Last April, Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day. The idea was to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Robinson's major league debut. It was just the latest occasion used to honor Robinson.
It seems like every couple of years, there's something of Robinson's to celebrate and every time it happens writers all across the country use the occasion to ask the same question:
"What happened to the black ballplayer?"
The latest study shows that only 8.4 percent of major league rosters are made up of black players. Everybody seems to have a theory as to why and most of them fail to recognize some of the biggest reasons.
I don't know if it's because they're afraid to say something that may be perceived as controversial or if it's because they're lazy so they just repeat the same things that others have said.
The truth is there are an equal number of reasons and people you can blame it on. Some are reasons that have been cited in the past while others will hopefully be fresh food for thought. Regardless, this is a conversation that begs to be had continuously instead of only on those occasions when Robinson's name is in the news.
One of the most painfully obvious reasons is that baseball is a sport that's handed down from fathers to sons. Unfortunately, more than two-thirds of black children live in single-parent homes and 88 percent of those are headed by women.
While baseball is regularly on television and still played in physical education classes, so much of what makes baseball so impressionable to a young kid is going to a ballgame with pop or playing catch with him in the yard.
I'm not saying that there aren't other ways to get interested in baseball. My father's from Europe and has absolutely no appetite for the sport, but I guess there were other things that got me hooked.
I grew up with Fernandomania and the 1988 Dodgers, so that made it a little easier to get into. My dad also didn't let his distaste in the sport prevent me from enjoying it myself. In fact, we reversed roles when I was given the opportunity to explain the sport to him.
I don't really have a solution to how we can decrease the number of black kids living in single-parent homes--that's not really my area of expertise. But it does lead me right into my next one...
Major League Baseball decided it was more important to invest in nurturing young talent in the Dominican Republic than in the United States. While the Dodgers, Braves, Blue Jays, and a number of other major league clubs have had baseball academies in the Dominican for years, it wasn't until the last few years that academies were established in places like Compton, Atlanta, and Detroit.
I can't imagine that Santo Domingo has more kids growing up without a father than say, Tampa, and yet they chose to pour their resources there because they knew that both the operating costs and signing bonuses would be much cheaper. These academies are also their dirty little secret. They have become the easiest way for big-market teams to find the best talent by circumventing the draft.
But now MLB wants to pretend these problems are new when they've just been avoiding them for years.
Speaking of Santo Domingo, my guess is that you can probably find a pickup game on every other street corner.
That leads me to the next reason.
Baseball, unlike basketball, requires 17 other guys to get a game going. With organized leagues fading into the sunset, there aren't nearly as many opportunities to get a game going.
In Michael Sokolove's book, The Ticket Out, about the 1979 Crenshaw High School baseball team, he writes about how you could show up at any park in the inner city on any day in the summer and find a game going on.
Why call 17 other guys when you can just put your sneakers on, grab a ball, and head to the nearest blacktop by yourself and play basketball? All you need is one other guy to get a game going. You can also put up a backboard anywhere. You can't put a baseball diamond on top of your garage.
It's no coincidence that the 1979 Crenshaw team was the last team from the Los Angeles' City Section to play for a baseball championship. That just so happened to be the year that Magic Johnson arrived in Los Angeles and took the city by storm.
Where kids before his arrival wanted to be the next Bob Gibson, Joe Morgan, or George Foster, Magic made every kid in L.A. want to play basketball. Kids would stay at home and study his latest moves before going out onto the playground and trying those moves out themselves.
There's a direct correlation between basketball's increased popularity and baseball's decreased popularity during that time.
Baseball just doesn't allow for the same type of creativity. Ozzie Smith might have been the closest thing in baseball and even he was nowhere close to Magic. Baseball just isn't as sexy. As exciting as it is to see "Web Gems,” they don't compare to the NBA's Top 10 plays of the week.
Basketball has probably been the biggest thorn in baseball's side as it relates to popularity among blacks.
The problem is that Major League Baseball again has erred in not reminding young athletes that they have a million times better chance of becoming a professional baseball player than they do of becoming a basketball player.
Sokolove writes in his book that if you're 6’5" and athletic and you want to play pro basketball, there are at least a million other kids just like you. But if you are 6'5" and athletic and you play center field, you are one in a million.
Because of both college baseball programs and the fact that there are 50 rounds in the Major League Baseball draft, chances are that if you're good enough, somebody will give you a chance to play, and in all likelihood you'll be able to either get a free education or even get paid to do it—even for just a few years in the minors.
Of all the major sports, baseball causes the least wear and tear on the body. So you could conceivably play until you're 40 if you can cut it.
Economics also play a huge part in baseball's declining popularity in the inner-city.
The sport has become much more expensive than it was in the ’80s. The best kids now play on traveling teams year-round and many kids from the inner cities can't afford the travel expenses.
