Baseball and Racism; Two Things That Have Always Co-Existed
Baseball has a deep history with racism. From the Negro Leagues that forced players of color to play in their own league, to the current lack of color in the game of baseball. It is a problem. Not enough is done or acknowledged in the blatant racist history of baseball.
I’ve played baseball all my life. Since the ripe age of 3 to present day, baseball has always been the game I’ve admired. Every baseball team I’ve played on has been predominately white. I was an active kid and played a bunch of the local youth sports programs in Arizona. Baseball was the only sport I played where it was obviously predominately white. But why? Is it the cost? Baseball’s racist history? Baseball’s culture? All these factor into why baseball has a lack of diversity.
The 1990’s had the highest percentage of black players the MLB had ever had. All-time great (black) players such as Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. were thriving at this time. In the early 90’s the number of black players that made up a baseball roster was around 18%. Lack of diversity in baseball is thought to be much better now, but according to npr.org, in 2023 baseball rosters were made up of only 6.2% black players! This number does not reflect the black American population which was at 14.4% in 2022. What is the cause of this?
Let’s jump back in time. In the late 19th century the MLB decided to racially segregate its league. In 1920 Negro Leagues were created for non-white players. It wasn’t like the players in this league couldn’t compete with the official league either. In the offseason they would hold unofficial exhibition games between the two leagues which were very competitive. All-time great Negro league players such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, and many more were forced to play in a separate league. It wasn’t until 1947 when the great Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier of Major League Baseball. It was almost a century later, in 2020, when the MLB decided to finally acknowledge Negro League player stats into the record books.
The acknowledgement of the Negro League players in the record books was a huge feat, but seemed to be pressured by the killing of George Floyd. Barry Svrluga from The Washington Post says, “Following the death of George Floyd, baseball players spoke out. What would be nice, of course, would be for real change to happen without the country nearly coming unglued over the systemic racism.” In 2020 Colorado Rockies player, Ian Desmond, opted out of the season because of a lack of diversity. Desmond said on his Instagram, “If baseball is America’s past time, maybe it’s never been a more fitting one than now.”
Such a small number of black players in the league doesn’t just happen. It’s the same for youth baseball. The numbers for representation of black players in youth baseball are very low and similar to the numbers in the big leagues. Curtis Granderson, a former star in the MLB speaks on this issue. From Granderson’s experiences he says, “Starting out as a 6-year-old kid in T-ball, I was the only Black kid on my team and as I moved to the 7-, 8-, 9-year-olds, I might have been lucky enough to have one, maybe two (black) teammates, if I was really lucky.”
Travel baseball is what has taken over for youth baseball. Players aren’t successful anymore if they don’t play travel ball. The cost of travel baseball is often a couple thousand dollars a year to play. That doesn’t even include the insane cost of bats, gloves, etc. which can even turn to thousands of dollars as well. This limits the opportunities for black kids, as many can’t afford these costs. In 2022, 30% of black youth live under the poverty line compared to 10% of white youth living under the poverty line. Back in the 90’s there were sandlots that kids could go play at in mostly poorer neighborhoods. Those just don’t exist anymore. Baseball takes crazy expenses to play and is not nearly as accessible as it used to be.
Baseball is not just limited to white players. Latin players for example thrive in the MLB more than any other American professional athletic league. Latin players make up over 30% of MLB player’s demographics. It’s not like baseball is just white players. Baseball has always had a lack of black players, though. That is the biggest racial issue in baseball. It’s simple, the majority of black kids in America don’t want to play baseball.
Truthout.org says, “the elimination of open land in cities for baseball (linked to gentrification) and the rising cost of entering baseball in pre-professional leagues. Added to this has been increased interest in and opportunity to advance in basketball and football.”
It is partially the black youth not wanting to play baseball but, a large contributor is the lack of interest in the representation of black Americans shown from the MLB. Even with more Latin players coming into the MLB, the American youth is primarily white players. The Latin pro players are often not born on American soil. They immigrate here for opportunities in Major League Baseball that would have been much more difficult to achieve if they grew up in America. America gives the best baseball opportunities to those who can afford them.
A transformation must be achieved in baseball for everyone to get near equal opportunities. Players born into wealth should not have such a difference in opportunities from those born in poverty. Baseball fields should be accessible across the country for all to use. An example of something that can be done is that professional baseball players CC Sabathia, Derek Jeter, and Justin Turner all have large youth charity organizations. These organizations give more opportunities to kids who may not just be able to casually play baseball. In order for a difference to be made it starts with more diversity in youth baseball. And in order for that to happen, it starts at the top, in Major League Baseball. The commissioner, the players, the owners, the managers, etc. need to make a difference. They can speak out, donate money, there are countless different ways to affect youth baseball positively.
Racism will never go away in baseball. There will still be stories of racist teammates in the dugouts or lack of players from certain demographics. However, the baseball community has to step-up and do what it can to make a difference. Everyone has a voice. Players of color should not feel like baseball isn’t for them because of the color of their skin.