Free Republic

African-American participation in baseball is on the decline. This isn't a new development. Over the past couple years, a number of black athletes have addressed the issue.This isn't just an issue for other black players, it's becoming an issue for black fans, according to comedian Chris Rock. Rock gave his take on the alarmingly low rates of blacks in baseball for HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumble." (WARNING: NSFW Language).Rock's rant is humorous, obviously, but it also points out some discouraging facts about why fewer black people are playing, and watching, the game. The fact that Howard, a prominent...

Reds manager Bryan Price went on a profane rant during his daily pregame meeting with reporters Monday, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. According to the Enquirer, Price was upset with the paper’s report Sunday that catcher Devin Mesoraco was not available to pinch-hit during Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals. During Monday’s meeting, after television cameras had left and about 10 reporters remained in the visiting manager’s office at Milwaukee’s Miller Park, Price asked Enquirer reporter C. Trent Rosecrans why he reported the information. “Well, as a fan, I’m wondering, here’s a spot for Devin Mesoraco, why isn’t he there?” Rosecrans...

If you’re not ready for the designated hitter to be part of National League baseball, your time to get ready is getting shorter by the day. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when, and more than that, it’s a matter of how.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports was at the game, and he confirmed that lines for the restrooms were "problematically long" and posted a photo of what appeared to cups filled with urine.

Lon Simmons, the Hall of Fame broadcaster whose baritone voice and dry wit captured some of the most thrilling moments Bay Area sports history, has died. He was 91. The Giants sent a press release Sunday afternoon that said, "The Giants family and Bay Area sports community lost a true gentleman (Sunday) morning when Hall of Fame broadcaster Lon Simmons peacefully passed away."

As the 2015 Major League Baseball season dawns, the lords of baseball are asking for our forgiveness. They want a second chance, and to get it they are making changes that could shake the game to its foundations. This isn’t about tinkering with the playoffs to make a few extra dollars from the television networks. The 30 team owners have ordered the new commissioner to modernize baseball and make it appeal to an audience that is increasingly weary of the game’s slow pace. There will of course be cries of sacrilege from traditionalists about putting the national pastime on a...

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred says he has received a formal request from Pete Rose asking that his lifetime ban be lifted and that he will consider the all-time hits leader's request "on its merits." "I want to make sure I understand all of the details of the Dowd Report and Commissioner [Bart] Giamatti's decision and the agreement that was ultimately reached," Manfred said after a meeting with Los Angeles Dodgers players in Arizona on Monday morning. "I want to hear what Pete has to say, and I'll make a decision once I've done that." Rose's...

The baseball world lost one of its greatest talents and brightest minds on Friday when former Cleveland Indians infielder and longtime MLB executive Al Rosen died at age 91. Known as the "Hebrew Hammer," Rosen spent the entirety of his 10-year playing career with the Indians, hitting .285/.384/.495 with 192 home runs and 717 RBIs over 4,374 plate appearances. Rosen was a four-time All-Star, earning selections from 1952-1955, and was voted American League MVP in 1953, beating out the likes of Yogi Berra, Minnie Minoso and Mickey Vernon.

The baseball world lost another legend on Sunday with the death of former Chicago White Sox outfielder Minnie Minoso. Minoso was a seven-time All-Star while playing with the White Sox in the 1950s and 1960s, but much more than that he was a pioneer. When he was traded by the Cleveland Indians to the White Sox in 1951, he became the city of Chicago’s first black player. There is some dispute over when Minoso was born, but the team website said he was 92. The Chicago Tribune reported that Minoso was found dead in his car at a Chicago gas...

Minnie Minoso, the hugely popular All-Star outfielder from Cuba who became the major league’s first black player out of Latin America and a treasured figure in the history of the Chicago White Sox, died on Sunday in Chicago. His true age was never entirely clear, but by an account in his autobiography, he would have been 89 when he died.

Baseball, being the noblest sport, has many lessons to teach: the value of daily persistence, the inevitability of failure and the likelihood that luck will not override ineptitude (Looking at you, Cubs.). But, as a creation of humans, it is also prey to human imperfections, like the urge to suppress useful changes to spare those who resist adaptation. Part of the game's appeal lies in what George Will calls its "soothing continuities." Discontinuity can be jarring. It wasn't long ago that the Cubs had to fight to install lights in an ancient stadium that had hosted only day games. But...

Cubs legend Ernie Banks has died, according to a Cubs source. This is a developing news story, check back for details.

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - Chicago legend Ernie Banks, also known as 'Mr. Cub' and 'Mr. Sunshine,' died Friday night, sources say. He was 83. Banks would have turned 84 on January 31. He was born in 1931 in Dallas, Texas. Banks was the first African American player to play for the Cubs. In 1950, he played for the Kansas City Monarchs in Negro League Baseball . He then played shortstop and first base for 19 seasons, from 1953 to 1971. The entire time Banks played for the Cubs, he was a national league all-star for 11 seasons. He was...

Tuesday wasn’t Curt Schilling’s day to be elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame and the Boston Red Sox former great believes his politics are one reason he fell short of the necessary number of votes. Schilling’s former teammate, Pedro Martinez, was elected, along with Randy Johnson, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio. Although he and Smoltz have similar stats, Schilling fell 240 votes short.

Former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner had tremendous appreciation for the the men and women who serve as New York City firefighters, cops and Port Authority members.. It's why he started the Yankee Silver Shield Foundation, which for nearly 32 years has provided for the education of children whose parents were killed in the line of duty. The New York Daily News reports that Steinbrenner's foundation will provide the money needed to support the education of both of Ramos' sons. "Who's going to take care of these kids," Steinbrenner asked his friend, former Olympian Jim Fuchs, who would run the foundation...

George Steinbrenner's Yankee Silver Shield Foundation has, for 32 years, provided for the education of the children of New York City cops, firefighters and Port Authority employees who were killed in the line.Yankee owner George Steinbrenner died in 2010, but his appreciation for the men in blue who protect New York City lives on. For 32 years, Steinbrenner's Yankee Silver Shield Foundation has provided for the education of the children of New York City police officers, firemen and Port Authority employees who died in the line of duty, and will do so for the family of NYPD officer Rafael Ramos,...

They just don't make them like this anymore.

NEW YORK — The highest-ranking Hispanic woman in a management position at Major League Baseball headquarters said in a lawsuit on Thursday she has faced discrimination there for two decades. Sylvia Lind’s lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, seeks unspecified damages for what she describes as a failure by the league to consider, interview, appoint and promote qualified Hispanic women to managerial and executive positions. Lind, 48, says the league has created a hostile work environment for her because of her age.

It was a milestone day around here, perhaps the greatest doubleheader sweep in Southland hardball history. Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw. American League and National League Most Valuable Players. The Angels and the Dodgers sitting alone atop the baseball world. In the middle of November. Too bad this isn’t the end of October.

Trout wins his first MVP.