As another Jackie Robinson Day nears, many ponder the question and seek solutions.
Servite High School outfielder Miles Scott stretches Thursday, April 11, 2024, with teammates during a practice at the Anaheim school. Major League Baseball rosters feature fewer Black players but efforts are underway to address the trend. celebrates Jackie Robinson’s historic 1947 debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on Monday, April 15, a small number of players wearing No. 42 in his honor will be African Americans.
Their dream is to become the next Lamar Jackson or LeBron James — the NFL and NBA superstars with the Baltimore Ravens and Lakers. Servite High School outfielder Miles Scott is seen Thursday, April 11, 2024, before baseball practice at the Anaheim school. Baldwin Hills resident Rylan Hilaire, left, and Michael Mendez, of Northridge, both 13, practice their swings at Darby Park in Inglewood during the LA Rockstars’ Thursday, April 11, 2024, practice.
Members of the Los Angeles Dodgers are seen Thursday, March 28, 2024, at the team’s home opener at Dodger Stadium. Reflecting a trend in Major League Baseball, the roster features few Black players. The LA Rockstars bring out bases at Darby Park in Inglewood during a Thursday, April 11, 2024, practice.
Coach Erikk Aldridge watches Darren Jefferson, 14, of Lake View Terrace, as he pitches at Darby Park in Inglewood during the LA Rockstars’ Thursday, April 11, 2024, practice. Today’s Major League Baseball rosters have far fewer Black players. Aldridge, who founded the Inglewood Baseball Fund, is trying to get more Black youths playing baseball through his program and coaching of the club team.
Darvin Hurd, 59, president of the Reid Park Little League in Riverside’s Northside neighborhood, cooks burgers and hot dogs Monday, April 8, 2024, to be sold from the snack bar. “African American kids have been told that baseball ain’t for them,” he said. It’s a difficult challenge because a university education costs tens of thousands of dollars, something many families can’t afford, Aldridge said. And, unlike in college football and basketball, he said, baseball scholarships cover only part of the cost.
Los Angeles Dodgers line up during introductions Thursday, March 28, 2024, at the team’s home opener at Dodger Stadium. Reflecting a trend seen across Major League Baseball, the roster features few Black players. “Sports now are global,” Aldridge said. “And, so, it’s exponentially harder for any American kid to become a professional. I don’t think it’s a race-based thing. I think it’s a competition-based thing.”Thirty-five years later, Whites account for 60.
Yet, he said, “Black players have in recent years been shut out of those events, primarily because of cost.”
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