Justin Bonvouloir

Dr. John Staudt

Baseball In America

26 September 2014

Scarcity of African Americans in Todays Baseball

Today, baseball is ravaged by many problems. Both youth baseball and

professional baseball have their share of these issues, these problems all

intertwine and relate to each other. One of the most important and precarious

problems in todays baseball is the lack of African Americans in baseball in

America.

African Americans have many roots in the history of baseball. All-Negro

games have been documented to go back as far as the civil war, between the

Brooklyn Uniques and the Philadelphia Excelsiors. According to the PBS History

Detectives, over the next 20 years, more than 200 black teams would be formed

around the country. While the exact number of teams is disputed amongst

experts, it is of consensus agreement that there were many all black teams

throughout the 1860-1890 era in baseball. Black players rarely played on

predominately white teams, but they could, until 1890 when the National

Association of Baseball Players banned African Americans from play. Throughout

the next 30 years, fueled by the migration of blacks from the South to more

Northern parts of the United States, many all-Negro teams played each other in

exhibition games. In 1920, the Negro National League was formed, this league

and other new negro leagues were economically successful, and helped black

businesses around the games thrive. Many Negro leagues survived, but began to

expire when Jackie Robinson was signed by Branch Rickey in 1946, becoming

the first African American on the Brooklyn Dodgers, and breaking African

American barriers in Major League Baseball.

The history of black players in baseball is important in explaining the

scarcity of blacks in todays game, because it shows the love blacks have

traditionally shown towards baseball. As stated in the New York Times, Only 8.5

percent of the players on the 25-man rosters on opening day were African-

American. Several teams, including the World Series champion San Francisco

Giants, had none. This is an enormous drop off compared to the early and mid

20th century where baseball had leagues full of only African Americans. One of

the main reasons why blacks have stopped playing baseball is the rise of single

parent homes (mostly mothers only) in African American households. According

to the head of the Jackie Robinson West Little League in Chicago, and as told by

Bob Cook of Forbes, One key, he said, for developing baseball interest is fathers
passing it down to sons as a cultural touchstone. Many African Americans don't

have a father in there life, and therefore don't have anyone to teach them the

game and play with them outside. One of the many joys of baseball is just simply

playing catch with your dad, and sharing that athletic experience. This problem

clearly reflects a much larger trend in America as a whole. According to the Annie

E. Casey Foundation, two out of three black children live in a single-parent

household. The shortage of two parent households in African American families

leads to difficulty in parenting. Parents have to balance a heavy work load, social

life, and domestic needs. This leads to little time spent with children, such as

playing catch or watching baseball. It can also produce a child that can become

lonely, self dependent, and extremely stressed.

African Americans have also lost an interest in watching baseball. As stated

by Bob Cook, A Gallup Poll in 2003 found the percentage of African-Americans

referring to baseball as favorite sport to watch declined from about 43 percent in

1960 (three years after Jackie Robinson retired from baseball) to 5 percent. The

percentage of blacks who said they watched baseball at all declined from 52

percent in the early 1950s to 33 percent in the early 2000s not much behind

the 39 percent of whites who watched baseball. If children arent watching and

enjoying baseball on the television or at the ballpark, they wont be inclined to

play. The lack of African Americans watching baseball stems from the absence of

marketing to the African American community. In football and basketball, there

are black athletes on covers of video games, such as Richard Sherman on this

years edition of Madden and black athletes with their own shoes such as LeBron

James. Baseball and more importantly, African American players don't have

lucrative shoe deals that are displayed through commercials, advertisements and

other forms of marketing. This forces black children to buy basketball shoes and

football video games, drawing them away from baseball.

Many blacks also live in urban communities. These inner city communities

don't provide or have access to the programs needed to travel the country in

order to compete with other children. Parents also don't have the time to

chaperon their children around because many of them are in single parent

households. Without the time or access to travel programs, these kids flock to

other sports with easy, and inexpensive access such as basketball. Baseball

also costs a relatively large amount compared to basketball or soccer, where all

you need is a ball and a court or field. In order to play travel baseball, you need

to pay for your uniform, cup, glove and bat. It is common to pay for tournament

fees, and door fees. According to CBS Money Watch, one parent says that she

pays $4,000 dollars all in all for her sons travel baseball fees. Many African
American households cannot sustain these steep prices, and therefore put their

children in other sports.

The average income of an African American household is a problem as a

whole in America. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, African American

households had an average income of $32,068 in 2010, while white American

households had an average income of $49,445. This huge gap in family income

is one of the main reasons why African Americans cannot pay for baseball. The

black-white income gap has been close to the same for over 50 years, and as

explained by the Pew Research Center, the difference in median household

incomes between whites and blacks has grown from about $19,000 in 1967

to 27,000 in 2011 (as measured in 2012 dollars). Baseball has always reflected

certain trends in America, and the black-white income gap is a major problem

that has to be fixed not only for baseballs sake, but for Americas.

Local communities and Major League Baseball alike need to combine their

forces to create efficient programs that encourage children to play baseball.

Without the cooperation of the MLB and specific local communities, there will not

be correct action taken. Without African Americans playing and watching the

game, baseball will surely take a turn for the worst on both the playing field and

the entertainment field. African Americans are a part of baseball that cannot be
left behind.

Works Cited

Amato, Paul. "The Future of Children, Princeton - Brookings: Providing

Research and Analysis to Promote Effective Policies and Programs for

 Children." - The Future of Children -. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

Butler, Sarah. "$4,000 for Youth Baseball: Kids' Sports Costs Are Out of

Control." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 29 Apr. 2011. Web. 26 Sept.

2014.

Cook, Bob. "Baseball's Lack Of Black Players Reflects Flawed U.S. Youth

Development System." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 4 Oct. 2013. Web.

26 Sept. 2014.

"Feature African-American Baseball." PBS. PBS. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

Marshall, Kendrick. "Does the MLB Want More Black Players?" Bleacher

Report. 29 Apr. 2010. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

Plumer, Brad. "These Ten Charts Show the Black-white Economic Gap Hasn't

Budged in 50 Years." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 28 Aug.

2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.