MLB seeking infusion of Black players amid reports of low participation

MLB, which is celebrating Jackie Robinson Day today, “desperately could use an infusion of young players to curb the erosion of African Americans in its leagues,” according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY. The Cardinals are MLB’s lone team to “have three everyday Black position players under the age of 25 this season” -- RF Jordan Walker, SS Masyn Winn and CF Victor Scott II. According to a USA Today Sports study, the Black population on opening-day rosters and injured lists this season is just 5.7%, the “lowest since 1955.” Five teams do not have a Black player on their roster, with 10 others “just having one player.” For the first time since 1952, there is not a single Black player on either the Cubs or White Sox, despite playing in a city with the “largest Black population in the country.” MLB, which has had three Black players called up to the big leagues since opening day, is “encouraged there are 23 other Black players on 40-man rosters who are in the minors.” The league has also had 74 Black players “participate in their Spring Breakout games.” Missouri Sports HOF broadcaster Mike Claiborne said, “We have this generation playing in an era where African American participation is stagnant. To see these young guys come along, and the way they’re so engaged, they’re going to be great players and role models not just for the Cardinals, but for all of baseball.” He added, “They are exactly what the game needs” (USA TODAY, 4/15).

SLOW RISE: The AP’s Alanis Thames wrote there are “signs of progress at the pro level” for Black players in MLB. Between 2012 and 2021, 17.4% of first-round picks “were African American players.” That number spiked to 30% in 2022, when "four of the first five selections were Black players for the first time ever" -- and "all four were alumni of at least one MLB diversity initiative." In 2023, Black players made up 10 of the first 50 draft selections, or 20%. Those gains have not “bolstered MLB numbers yet,” and even in the minors, Black participation “has been slow to rise” (AP, 4/14).

PAVING THE WAY: In Arizona, José M. Romero writes the numbers of Black MLB players “are down, but there's a belief that they will rise again because of the growth in participation among Black youth players, many of whom are being developed within MLB's player diversity pipeline of city leagues.” A’s OF Lawrence Butler, who is from the Atlanta area, said that the number of Black players “will go up based on what he's seeing coming from his hometown.” He said Atlanta “is kind of huge on minorities playing baseball.” Butler: “We have a lot of Black players playing pro ball, college." Mariners 2B Samad Taylor said that players like Marlins CF Jazz Chisholm Jr. “can inspire the next generation of Black players” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 4/15).