Rick Reilly had a fictitious story in Sports Illustrated last year about a neighbor who had to take out a second mortgage to keep up with the ever-increasing costs. Why are there no foundations set up to help these kids compensate for their lack of funds? It's bad enough that many blacks don't consider baseball cool, but now those same kids have to pay big bucks to play? That's absurd.
Major League Baseball has also done a horrendous job of marketing its players.
It has relied way too heavily on using its history to be the cornerstone of its marketing strategy and that's useless now that you've lost at least one entire generation.
What do those kids know about Rod Carew and Eddie Murray? Besides, it's not like baseball's history, as it pertains to blacks, is anything to brag about.
There are dozens of black players in baseball right now with great personalities, yet nobody knows anything about them. I doubt any of them have been asked, but I'm sure they'd all jump at the chance to help promote the sport. Dontrelle Willis, Juan Pierre, and Curtis Granderson are just three. Anybody who has heard Torii Hunter give an interview knows how likable and intelligent he is.
Forget about Frank Thomas, Gary Sheffield, and Ken Griffey Jr. Those guys are all grown men with families who will be out of the game in three or four years. I'm talking about the young guys like Grady Sizemore, Vernon Wells, and Ian Snell. How come I don't see these guys in commercials or on billboards?
I wish that I had more solutions than problems. Unfortunately, I don't.
Baseball can continue to develop its Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities Program (R.B.I.) and that's a good start. Maybe we're just one Dwight Gooden or Tiger Woods-type away. Maybe it's about educating these kids more on Jackie Robinson.
One thing is for certain—as long as MLB fails to recognize these problems and continues to ignore their existence, I can only see that 8.4 percent decreasing even more.
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5 months ago
I think one of the reasons baseball isn't popular with blacks to a large extent because it isn't as athletic of a game. There are no amazing highlights. In football, you can crush a player in a tackle or do some amazing move to break a tackle. In basketball, you can have highlight dunks. Black kids tend to gravitate toward sports that require a ton of athleticism. Baseball is more about concentration and work ethic than athleticism.
It's kind of the opposite with white players in football and basketball. When did you last see a white running back in the NFL? Seriously, is there even one? Baseball provides the opportunity for the David Ecksteins of the world to find their athletic niche that simply isn't present in the other sports. Note that a lot of the black baseball players tend to be toolsy, undisciplined types like Greg Golson and Reggie Abercrombie.
I'm not trying to sound racist by suggesting blacks can't play baseball, because they can. But just as blacks make up a disproportionately small population in baseball, they make up a disproportionately large one in football and basketball. Obviously, baseball should, like you said, continue its inner-city development of the game. The nice thing about baseball, like you said, is that the extensive minor league system provides a much bigger player universe, so there are more opportunities there.
So yeah, what I just said, like you said, just adds questions instead of answers I guess.
5 months ago
The answer is simple. The NFL and NBA offer immediate entry upon reaching eligible age.
That means pro money at age 21 (or less).
MLB does not guarantee that. You can flounder around in the minors indefinitely .
In high school, kids are forced (in a way) to make a career choice...it's not a hard one considering the economics involved. They take football and basketball everytime, because they know thats the short route to fame and fortune.
Baseball is a humiliating game, too. The new generation doesn't like anything where they can only succeed 30% of the time (if they're lucky)
And as for the guy above me 'not trying to sound racist'...he didn't succeed.....a little hint from a sensitivity seminar I took a long time ago....the one who mentions race in conversation is usually the racist...sorry to tell you that.....but I understand what you are saying
5 months ago
This reads a lot like something I read on ESPN about a year ago.
5 months ago
Excellent article.
Unless you were paying attention, one would not think that only 8% of Major League ball players are from black ancestry.
Well written and very interesting.
As a follower and fan of my Toronto Blue Jays it is definately noticable.
The reality of the socio-economics of the black (man) in the States certainly plays a factor!
5 months ago
Give me a break about Torii Hunter. As if he's underexposed. I see this as a choice made by black American athletes and nothing more. In the 70's and 80's they chose baseball, now they're choosing differently. I don't see a crisis here at all.
from 5 months ago
I never called it a crisis. I only pointed out what the numbers are today and possible reasons as to why the numbers have dwindled. You're absolutely right that this is a choice made by black Americans. But something happened somewhere that led to them choosing other sports.
5 months ago
I knew something was wrong with this article. Here is an article published by Jon Helyar on April 7th, 2007. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/jackie/news/story?id=2828584
You might notice a few similarities.
I hate to be the one to point it out, but the fact that Bleacher Report allows a case of obvious plagiarism like to be published apparently not just once, but twice is unacceptable. Any credibility this site had before this, which was very little, is pretty much gone for me now.
