Baseball is 8 Percent Black and 92 Percent Other
Published April 14, 2007
Sixty years ago, Jackie Robinson became the first black player in Major League Baseball history. He broke the color barrier and started a chain reaction that resulted in racial sports integration.
MLB is honoring Robinson this weekend, and many baseball players have jumped at the chance of wearing No. 42 to personally honor the hero. Many baseball columnists have talked about this in many varieties from the dilution of the honor with so many players wearing No. 42 to the concern of so few black players in professional baseball. Is this low number destroying Jackie’s legacy?
Robinson playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 15, 1947 transcended baseball. A black person was being accepted in the white world, and today that racial divide is much smaller. Robinson helped that.
But according to these figures, African-Americans comprised of only 8% of all major league baseball players. A racial divide seems more like a black hole.
On the surface, it seems like an epidemic. Baseball must be more active in recruiting the black athlete. It has for years failed to advertise itself to the black community as aggressively and as efficiently as the NBA and the NFL. In recent years, basketball got Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade, football got Vince Young and Reggie Bush, while baseball got Ryan Howard.
Howard is a star, but he was drafted in 2001. Wade was drafted in 2003. Bush was drafted in 2006. One of the problems marketing baseball is the usual long road from the minor league to the major league. Jumping from high school to the pros is unheard of in baseball where the occurrence in basketball, for a time, seemed yearly (until the recent bargaining agreement which stipulates players must be at least one year removed from high school and be 19). Football players spend two or three years of college before possibly entering the draft.
Stardom can be attained faster in basketball and football (college basketball and college football are also more popular than college baseball). And who doesn’t want both at a younger age?
But the idea that most people are forgetting to mention as the root cause of baseball’s lack of black talent is the simplest: baseball is too expensive to play.
In basketball, all you need is a ball and a hard surface to play on. A basketball court is readily available at any park and even a basket can be crafted from a box and placed on one’s garage. In football, all you need is a ball and a long stretch of grass. Soccer is the same. In baseball, you need more: a bat, a ball (preferably more than one), and a glove for every player on one of the teams. Also, try catching behind the plate without proper equipment.
I'm a proud Dork And Loser.
- Baseball is 8 Percent Black and 92 Percent Other
- Published: April 14, 2007
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Sports: Baseball
- Writer: Tan The Man
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Tan, good point about the cost of playing baseball. I wrote something very similar in my blog post commemorating Jackie Robinson; I think that the racial barrier is largely gone, but a new socioeconomic barrier has been erected in its place. I see very similar trends in golf, hockey, tennis, and other sports. There are black athletes in those sports, but if you look where they came from, you realize that most have had exceptional privilege. Sure, Tiger Woods is part black, but look at how much time and energy, not to mention MONEY has been invested to make him the incredible golfer that he is!
...yet following the departure of the Expos the number of Canadians in MLB is ironically at an all-time high. I blame George W. Bush and global warming for the inverted state of affairs.
Tan, well thought of article. I do have to disagree with the point that baseball is to expensive to play. Domenican's find joy in playing with a tennis ball and a broom stick! The opportunity is there for anyone to play baseball. Is 9% black ball players low? When you look at years past it is, (down from 27%). But I think baseball is a good refection of the US population, 12% black population. All things being equal do white americans have a disadvantage? Considering there's only 60% white population in the game right now. And a 66% percent white popultion according to the 2005 US census.
Baseball in American is equal. I think you nailed in on the head when you said baseball takes longer then other sports to make the big payday. That's what has completely destroyed the NBA product.
In rememberance of Jackie Robinson, I remind you that race dosen't matter any more. Talent, intelligence, and desire are the only things holding anyone from playing baseball. Not someones skin color.
ukdirtdog: that's interesting to note the percentage similarities to overall US population to baseball population.
and yes Chris, you are right... I never give Brooklyn its due.
I think baseball is the least of concern with this issue. American sports today pays top dollar for the player that can earn you the "W's" if your Black, White, Latino, etc. Your point about hockey is interesting to me. There are only a handful of Blacks in the NHL right now...but they are all very good hockey players...and not to mention Jarome Iginla is one of the best in the league. I think hockey kind of gets the shaft sometimes due to its high price and lack of facilities in the Southern U.S. When is this country gonna realize how amazing of a sport hockey is???
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Interesting article, one correction: Jackie never played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers for 1942-1956 before retiring in January 1957, Dodgers didn't move to LA until 1958.