African American Baseball Research Paper

And how could you blame much of the African American youth, given the context of baseball and basketball’s statuses among this group, for not being able to tell you their favorite MLB player despite their admiration for, seemingly, countless NBA stars? After hearing from older members of the Mount Vernon baseball community, it’s not surprising that their kids can’t name what teams Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, or Clayton Kershaw play for, despite knowing all about Steph Curry, LeBron James, or Kevin Durant. After Barry Bonds won his seventh and final Most Valuable Player award in 2004 while playing for the San Francisco Giants, only three African Americans have won either the American League or National League MVP: Philadelphia Phillies stars Ryan

Howard (2006 NL), Jimmy Rollins (2007 NL), and Pittsburgh’s McCutchen (2013 NL). Before Bonds went on his NL MVP rampage, winning four consecutive honors from 2001-2004, the only African American to win an MVP award was American Leaguer Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997 while playing for the Seattle Mariners. Since 1985, only three African Americans have won a Cy Young Award: Dwight Gooden (1985 NL for the Mets), CC Sabathia (2007 AL with the Cleveland Indians), and David Price (2012 AL for the Tampa Bay Rays).

African Americans don’t often have a hero of a similar ethnic background to relate to and root for. Gone are the days of the Negro Leagues, where African Americans of all ages were able to root for relatable heroes. There’s no modern-day equivalent of Willy Mays, Willie Stargell, Bob Gibson, or Hank Aaron for African Americans to invest interest in. There are up-and-coming African American baseball stars such as Boston’s Mookie Betts, Minnesota’s Byron Buxton, and Seattle’s Taijuan Walker, but these players would be hard pressed to create enough buzz for the MLB in the African American community to divert attention away from the NBA, or any other sports league for that matter, to the extent of inspiring a new generation of ethnically diverse and homegrown players. Terell Huntley, a Mount Vernon High School baseball player, echoes this assertion: “‘You need someone to look up to’” (Haggerty). Right now, African American do not really have that

“someone.”
Even if young African Americans—or kids of any race for that matter, especially those who live in low income families—are interested in playing, it’s not the simplest or most convenient sport to play.

Baseball equipment can cost much more than equipment for other major sports, and select youth teams and elite camps can go on trips to tournaments or charge admission that cost hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars. ESPN Senior Writer Tim Keown reinforces this idea in a 2013 article. After then-MLB commissioner Bug Selig announced that a new committee—the On-Field Diversity Task Force—would be formed in order to investigate the lack of African American youth involvement in baseball (Axisa, “MLB creating committee

to study decline in African-American players”), Keown explained that if that committee simply came up with the idea that African Americans have a lack of heroes, then it would be considered a “noble failure” (Keown, “What the MLB committee will find”). To go further, he explained that it’s logical to think that African Americans would be more interested in baseball considering the eventual payout of being an MLB star, stating, “…the allure of an immediate jump from the amateur ranks to the highest level—as offered in an idealized version of the NFL and NBA—makes the prospect of spending three or four years bouncing around the low minors less attractive…There are fewer recognizable and highly marketed black stars than in the NFL and NBA, but is that merely a product of the numbers, a self-fulfilling prophecy? The path to the big time is slower, but why don't more people associated with baseball trumpet two facts -- the number of players who get paid is far larger than the NBA and the money is 100 percent more guaranteed than the NFL” (Keown)? Keown attributes the lack of African Americans playing youth baseball to the high costs of the sport at the developmental levels. Furthermore, he said, “The committee members need to see the industry of youth baseball for what it has become: A business enterprise designed to exclude those without the means and mobility to participate. Over the past 15 to 20 years, the proliferation of pay-for-play teams in youth baseball—and the parallel proliferation of parents willing to pay for them and coaches willing to cash their checks—has had more of an impact on African-American participation than anything another sport has to offer. . . Baseball in the United States has become a sport for the rich” (Keown). In 2014, Major League Baseball released preliminary findings from the committee and said that one reason as to why on-field diversity has decreased is due to multiple disadvantages to urban areas, including, “…the high cost of equipment…” “…a lack of urban training facilities…” and “…the proliferation of for-profit camps and showcases, which limit exposure for African-American players” (MLB, “On-Field Diversity Task Force announces preliminary initiatives”).