Headlines, North America

/ARTS WEEKLY/SPORTS: African Americans Striking Out From Major League Baseball

Gabriel Packard

NEW YORK, Sep 23 2003 (IPS) - James "Cool Papa" Bell could run faster than a speeding baseball, according to a fellow Negro League player. "Once he hit a line drive right past my ear," said pitcher Satchel Paige. "I turned around and saw the ball hit his ass sliding into second (base)."

Although the story is probably a fond exaggeration, Bell was certainly one of the greats of his time. But for most of his career, he could not play in baseball’s Major League, where some clubs did not allow black players until the late 1950s.

"They used to say, ‘if we can find a good black player, we’ll sign him’," said Bell. "They was lying."

Of course, there was plenty talent in the Negro League, as Jackie Robinson proved in 1946, when he became the first black to join the Major Leagues.

But now, 57 years later, is it possible there really is a shortage of good black players?

Many sports analysts are saying that fewer baseball scholarships, heavy recruiting abroad, the image of baseball as a white sport, and a lack of baseball diamonds, equipment and volunteer coaches in the inner cities are all keeping young blacks athletes out of baseball.

That, analysts suggest, is the reason why in 2002 just 10 percent of Major League Baseball (MLB) players were African Americans. This is about half the number in 1995 – 19 percent.

These figures come from the ‘2003 Racial and Gender Report Card’, researched by Richard Lapchick of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport.

Another number points to a decline in black participation: zero. That is how many black every-day players the Boston Red Sox have this season. According to ‘Sports Illustrated’ magazine, this is the first time the Red Sox have not had a black on the regular squad since 1961, two years after they became the last team to integrate.

Various programmes are trying to promote baseball in urban areas, which are often home to large black populations. The most high profile of these is called Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities (RBI) and is sponsored by the Major League.

On Oct. 1, RBI is going to break ground on its three-million-dollar Youth Baseball Academy in Compton, California.

This baseball hothouse is modelled on others already producing Major League players in the Caribbean, says the MLB’s senior vice-president for baseball operations, Jimmie Lee Solomon.

If the Academy is successful, there are plans to open up others around the country.

But that the United States has to turn to countries like Venezuela and the Dominican Republic for inspiration about its own national pass-time is telling.

Players from Caribbean states – such as Venezuela and the Dominican Republic – and the Pacific Rim are the fastest growing ethnic groups in MLB. In 2002, they made up 48 percent of the players, with Latino players accounting for 28 percent, a proportion that has more than doubled since 1990.

Major League teams are investing money looking for talent outside the United States, says Peter Roby, director of the Centre for the Study of Sport in Society, at North Eastern University. They can get players at a cheaper price and they do not have to face the same market forces as at home.

In fact, U.S. clubs invest about 60 million dollars a year in scouting and developing talent in Latin American countries alone. In the Dominican Republic, a 16-year-old player can be snapped up for about 21,000 dollars, whereas U.S. kids of similar age with similar skills have landed contracts worth two million dollars.

Clubs’ economic focus explains why they would want to use bargain-priced foreign talent. But while the influx of players is accompanied by a decrease in African American players, the number of white players in the game has stayed about the same.

One reason for this, analysts say, is that black athletes are choosing other sports over baseball and other activities over sport.

”Thirty years ago, when I was growing up, there was the big three,” says Roby. ”Baseball, basketball, football. As teenagers, most athletes would gravitate toward one of these and in a lot of cases all three.”

”But now, there’s a lot more choice. You can play lacrosse, soccer. And there are individual things like . in-line skating. There’s also the Internet and PlayStation.

Indeed, black athletes now excel in a broader range of sports: Tiger Woods in golf, the Williams sisters in tennis, Peter Westbrook’s students in fencing. But even so, black participation in two of three traditional sports is still strong.

The number of blacks in the National Football League (NFL) has grown from 60 percent in 1990 to 65 percent in 2002. The National Basketball League (NBA) has had a constantly high number of blacks – 72-82 percent – over the same period.

Many reasons explain why young black athletes might choose basketball and football over baseball. Money is one of them.

”There is definitely some correlation with the limited opportunities in urban environments, (and the decreasing number of blacks playing baseball)," says Roby. ”Access to facilities and actual organisations can be a barrier to people. With baseball you need infrastructure, volunteer coaches.”

With basketball, on the other hand, young athletes tend to organise their own games and learn their skills from their peers.

Another problem, says Roby, is that many baseball fields in inner cities are disappearing or are not well maintained. A basketball court costs much less to build and maintain than a baseball diamond.

Then there’s the equipment, adds Roby.

A low-priced set of baseball gear – spiked shoes, glove – can cost about 75 dollars, while a 20-dollar basketball or football can serve 10 or more players.

Retired Major League pitcher Kirk McCaskill says that enthusiasm for baseball is low even in the suburbs. He recently told ‘The State’ newspaper (in South Carolina state) that if it were not for the encouragement of parents, kids might not want to play baseball.

”Every day I drive by two beautiful field in the richest community in the United States, and there’s never anybody on them unless it’s an organised event,” he said.

As Roby suggests, ”baseball’s got to re-invent itself, not just for African American youths, but for youth in general”.