And on a side note, does someone have to mention the Oakland Raiders in his title just to get a few more reads? Jesus...
from 5 months ago
Please tell me what you believe was plagiarized. Doesn't plagiarism involve explicitly stealing exact sentences. I never read the article you published until today. I did read Sokolove's book and cited it in the article as a source material.
I ask you to please show me specific examples.
By the way, I didn't tag the article with Oakland Raiders. Whoever edited the article probably did it by accident. I'll gladly remove the tag.
I published this article on my FoxSports blog last April and then re-printed it here in December. Since it wasn't baseball season, I felt my timing was off.
I have no problems with you disagreeing with the article. But I take great offense to you accusing me of plagiarism, especially when I cited my sources.
5 months ago
And to elaborate, I don't mean to necessarily indict Andrew here, even if it seems that way. I know I came off as harsh, but I'm fully willing to believe that he unconsciously channeled the article. Trust me, all writers will tell you that that kind of thing happens.
The only people I'm angry with here are those at BR. They obviously have no sort of filter for their site. The people who call themselves "intern editors" here, should probably try to start doing some actual editing, lest we wind up with another Stephen Glass.
Then again, I doubt the site will ever be popular enough to let that happen.
from 5 months ago
Hmm if you're so negative about Bleacher Report in the first place, why do you write articles for it? Because it's a good medium for the sports fan to voice their opinions.
Andrew's article brings up a great point about an issue that has become popular in the major leagues today - where the heck did all the black baseball players go?
Just because another writer who happens to be part of the esteemed Entertainment and Sports Programming Network put together an article questioning this phenomenon doesn't give him the right to hold a monopoly on the subject. It is an important question in baseball today and I think fans would all benefit from multiple points of view on the topic.
Your calling his article plagiarism is like saying I plagiarized someone else's book review by writing a book review myself. Am I not entitled to write a book review about something because someone else has done so before me? Am I unconsciously channeling another person's idea for a book review when I write my own? Of course not.
The editors are volunteers who edit the grammar and the format of the articles -- and I am very fortunate to have them. What I don't appreciate is when members make unwarranted inflammatory comments and trash the Bleacher Report website (though nothing's wrong with offering your own opinion) -- while still contributing articles here
5 months ago
Nice article man. One thing you hinted at but didn't quite get to is the fact that college baseball programs NEVER offer kids full scholarships. Most collegiate players only get about 1/4 to 1/2 of their tuition payed by scholarships, which means their families have to come up with the other part of the money. This obvious hurts more black players than white players. A fix for this would also give more opportunities.
from 5 months ago
You're absolutely right about college baseball scholarships. What I failed to include was that every junior college in the country has a baseball team as well. There are tons of baseball players who came from schools like Maple Wood CC (Albert Pujols) or Central Arizona CC (Dan Wheeler). Those are schools that probably cost $13/unit and scouts will actually come out to see them play.
5 months ago
Yeah, I was in a piss-poor mood when I wrote that. Sorry. Like I said, it wasn't an indictment of you.
First, I will clarify my issue, however, be sure to read to whole response:
Plagiarism is not just "stealing exact sentences." It is taking another writer's ideas and passing them off as your own. If you truly did publish this last April, as you say, and you did some sort of proper research, as you also claim, then it's nearly impossible to imagine that you didn't come across the ESPN article. You have every right to write about this subject, but you don't need to look any further than the introductions to see a striking similarity.
Now, as I already reiterated, calling it plagiarism was harsh and I quickly regretted that. I understand that, as a writer, you will often unconsciously assimilate other writers methods, phrasings, and even ideas into your own writing.
Which brings me to my main point. This is the kind of thing that Bleacher Report's self-appointed editors should have caught. Because beyond all the spacing and typo nitpicking, that is the job of an editor. To check facts. Again, I was overly critical of you. As long as you didn't actually intend to steal another author's ideas, you aren't accountable. But that doesn't mean that no one is accountable.
5 months ago
And it is also always possible, if you published this before John Helyar last April, that he may have plagiarized you.
Or it could just be a big coincidence.
Regardless.
I overreacted.
I'm an asshole. It's my nature.
from 5 months ago
Dude, check out the second paragraph I wrote in this article:
"It seems like every couple of years, there's something of Robinson's to celebrate and every time it happens writers all across the country use the occasion to ask the same question:
"What happened to the black ballplayer?""
I'm not the first person to write about this subject. I just presented my own answers to why I felt these problems existed.
I'm still waiting for you to cite one example in both stories that are similar.
The editors on BR are not content editors who are expected to do research. They are volunteers who edit the grammar and format of our articles.
4 months ago
Black people like real sports that take some athletic ability baseball all you have to do is run a little bit then take a break. Baseball takes no athletic ability at all golf you work harder then baseball.
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