MLBPA's Tony Clark on Lack of Diversity at WS: 'Not Going to Change Overnight'

Game 1 between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros marked the first time since 1950 that neither World Series roster featured a Black player who was born in the United States.

Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, spoke to Evan Drellich of The Athletic about the ongoing diversity problem in baseball.

"It’s 2022, and we’re still having the same conversations that we had back in 2006," he said. "I’m a glass-half-full guy—I try to be. But if things were already manifesting themselves in 2006, when we had that conversation, and now we’re sitting here 16 years later having the same conversation… this is not going to change overnight."

Clark went on to say he's "not surprised" and it's "truly unfortunate that any young Black player may be watching these games tonight (and) is not going to see someone that looks like them."

Clark was referencing a 2006 meeting he had with the office of then-MLB commissioner Bud Selig about the decreasing number of U.S.-born Black athletes playing baseball.

In a report from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida released in May (h/t Newsweek's Meghan Roos), Black athletes were only found to account for 7.2 percent of MLB players, the lowest percentage for the sport since TIDES began assessing the data in 1991.

Astros manager Dusty Baker told reporters on Thursday things "look bad," but did express optimism about the future.

Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Museum, told Ben Walker of the Associated Press that not having any U.S.-born Black players in the World Series is "eye opening."

"It is somewhat startling that two cities that have high African American populations, there’s not a single Black player," Kendrick added.

MLB has taken steps in recent years in an attempt to get more Black players into the sport. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced a $150 million commitment in July 2021 from MLB to the Players Alliance, which consists of 150 current and former big leaguers aiming to address "baseball’s systemic barriers to equity and inclusion by creating pathways to opportunities on and off the field for an undeniable pipeline of Black talent."

MLB's financial commitment, which will be paid out in annual installments starting in 2023, will help build various programs and include support for baseball in public and city schools, as well as providing scholarships and educational grants.

The Phillies didn't have any Black players on their Opening Day roster this season. Michael Brantley and Josh James are Black players on the Astros roster, but they haven't played in the postseason due to injuries.