With MLB celebrating Jackie Robinson Day on Saturday, an indication of baseball's health among African-Americans is participation at the youth levels. MLB VP/Youth Programs David James, who helps oversee the league's RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) program, said of African-American participation in the program, “Typically we average, in the low end, 30%, and the high end could be about 40% on a given year.” Those numbers, he said, are “steady but growing.” Two commonly held reasons credited for the decline in African-American participation are the cost of playing and the speed of the game when compared to basketball and football. James said. “The larger issue with participation is the impact of travel ball and some trends that have evolved that kids aren’t playing community based leagues anymore, and so underserved communities, and specifically kids of color, are impacted by that when there’s always the conversation about playing the game.” Prior to ’09, RBI only operated with leagues for children 13 and older. James said MLB knew it was "missing a younger generation." RBI now includes children as young as 5. James said, "There aren’t too many kids who haven’t played until the age of 13 and now are on the 90-foot diamond and you are putting the glove on them for the first time. They aren’t going to have success.”
KEEP PLAYING: RBI, created in L.A. by late former MLBer John Young in ’89, has been operated by MLB since ’91. The number of leagues is expected to grow to nearly 200 by the end of the ’17 season. The L.A. area alone has over 6,000 children involved in the Dodgers' program. James said RBI also is growing in the rural south, and there are opportunities to expand into Mexico. Mike Oxley, a coach in the Dodgers RBI system, said the problem is not getting younger children to play -- it is keeping them playing as they get older. Oxley said, "We’re usually losing kids when they turn 13 or 14. Parents are involved from tee ball through Little League. Once they get to high school, they drop off." He said MLB shoulders some of that blame. Oxley: “You turn on the TV during football season, they promote their stars. You turn on during basketball season, they promote their stars. You turn the TV for baseball, you don’t see advertisement for their stars. Kids today are very visual; they gravitate to who they see." Where Oxley also sees a decline is in Little League because of the cost to play -- $65 plus buying a uniform. Oxley noted in RBI's L.A. program, players get a glove, spikes and everything else for $25, thanks to grants from the Dodgers and Angels. Oxley: “I don’t know if John ever envisioned the amount of participation of kids in the program. It’s a great program that exposes the kids to all types of activities within the game. He’s in his grave smiling.”
