Thanks to this year being the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's destruction of the color barrier, there has been a great deal of discussion about the lack of black players in the professional game today. We've talked about the reasons for this before. Among them are: black players don't get the youth opportunities thanks to location; there's a cultural deficit of interest in the game; and the international spread of recruiting has had a disproportionate effect on the black high school player. All of these reasons ring true, which means it's time to think about solutions. The New York Times' William C. Rhoden did exactly that in yesterday's edition (Times Select), calling for help from MLB and for youth players to be able to play in less restricted local Little Leagues:
My idea is that for the next five years, residency requirements, which are at the heart of Little League Baseball, should be suspended. But suspend the rule only for ages 5 through 8, the crucial ages when kids learn the fundamentals of the game and learn to love the game. There is no competitive advantage at these ages; everyone is simply learning the game.
For ages 9 to 12, the various local leagues - like Harlem Little League; Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities, know as the R.B.I. program; and the Little League Urban Initiative - can fill in the gaps.
If Major League Baseball is truly interested in bringing back the African-American presence, then the league, in conjunction with the players union, can create a fund that will allow players in the critical age group of 13-18 to play on elite travel teams.This is the next step -- the moving from lamentations to solutions -- in solving this problem. What's best is both of these ideas are feasible and would likely be encouraged by youth instructors at the lower levels of the sport. Suburban little leagues can recruit from within the city and provide an outlet for that constrained talent, and I doubt too many traveling coaches would have a problem being financed by Major League Baseball. As long as the rules were policed and coaches didn't exploit young talent (and if AAU basketball has taught us anything, it's that youth athletics coaches are always worthy of trust), these are two solutions -- among many -- that could reverse MLB's cringe-worthy racial trends.
Previously on the FanHouse:
Money To Blame For Lack of Black Baseball Players
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-29-2007 @ 5:58PM
Perplexed said...
Just a thought but what about the lack of white players in the NFL and the NBA? How many rules can be broken for poor little white kids who want to play pro basketball or pro football?
Reply
5-29-2007 @ 11:22PM
Jerry said...
Come on! Get real- it is the 60th anniversary of Jackie, not the 50th? What are you trying to say?
Reply
5-29-2007 @ 11:23PM
PostmanE said...
Jerry:
Sorry, just a typo. Thanks for the heads up.
PostmanE
Reply
5-29-2007 @ 11:47PM
Gregg said...
Hey Perplexed ,I 2nd that ! Not enough blacks in MLB ,whats next ? Hockey ?Golf ?Nascar ?How many white guys are in the NBA ?NFL ? I think the blacks have those sports well covered,be content with that .You never hear the white guys complaining that theres not enough whites in the NBA or NFL do you ?
Reply
5-30-2007 @ 12:08AM
PostmanE said...
Everyone:
The difference between a lack of African-Americans in Major League Baseball and whites in other major professional sports is that in many cases, thanks to differing social conditions among the two races, blacks lack the economic ability to follow through on baseball talent. The same is generally not true of whites, who (again, *in most cases*) have the same, if not greater, economic advantages than most blacks. Essentially, whites aren't missing from the NBA because they lack the opportunity; instead, with economic conditions relatively constant, athletic merit takes over.
In other words, white men can't jump.
Reply
5-30-2007 @ 7:01AM
JAB said...
African Americans have not cornered the market on economic disadvantage. There are as many, or more, poverty stricken white Americans in this country. (Ever been down south, or drive through the Appalechans?) They just don't get much attention or sympathy because, well, they are white!! Even though they may have little or no opportunities because they are poor, it doesn't seem to matter because OTHER white people have money. The disparity in this country is not so much racial as it is socio-economic. If you have money, you have more opportunity, white or black. And merely being white does not mean that you have money or opportunity.
Reply
5-30-2007 @ 7:17AM
JAB said...
What is driving this question concering are there enough blacks in Major League Baseball? Is there a magic line this is being measured against? How will we know when this "problem" has been solved? Is it a strict quota measure, you know, since blacks comprise 12% of the population there must be a problem since less than 12% of major leaguers are black? Is that the measure that is at the root of this issue? I have heard teams say "we need more talented players on this team", or, "we really need a good dominating left hander". Does the team look out on the field and say "you know, we could really use another couple of blacks on this team"? Are we just rounding out numbers for the sake of rounding out numbers? Is there a real problem? Is someone complaining they were denied an opportunity to play major league baseball? Maybe baseball is more boring to young blacks who gravitate more to football and basketball. Maybe Latino and Asian outlets (with GREAT players) have finally been tapped and we are increasing the numbers of Latinos and Asians in MLB (this is the case). Outside of the US, I am not aware of any great black baseball cultures. Perhaps the black numbers are down, replaced by Asians and Latinos, because we can find a plethura of talented Asians and Latinos because their cultures revere baseball. MLB is full of stories of dirt-poor latinos who are now stars in MLB, but come from a country where playing baseball is a right of passage. Their talent, despite their dirt-poorness, seems to get them to the Major Leagues. I submit that a black athlete who can throw in the mid 90's, or hit a curveball 500 feet will get his opportunities!!
Reply
5-30-2007 @ 9:44AM
PostmanE said...
Thanks for the comments.
I agree that class is a greater determinant of poverty than race is. That said, blacks are far more disproportionately poor as a percentage of the population than whites.
Secondly, the call for more black players is coming directly from Major League Baseball, as it did earlier this year. The idea is not that blacks must be forced to play pro baseball if they'd prefer basketball or football (and right now, culturally, many do) but simply that 5-10 year-old African-American boys should be given the same opportunity to develop a love for the game as little white boys in suburbs, and 13-18 year-olds should be able to hone their skills at the same level, *if they so choose*. That's not compulsory; that's just giving everyone the same opportunities to excel in athletics, regardless of race or economic advantage.
Reply
5-30-2007 @ 1:29PM
bedric smetana said...
Everybody needs to start being honest. One example:
The white guy lost the UFC championship and there have been at least half a dozen blogs here -- all about him: why did he lose? where does he go from here? what's to become of the sport? etc.
Reply
5-30-2007 @ 1:35PM
bedric smetana said...
Another example:
from Mike Dodds piece in the USA Today, "Is Jackie Robinson's legacy fading after six decades?"
>[Tori] Hunter says many black youngsters view media and public criticism of star Barry Bonds as racist.
>Bonds, who is closing in on Hank Aaron's home run record, has been at the center of a steroid controversy the last few years.
>"The one big, black face in baseball is Barry Bonds, and they see he is constantly being scrutinized and he has never tested positive for anything," Hunter says. Black kids "think, 'That game is not for us.'"
Kids know how they feel. They don't even see any coverage of the guy who beat Chuck Lidell, they don't even know his name.
They know that Oscar De La Hoya made most of the money because he's photogenic and he promoted the fight.
Reply
6-10-2007 @ 5:59AM
Conner said...
I was a poor White kid who played baseball, little league, military and legion. In little league I borrowed the catcher's gear. I think it is a culture thing. It takes organization to play baseball. As a kid you have to gather enough people with gloves, bats, balls, etc. Much easier to wake up a noon and bounce a basketball down the sidewalk to the park.
Reply