? They just spanish speaking.

thats why i clarified african american.

 

[Mo-Better]

With all the dazzling displays of football and basketball. You aren't going to get young black kids to think baseball is "cool". Because they don't see any famous people doing it. You guys are like my son will... But there's other sons out there who don't. And no matter what you guys think, there's fewer "your" sons. We tried to get our sons interested in baseball they found it boring. They dropped it. At the community center 1 of the black men there tried to get baseball going. None of the kids wanted to play it. But the football and basketball registrations are LOADED. It seems to me once again this is an issue with not enough black men.

This really falls into where you grew up. When I was growing up the sport choices was baseball, football then basketball. I never got the chance toss a basketball against a real backboard until I got to high school.

The problem today is kids today have other options. While kids today play video games all day long I was on the ball field all day long. Its truly a different era. But as I said earlier its not entirely the fault of baseball. Parents are lazy after a day at work they would rather kick up their heels, not take junior to practice. But we as parents need to get our kids away from the TV and into sports.

 

[WhenTheGoingGetsTtuff]

This really falls into where you grew up. When I was growing up the sport choices was baseball, football then basketball. I never got the chance toss a basketball against a real backboard until I got to high school.

The problem today is kids today have other options. While kids today play video games all day long I was on the ball field all day long. Its truly a different era. But as I said earlier its not entirely the fault of baseball. Parents are lazy after a day at work they would rather kick up their heels, not take junior to practice. But we as parents need to get our kids away from the TV and into sports.

Maybe it is where you are then. Because where we are those moms are always at practice, have their kids there and ready most of the times. People in general just don't like baseball it seems. Why can they make it to football, basketball and even soccer practice but not baseball?

 

[deputy dawg]

Your tats won't show while wearing a baseball uniform.

 

[F-Lord]

I'm not defending baseball but how many of you brothers own a baseball glove? A baseball or a baseball bat? What about your son's, nephews or cousins or your friends? How far away from you is the nearest ball field? But I'll bet you all have owned Play Stations and or a X-Boxes.

Its not totally the fault of baseball. Its choices that we've made. I can't remember the last time I've seen our boys at any age playing catch.

Exactly. When I was a kid I had exactly one friend that played little league baseball. Baseball is not a sport that black males as a whole care too much about. Sometimes things just are a certain way and has nothing to do with malicious intent.

 

[bigman23]

the Dominicans are the new black players

 

[Les W]

good post op

imo If 'black' players aren't being discriminated against then why is this a story... I don't want them putting bums on the field [like they do in the NBA] just to please some fans... we don't have to be in every sport all the damn time for their to 'racial harmony' ...

 

[Mo-Better]

Maybe it is where you are then. Because where we are those moms are always at practice, have their kids there and ready most of the times. People in general just don't like baseball it seems. Why can they make it to football, basketball and even soccer practice but not baseball?

There's so few baseball fields around its pathetic. When I was growing up there were fields all over the place and they were within walking distance but not any more.

I haven't seen but one field since I've been here. Part of the problem is in little league parents were expected to participate. This meant taking a roll with the kids. Having been a coach I can tell you parents reviled in dropping off their kids knowing they had a few hours a free time.

I think people still like baseball but baseball has another problem. Cost is also killing the game. Bleacher seats are now $12 & $15 those seats are far from good. Now lets say its a family of 4. $48 to $60 and we've had nothing to eat or drink. Still not bad but what if you want better seats? Infield seats will now run you $200 to $300 a game. Times 4 = $800 to $1200 for 1 game.

But MLB must approach all the cities and get some ball fields built.

 

[H.A.N]

Baseball Pops, uncles played I played, my brothers played, My nephews currently plays highschool.


I tune into the MLB Channel everyday to catch the MLB shows. Pops and I see multiply games every season.


I grew up wrapping my glove with a baseball. Baseball is still a great game. I don't care if I see mad brothas or not. Its still a great game regardless I say got damn. Just because mad black folks don't play hockey will I stop watching and enjoying the game fuck no.


Growing up in my city baseball fields, soccer fields and hockey skating rinks are the order of the day.