Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr, Barry Larkin, Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield. I can name dominant black athletes from years past and there are so many others. I can only name Mookie Betts in today’s game who is one of the faces of Major League Baseball. I know there are a lot more black athletes in Major League Baseball like Cedric Mullins and others. But the question becomes, why aren’t there more black athletes in Major League Baseball?
Well, it’s time to talk about it, you ready? Okay, let’s start with interest in baseball. It’s a slower game, games last nearly three hours, there isn’t a ton of action for a consistent amount of time. When I started watching sports, basketball and football came before baseball for me. It’s still in that order for my favorite sports till this day. Most black kids see baseball as a dry, slow, mundane game.
The access for black kids to baseball isn’t there. I’m from the inner city of New York City where I grew up in the Bronx. When I went to parks, there weren’t baseball fields with dirt, bases, etc. It wasn’t until I moved to the suburbs at age 14 where I saw that and regularly. Black kids from the inner city have the street to play football and maybe a high school football field to play on. There are parks with dirt and grass from time to time but the reality of it is, I see more latinos playing baseball in the inner city for the love of the game than black kids. There are a myriad of basketball courts at public schools and playgrounds all over the inner cities of America.
I candidly remember an interview that Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr did and he talked about how black kids don’t really have access to play baseball. It boils down to equipment too (cleats, bats, baseballs, gloves, socks), the majority of parents can’t afford to buy all of that gear. For basketball and football, you can walk into a Dick’s Sporting Goods and buy a $20 basketball or football for a little kid and he’s good to go.
Parents can scrape to buy a kid some basketball sneakers and they have to last for a whole year. The playgrounds are nearby and a kid can go play. The majority of recreation centers have basketball courts and that’s what kids want to do.
Next comes the opportunity for a black kid to play professionally. With baseball, it’s playing great in high school to get noticed. If you’re not drafted to the Major Leagues, it’s getting a scholarship to play college baseball and you have to play for a top notch program to get noticed. If you’re drafted, you have to go through the minor leagues and barely make ends meet and stay in motels on the road. It’s going through triple A, double A, then A and then getting that call up to the big leagues.
Believe me, these kids know the road to professional leagues. They look at LeBron James and how he got to the NBA from high school, or Kevin Durant who played one year at Texas and was playing in the NBA at 19 years old. A black kid who is from the inner city, is trying to make it and take care of his family. He can’t afford to play in the minor leagues for potentially 5+ years or longer before he makes it to the big leagues.
Even when you get to Major League Baseball, you’re not getting a big contract right away, you still have to prove yourself. Mookie Betts didn’t get his big contract until his later 20s, so a black kid looks at that and goes, “no thank you.” When a kid watches his parent(s) struggle to make it, they’re trying to get their payday when they’re young.
A young black kid is thinking, I’m an ACL or Achilles tear from my career being done. Black kids are looking at NBA and NFL athletes and how much they’re paid at such a young age and think of a big payday. Look at what Charles Barkley said in his interview on “All The Smoke” with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. He chronicles when he goes to schools to speak to black kids, the majority of them want to play professionally in basketball or football.
The reality of things are, black kids are looking to make money and quickly. They figure, if they work their butts off, they can get there. Even if they go through college 2-3 years, they’re still playing professionally in their early 20s. Let’s say these black kids leave school too soon and don’t make it in the NBA or NFL, they still have other ways to make it.
For basketball, you can play in summer league and get invited to camp. Or you can play in the G-league for the NBA and get paid reasonably or go overseas. I have a friend who played basketball overseas for over 10 years and did well for himself. It’s hard to be away from family but if you get into a good league, your contract can be significant.
With football, you can still make a roster if you’re not drafted and get invited into camp. There’s no guarantee to make the roster and you can get cut but it’s the chance you take. Now, there’s the XFL, where you can make some decent money, stay in the states, be near family and still play the game you love.
Black kids aren’t exposed to baseball from a young age. They also don’t see as many black athletes in Major League Baseball dominating their sport. When black kids do interviews after an NCAA basketball or college football game, they talk about "it’s what they dreamed of" when they’re young. Playing in the bright lights on national television, cameras recording their every move.
At the end of the day, it’s the appeal and draw that the NBA and NFL provide to young kids that makes them want to play professionally. Major League Baseball doesn’t showcase their black athletes and you’re not going to know who they are unless you watch with intent in today’s game. Hopefully in the near future, we’ll see more black athletes playing professional baseball. Until then, the inner cities of America will need to start providing more fields, equipment and coaches for those who really want to play America’s pastime…
