Major League Baseball will make history in an embarrassing way as the Philadelphia Phillies take on the Houston Astros. For the first time since 1950, there are zero Black American players on the World Series teams.
The sad reality of the MLB’s failure to elevate more Black players is glaring. Out of 30 teams in the MLB, only 7.2 percent of MLB players were Black American in 2022.
After decades of not allowing Black players in the league, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. The number of Black MLB players would increase each year until reaching its peak in 1984 with 18.4%.
Astros manager Dusty Baker, who stands as one of only two Black managers in the MLB, called out the disparity.
“What hurts is that I don’t know how much hope that it gives some of the young African-American kids,” Baker said, according to The Associated Press. “Because when I was their age, I had a bunch of guys, (Willie) Mays, (Hank) Aaron, Frank Robinson, Tommy Davis — my hero — Maury Wills, all these guys. We need to do something before we lose them.”
In 2021, the MLB announced that it would be investing $150 million over the course of a decade. The funds are expected to go “toward a variety of programs built around participation in baseball, mentorship, and professional baseball employee development.”
Currently, there are multiple Black prospects in 2022 which include Elijah Green of IMG Academy, Justin Crawford of Bishop Gorman, and Termarr Johnson who attended Mays High School in Southwest, Atlanta.
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