*For the first time since 1950, the World Series does not feature any US-born Black players.
“That is eye-opening,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, as reported by The Associated Press. “It is somewhat startling that two cities that have high African American populations, there’s not a single Black player.”
He added, “It lets us know there’s obviously a lot of work to be done to create opportunities for Black kids to pursue their dream at the highest level.”.
Game 1 of the series kicks off Friday (Oct. 28) between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros. Dusty Baker, the Astros manager, is Black but he will not take the field at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
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MLB legend Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier when he debuted in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers and played in the World Series that year. Since then, the 1950 series between the New York Yankees and Phillies has been the only World Series without a Black player.
According to The Associated Press, Houston and Philadelphia will announce their 26-man rosters hours before Game 1 and multiple reports claim there will be no U.S.-born Black players.
Inside Hook reports that after Friday’s matchup, there will be games on “Saturday, Monday and Tuesday followed by games on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday if needed,” the outlet writes. Inside Hook also notes that “The number of Black players in the major leagues has decreased substantially as more and more potential pro-caliber athletes are drawn to basketball and football growing up.”
To rectify this, the MLB “has pledged $150 million over the next decade to the Players Alliance, an organization of current and former players working to increase Black interest and involvement at all levels of baseball,” per Inside Hook.
“It’s been a story that’s been ongoing since the late 1980s, the decline of Black baseball players,” said Richard Lapchick, director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida, via The AP.
“I think surely but slowly, we’re going to see a pendulum shift,” said Chicago White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams, the only Black leader of baseball operations for a major league team.
“The problem is we’re not patient. I don’t like instant grits. I’m from Georgia — I like mine slow-cooked,” he said.
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