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“font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;”>Okay, the annual question comes up with the same answers. Why are there not more African Americans in baseball?
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“font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;”>There is a noticeable decline in African-American participation as the Latin player has made headway, but even this year their numbers are down.
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“font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The emergence of the white player should not be just a field issue. My suggestion is look at the front offices and the scouting departments. They are the ones that build an organization.
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“font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;”>With that said, the African-American player has limited access to the next level. Many public high school leagues either are under-funded or do not have a program at all for kids to play in. The select programs that have flourished in the suburbs has not reached out to the city players who can play.
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“font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;”>After all, it may not be about winning but making sure that Johnny has a chance at a scholarship – and if Devon from somewhere east of 170 is on the scene, that could be a problem; hence Devon goes to basketball or something else.
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“font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;”>This is not a St. Louis thing by itself. The Cardinals have drafted more African Americans in the most recent draft and have even hired former player Kerry Robinson as a scout in the organization. It will take time for St. Louis as it will for the rest of baseball to develop African Americans to play in the majors.
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“font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;”>In the meantime, those who elect to play need to take a reality check in just how good are they. There are a lot of players who have had to play elsewhere in order to get some exposure.
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“font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;”>This is a tough game to play and excel in. Of all the players who play in high school, college, get drafted and go through the minors, only five percent of those players ever steps in a major league batter’s box at least once. That means everyone else is mired in the minors, gets into coaching or some other element of the game, and then there is just something else outside of the game.
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“font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;”>In all, it’s a tough way to make a living, as less than five percent actually make the big money. Maybe that is why African Americans have decided to look elsewhere when it comes to chasing that dream.
