It's been over 60 years since Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier of Major League Baseball, and yet the sport is still almost completely void of African Americans. In 1995, the MLB was 19 percent black. Now, that statistic has dropped to just nine percent. Experts theorize that a demand for cheap labor is a major cause of this decline. Professional baseball clubs can hire three or four foreign players for the price of one American. On top of that, many inner city high schools don't even offer baseball programs to their student athletes, so there aren't fresh black stars to replace the aging pros.
The nation's capital hopes to reverse this trend. The Washington Nationals and DC's RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) are establishing programs intended to revitalize black youth's interest in the sport. RBI provides baseball training, education and mentoring to roughly 500 kids in some of the most economically depressed neighborhoods in DC. For their part, the Nationals have "adopted" several public schools in the city, and each team member is required to visit at least once a month with the students.
"It's important to have minority players involved in the community," says an executive with the Nationals. "The more players they see, the more it moves the ball forward."
We've got one question before a lot of valuable time and money goes into this effort: Why the hell does anyone care how many black kids are playing baseball? For years now, football and basketball have been dominated by black athletes, and yet still this: "Across a range of economic indicators including measures of employment, poverty, housing, income and wealth, blacks were much worse off than whites. If whites scored 100 percent on such measures, blacks scored just 56.8 percent, a figure unchanged from last year … " Is baseball going to get that percentage to 80? 70?
Sorry if we're less than concerned that a few dozen black teenagers can't become blingy millionaires for swinging a stick, we're a bit engaged with trying to understand why an entire race of people is languishing.
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Do you just not like baseball? I commend the Nationals' efforts to get involved with kids in the District - a positive presence of people of color is sorely needed.
Obviously not every kid will become a star player, but I think it's a valuable program.
And as a fan of the sport, I personally DO care how many black kids are playing baseball. Fifty years ago, playing baseball was the norm in black communities, but today that involvement has diminished.
Yes! Because that is what black america needs, more black men holding on the the extremely unlikely dream of raising themselves up through sports. Because books to do not exist.
Yup! Encourage poor, underprivileged blacks to compete for a career that less than 1% of the US population has a chance of becoming. Lol. Why not apply the same tactics in helping black kids get a better education?
I'm no big fan of baseball or any sport, but I don't see any harm in encouraging young men in inner cities to engage in extra-curricular activities that won't get them killed or thrown in jail. Baseball is certainly not preferable to getting better grades and becoming more immersed in school work, but you don't have to be good enough to get to the major leagues to snag an athletic scholarship.
Lauren,
Just a little problem with this article. There are plenty of black men is baseball but there are few African-Americans in baseball.
I wouldn't disregard players' blackness simply because they originate from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, etc.
In Latin America, for a lot of poor black people, baseball is seen as a ticket ou of poverty. Just like basketball here. Those kinds of ticket out of poverty are quite limiting.
There are plenty of other extra-curricular activities other than sports. Dance, Theater, book club. arts and crafts. instrument lessons, writing, multi cultural film for example.
If you expose kids to baseball they will like it. I played softball for 15 years from Little League to college b/c I was exposed to it when I was 7 years old. It's not a cheap sport..you have a lot of gear to buy, but the same can be said for Pop Warner football (and urban kids seem to be able topay for that) so its a matter of what parents expose their kids to. Every kid I know who has played soccer loves it, but how many black kids are exposed to it? Very few. Like everything else it begins at home.
Meant to also say…you can play baseball/softball AND do other things. Just b/c you play a sport doesn't mean you won't get good grades or won't take dance classes, etc. I did all three.
There are plenty of blacks in major league baseball. They just happen to be black Latinos, not black/African-Americans.
There are "blacks" in baseball; they also happen to be Latino.
Contact: Eve Elder-Mayes
William Still Underground Railroad Foundation Inc.
Phone 513 761-8600
1821 Summit Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45237
http://www.undergroundrr.com
email: stepbystep@fuse.net
Press Release
The William Still UGRR Foundation partners with Baseball legend Cal Ripken’s Management and Design on Urban Indoor Baseball & Softball Academy
Cincinnati, OH April 11, 2008: The William Still Underground Railroad Foundation a non-profit organization who has been named the preferred developer by the City of Cincinnati in a renovation project located at the abandoned Armory on Shadybrook Drive in Hartwell has partnered with baseball legend Cal Ripken’s Management and Design, LLC. Ripken Management & Design (RMD) will serve as the foundations design and feasibility consultant as well as the consultant to all major aspects of the project. The William Still UGRR Foundation signed a preferred developer agreement with the City of Cincinnati in December of 2007 to transition the almost 24,000 square feet Hartwell site into the MVP (Most Valuable Persons) Indoor Baseball/Softball Training Facility. This facility will be available for both boys and girls baseball and softball teams who currently have no indoor facility during off-season months. The facility hopes to serve at least 1000 youth within its first year from the ages of 6-17 and will also incorporate a math tutoring program as well as a self-esteem building program in addition to professional baseball/softball lessons. The Hartwell Community Council, Cincinnati Reds Community Fund, and Cincinnati Recreation Commission are in support of the need for an indoor baseball and softball facility where youth living within the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County can have access to training during fall and winter months. The foundation is in conversation with some private schools within in 10 mile radius of the proposed site, to utilize the facility for indoor practice and to get an earlier start on spring training. The plans for the proposed site include an indoor playing field, batting cages with tunnels, weight room, and multi-purpose meeting room for potential high school and college scouts to meet and see urban talent showcased. For more information about the Mid-City Indoor Baseball Project call (513) 761-8600 or email the foundation at stepbystep@fuse.net.