Why arent there alot of African Americans in Baseball?

????????????

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier

Frank Arron is still the home run king(barry bonds doped up)

But majority of the blacks are from the carribean(dominican republic,cuba,etc)

Is it because learning baseball is expensive?

African Americans seem to stay in the Basketball,Football,Boxing,Track arena

I know that many of the black hispanic baseball players come from impoverished backgrounds.Its either chopping sugar cane for a living,or honing your skills in baseball.
Same with alot of inner city,impoverished blacks in the U.S.They see entertainment as the only way out.You go to any hood and u'll see a basketball court.Its either brandishing their skills hooping,or a life of crime.

 

I saw a VERY interresting BPS story about a year ago (?) about baseball and these both countries and how baseball is for many people the only way out of extreme poverty and thus have become engrained in culture.
I think it was Independent Lens or something like that - I will see if I can find it - it was very educational.
Stll doenst answer your question...

 

Here are some articles about that:

http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/13/commentary/sportsbiz/index.htm
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...number_of_black_ballplayers_in_mlb_drops.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9450036

I know when I was a kid, I loved baseball. My younger bro and I used to play catch with our dad. We played Little League together. I kinda strayed away from it in high school but he kept playing. Nowadays, you just don't see many blacks at the games, either playing of in the stands. I go to Cleveland Indians games and you could count the number of black fans on one hand.

 

Wow. That sounds like an NHL game.

 

lol something like that

 

We discussed this in Malik True's Jackie Robinson thread a few months ago:

http://whitewomenblackmen.com/forum/showpost.php?p=201606&postcount=8

 

Because baseball is by and large a boring game?

 

Baseball is not a boring game at all. Truth be told if I were talented enough to play a pro sport Baseball would be the one . The best union in professional sports, hell some say the world. You get to travel all over the country and spend a couple of days in each city that you play in. Plus in my opinion outside of soccer, baseball players tend to have the best looking wives and girlfriends.

Yes watching a meaningless June game is boring I will admit that. But there is nothing like being in a stadium and watching it live. But if you think about the skill that goes into playing the game of baseball it is an amazing game. The skill, talent, athleticism, and hand-eye coordination it take to hit a baseball, the precision and accuracy it takes to throw a baseball 90 mph and hit the catchers mitt, the timing, speed and reaction it take to steal a base. The strength it takes to gun down a runner at home, from the outfield. It is the only game where a guy can fail 70% of the time and still be a success.

As for why there are not so many African americans in the sport well there are many factors contributing to that. First off its mainly a suburban game, in that you dont find many baseball fields in the inner city, plus you need to constantly practice your skills to get better at a younger age.

Many black kids leave the game around high school to pursue basketball, track and football. The kids that have some the skills required to play the game are often recruited by High school coaches to play these sports instead.

MLB was slow to remarket the game to African Americans. In the 60's and 70's you saw the rise of the NFL and NBA and by in large that is where the black fans went. As popularity amongst african americans was starting to fade MLB started going to the carribean and latin america to look for talent and new fans. In the past couple of years you have MLB making more of an effort to market the game in the inner city.

The African American stars in the game are virtually unknown to anyone that doesnt follow the game. Hell some of the best players up and coming players in the game are african american but nobody knows who they are. Some of that is because they play on bad teams or because they play in small markets. Just think about it last years world series featured 4 top flight african american talents in the game of baseball but nobody knew who they were. African American kids just dont see guys that look like them playing baseball. When I was a kid I would see Ken Griffey Jr, Kirby Puckett, Joe Carter, Daryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, & Tony Gwynn.

Baseball was once seen as a "way out" among african americans who wanted to play a pro sport not anymore. Unlike Football and more so basketball where a superstar prospect will be a millionaire before 20, a baseball prospect may take a while to get that big payday. Plus there is no guarentee that you will ever get to the major leagues and get that money. Unlike football and basketball you dont get a shot at the big time once you have been drafted you have to earn your way all the way up there again.

The fact though is that more african american should look at baseball as a game that they should be played. Of the major sports in the US it is the one where you dont need to be a prototypical size to play the game. Like in football and basketball where you rarely see a guy shorter than 5'10 playing. You have guys 5'7" playing in the MLB, as long as you can hit and field your position, then you can play in the MLB.

 

...at Comerica Park, even at the Negro League tribute game, the crowd is still 98% white... and on any other day, the black folk you mainly see are working there in some capacity.. maintenance, food vendors, etc.

 

baseball is probably the safest sport to play too..

unless you get piped in the head with a wild pitch

 

the name is Hank Aaron...NOT Frank Arron..:smt084

 

Baseball is a dying sport in the African American community...There are several reasons why...

Black kids today look up to the rappers, basketball players, video games, and football players...and also even drug dealers and the criminal element...

Black kids today can relate to Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Lebron James,and Michael Vick but can't relate to Ryan Howard or even CC Sabathia...

Also the emergence single mother households and missing fathers contribute to why black kids don't participate in baseball.

Usually a kid who learns the game of baseball comes from his father. And with so many single mothers and no father figures, the black kid is not going to learn the sport. Black kids are going to gravitate of what their peers are doing, playing basketball, football, rapping, playing video games and do some, unfortuately, criminal activity..

Its more quicker to earn money as a football or basketball star since those players don't have to "pay your dues" in minors, crafting your talent until you get called up from the "big time".

Also another thing of why baseball has fallen off the African American radar screen is the game itself...

You have an inept commissioner in Bud Selig, who has not done enough to open opportunities for blacks, especially in holding front office positions....

What was the last time you heard a general manager who was black?

The NBA has created much more opportunities for blacks to hold front office positions like general managers, coaches, and even owning a NBA team..

You don't see this in MLB....

 

anyone else find the irony in this statement, and said quoter's avatar

:smt077

What do you think The Chipper would say to that?

 

Yep, not much contact with the opponent.

 

I'd rather sit in church for 3 hours.

 

Gosh, i really hate baseball. I'd rather watch hockey than baseball.

 

Booooooo!!!

 

yeah i know the irony couldn't run deeper, my friend. But ive never been very big on baseball thing - perhaps because i was not raised in the United States. Like, i watch rivalry games i.e. Yankees/Red Sox, Cubs/White Sox etc. but I'm not goin to put 3 hours of my life on hold just to catch the Marlins. Quite frankly, baseball is one of the most difficult sports to understand and you either get it or you don't.

 

Nah i'm with him, homie.

 

Yep, i'm not much of a hockey fan either, but when i was in Russia, hockey was really the only sport that they showed. Because there was no other sports to watch, i was able to observe the game and appreciate it a little bit. Hockey games move at a fast pace, and there's a lot of action going on. It's not as boring of a sport as i originally thought.

Now baseball.....geez, where to begin. There's like 130 games in a season.... the pitchers hardly ever throw anything over the plate.....there's a lot of standing around....and it's a very hard game to understand stats wise. I have no idea what ERA and all that other stuff stands for. If i had free tickets to the world series, i still wouldn't go.