Societal Shift

Can we increase the chance of seeing more cards like these?

Something happened this past season that hasn’t happened since 1977. Two African American players won the Rookie of the Year awards. KYLE LEWIS and DEVIN WILLIAMS replicated the feat of ANDRE DAWSON and EDDIE MURRAY. This led me to think about the ever-changing demographics of baseball.

In 1977, 17.9% of all Major League Baseball players identifi ed as African American. That number dwindled to 13% by the year 2000 and eroded to a modern era low of 7.7% in 2019. There were 80 African American players in 2020 and ten of them (or 1/8th of the league) currently play for the SEATTLE MARINERS. You probably have to go back to the Negro Leagues to fi nd that many African American players on one team. Andy McKay, the Mariners’ director of player development, recently said, “I don’t have the answer you might be looking for, but we have a core group of Black players because they’re really good baseball players. We’re trying to fi nd the best players we can fi nd.’’

Edwin Thompson, the head coach at EASTERN KENTUCKY recently told USA Today, “It’s just a choice of how you want to recruit,” pointing out the obvious: “You just have to fi nd them.” If recruiters don’t go to places that might make them uncomfortable, they won’t fi nd players from different circumstances.

“We think our roster should look like the United States of America,’’ MICHIGAN coach Erik Bakich said. “The game of baseball is too white.” He named places recruiters are looking. “There are 9-year-old kids paying $3,000 a year for travel ball. That’s ridiculous. It prices out all of the lower income families, and that’s a mistake.” This past year, Bakich’s Michigan Wolverines played Vanderbilt in the College World Series. Each team had seven African Americans.

Major League baseball has taken steps to help kids in lower income neighborhoods play baseball rather than football or basketball. REVIVING BASEBALL IN INNER CITIES is a youth baseball program operated by MLB and designed to provide the opportunity to play baseball and softball. MLB also has a series of showcase events (the Breakthrough Series, Dream Series, Hank Aaron Invitational, MLB youth academies) that try to help expose these talented kids who normally would be overlooked and under-recruited. Over the past fi ve years, 136 players have been drafted from these programs. ED HOWARD of the Chicago Cubs, and JORDAN WALKER of the St. Louis Cardinals are the fi rst alumni of the Breakthrough Series to become fi rst-round picks. As the country sees one of the biggest stars in baseball, MOOKIE BETTS, be very vocal about social injustices while also having one of the richest contracts in baseball (and less risk of gruesome injuries), perhaps we will see young athletes pay attention to baseball again. It could fi nally mark a shift to inclusivity. —LV

Power Reach

Facebook reminded me the other day that four years ago one of the gym teachers made a Black History Month bulletin board with Michael Jordan. This was long before The Last Dance and I was pretty sure all the kids (born in 2008 or later) only knew him as the crying Jordan meme if at all. I took a couple pictures and posted that as a joke on my personal page. Then another mom from the school showed up to defend kids who know can’t identify famous athletes. It was quite the debate. The principal even showed up to defend kids not knowing famous athletes. I simply was posting like, Damn, I’m old, so I took it down. Then I got mad and reposted to say sports can be an important springboard to talk about racism, pointing to Cassius Clay changing his name, Simone Biles being bullied, and the Heat wearing hoodies after Trayvon Martin’s murder.

Unsurpsingly, the mom who showed up to say kids shouldn’t have to know anything about professional sports showed up on a different post to say that Colin Kaepernick is not allowed to kneel. I don’t talk to her anymore, so I don’t know if she watched Judas and the Black Messiah or One Night in Miami. Luis and I watched them on back to back nights in that order. It’s easy to see why One Night is being embraced for award season in the way it allows for the idea that liking pop songs and watching movies brings enough change. Judas is still too revolutionary. Both are important for questioning what is going on, who has power, and what should be done to make the world a better place. —MV