There Are No US-born Black players on expected World Series rosters: First Time Since Jackie Robinson

Associated Press ^ | 10/26/2022 | Ben Walker

[SeekAndFind]

Looking around Memorial Stadium before Game 1 of the 1983 World Series, Philadelphia Phillies star Gary Matthews saw a lot of Black talent.

Joe Morgan. Eddie Murray. Garry Maddox. Ken Singleton. Al Bumbry. Disco Dan Ford. And plenty more that night in Baltimore.

“There were quite a few of us,” Matthews recalled.

When fans watch the Houston Astros and Phillies line up this week to begin the Fall Classic, it will be a much different picture.

To be sure, Houston’s Jose Altuve and Philadelphia’s Jean Segura are among scores of Latin players helping keep big league rosters diverse.

But for the first time since 1950, shortly after Jackie Robinson broke the Major League Baseball color barrier, there project to be no U.S.-born Black players in this World Series.

Zero.

“That is eye opening,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. “It is somewhat startling that two cities that have high African American populations, there’s not a single Black player.”

“It lets us know there’s obviously a lot of work to be done to create opportunities for Black kids to pursue their dream at the highest level,” he said.

Robinson debuted in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers and played in the World Series that year. Since then, the 1950 matchup between the New York Yankees and Phillies has been the only World Series without a Black player.

Houston and Philadelphia will announce their 26-man rosters several hours before Game 1 on Friday night at Minute Maid Park, where Dusty Baker, a Black outfielder for the 1981 champion Los Angeles Dodgers, manages the Astros.

[Albion Wilde]

What could the problem be... Attitude? Drugs? Brawling in nightclubs? Domestic abuse? Kneeling?

[Albion Wilde]

Can’t make movies like that any more.

What movie was that?

[1Old Pro]

For whatever reason, blacks just aren’t into baseball anymore. What are you going to do, force them to play?

I say, recruit the best players and reward them based on performance; in any league, any sport, any profession.

[dfwgator]

Yeah, but you just aren’t going to pick up playing Baseball as an adult and suddenly be good at it.

[1Old Pro]

Yeah, but you just aren’t going to pick up playing Baseball as an adult and suddenly be good at it.

Like you say, whatya gonna do, force people to play baseball in LL on up?

[1Old Pro]

Yeah, but you just aren’t going to pick up playing Baseball as an adult and suddenly be good at it. Like you say, whatya gonna do, force people to play baseball in LL on up?

Kinda similar with tennis, just not in vogue for kids nowadays. But pickleball is on the rise for fat out of shape adults to play.

[Vaduz]

There Are No US-born Black players

Well they are just going have to deal with it they are on the replacement list too like the rest of us.

[ETCM]

The Naked Gun from 1988.

[Albion Wilde]

Thanks!

[Lumper20]

My thoughts are why this race BS? It appears to me that CRT/WOKE has been used when it benefits one. Then we have these crazy sex theories. I still wonder how a punk like Obama ever became Pres?

[Lumper20]

My thoughts are why this race BS? It appears to me that CRT/WOKE has been used when it benefits one. Then we have these crazy sex theories. I still wonder how a punk like Obama ever became Pres?

[Truthsearcher]

Mostly because black kids are more into basketball and football these days.

Baseball is really not an urban sport, it takes too much space.

[dfwgator]

Kids used to play stickball in the streets.

[nascarnation]

Loot N Shoot is also a widely practiced sport in the ‘hood.

[x]

There was an effort to teach cricket in South Central LA. They should have been working on baseball. It can’t be duller than cricket

[Texan4Life]

After the Houston Astros manager complained that there were not enough American Black players in the WS, a Black man breaks down why there are not more American Black players in MLB.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ZzkPcmjuA

[dfwgator]

After the Houston Astros manager complained that there were not enough American Black players in the WS,

I wonder how his black hispanic players feel about that?

[Political Junkie Too]

Baseball is really not an urban sport, it takes too much space.

Growing up in white suburbia, I can think of a few more reasons why baseball may not be popular for African-Americans:

1. It takes too many kids to make it a game. You really do need 9 or 10 kids to play, even if it's not two actual teams.
   • You need at least a pitcher and a catcher, a hitter, first, second, and third basemen, and a couple of outfielders.
   • You can cheat on a short-stop and an outfielder, or you fill all the positions and rotate people around so everyone gets a chance to hit.
   • At least that's how we used to do it when we didn't have 18 kids in the neighborhood. Eight or nine of us would go down to the park near our school and just hit the ball around.
2. Baseball is truly a team sport - there is little opportunity for one guy to stand out and dominate everyone else.
   • Basketball seems to me to be geared towards the showboating player, the person who always wants the ball, who always takes the shot. You can't do that in baseball; the mechanics of the game just doesn't support it.
3. You need more equipment to play baseball.
   • In baseball you need a ball, a couple of bats, and every kid needs a glove. A catcher's mask would be nice, too, to be safe.
   • In basketball, you need just one basketball for everyone to play.

-PJ

[dfwgator]

Baseball is really not an urban sport, it takes too much space.

That's why they played Stickball in the streets.