Major League Baseball’s ongoing struggle to field Black players will again be on display on April 15, 2023, Jackie Robinson Day.
On that day, several organizations and media outlets report the number of African American players on Opening Day rosters of the 30 MLB teams. In 2022, just 7.2% of MLB players were Black.
As the World Baseball Classic prepares for its first game, Cuba vs. the Netherlands on March 7, Team USA will field a team with four Black players. This is 13.3% of its roster, a marked improvement over the Black participation level set by individual franchises.
St. Louis native Devin Williams, Milwaukee Brewers closer, said he’s excited to participate in the WBC. He’s also eagerly awaiting pursuit of the National League Central Division champion St. Louis Cardinals.
“I think guys are hungry. This year we have a lot to prove. It felt like it was our division to win last year, and we let it slip away. You have to earn it, play a full 162 [games],” he said before departing spring training for the WBC.
While his Brewers finished seven games behind the Cardinals, Williams was named to his first All-Star Game in 2022, and he finished the season 6-4 with a 1.93 earned run average, WHIP of 1.01 and 15 saves. Williams also struck out 96 in 60⅔ innings, a rate of 14.2 per nine.
Joining Williams on the WBC roster are 2018 Most Valuable Player and six-time All-Star Mookie Betts, L.A. Dodgers outfielder; 2019 AL Batting Champion and two-time All-Star Tim Anderson, Chicago White Sox shortstop; and 2021 All-Star Cedric Mullens, Baltimore Orioles outfielder.
“It’s definitely cool. Just to represent where you are from,” Anderson said after being named to the squad. “I’m going to enjoy the moment for sure, to be among some of the greats in the game. I’m going to soak that up and also learn from it.
Mark DeRosa, a former Cardinal, is Team USA manager and has two Black staff members. Jerry Manuel, former Chicago White Sox and New York Mets manager, is bench coach. Hall of Fame member Ken Griffey Jr., is hitting coach
The Cardinals are well represented on Team USA with Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Adam Wainwright, and Miles Mikolas on the roster.
The games will be played at four sites in 2023: LoanDepot Park in Miami; Chase Field in Phoenix, the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, and Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan. The semifinal and championship game will be held in Miami.
The Reid Roundup
Jayson Tatum had an all-around bad week beginning Feb. 27. He scored just 14 points in the Boston Celtics’ 109-104 loss to the New York Knicks and was ejected from an NBA game for the first time in his career. The Celtics blew a 28-point lead, surrendered 40 points in the second quarter, and lost 115-105 on March 3 at home to undermanned Brooklyn. While he contributed 40 points on Sunday March 5 in a 131-129 Celtics’ overtime home loss to the Knicks, Tatum missed a potential game-winning layup at the end of regulation…In that Sunday game, the Knicks’ Immanuel Quickley scored a career-high 38 points. The reason he saw much court time was because starter Jalen Brunson sat out the game nursing a sore foot…After two thrilling wins, the St. Louis Battlehawks dropped a heart breaker to the host DC Defenders on March 5. The loss has not dampened enthusiasm. The XFL announced that tickets are available in the 300-level section of the Dome at America’s Center for the home opener against the Arlington Renegades at 3 p.m. Sunday…Drake trounced top-seeded Bradley 77-51 in the Missouri Valley Conference championship game. The MVC put on an outstanding show in St. Louis and Tournament Director Jack Watkins should take a well-deserved bow…Driver Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes finished a disappointing fifth in the Formula 1 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Two-time F1 defending champion Max Verstappen won the race a whopping 51 seconds ahead of Hamilton. [Red Bull] were much quicker than us, as were the Astons. We’re going backwards, [so] we really have a lot of work to do to close that gap.”
