Where Have All the Negroes Gone?

Senior Pastor of Light of the World Church, Mike Scruggs D.Min., discusses African Americans in Baseball.

Now that the NBA season is over, sports enthusiasts have found themselves in a funk because the NFL season does not start until August. That leaves the summer Olympics and the release of the NCAA25 to bide our time.

But what if I told you baseball was once the most-watched sport in the country? That is right, baseball! America’s national pastime. It goes baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet in that order.

When creating Mount Rushmore or the top five DOA (Dead or Alive) of baseball players, names like Babe Ruth, Cy Young, and Ty Cobb might be mentioned; however, confidently and without hesitation, others will also include Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays in the discussion. And rightfully so.

The Cincinnati Base Ball Club, also known as the Cincinnati Red Stockings, fielded the first known openly professional team in 1869. On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African American in Major League Baseball’s modern era (credit given to Moses Fleetwood Walker for making this achievement conceivable).

In 1956, Robinson’s final year in the majors, African Americans constituted 6.7 percent of major league rosters. Today, that number is 6.2 percent, according to a study by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida. To give some reference, 31.9 percent of the MLB is Hispanic. That is less like Jackie Robinson and more like Roberto Clemente.

I played baseball growing up. When not playing on my knothole team, we played bat-on-the-bounce in the street. I was raised on Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Ozzie Smith, Eric Davis, and Ken Griffey Jr., not to mention that I hail from Silverton, Ohio, the birthplace of Barry Larkin.

As a baseball dad, I notice that my son is sometimes the only African American on either team. If there are more than three, there is a parade.

Only one African American player (Mookie Betts) played in the 2020 World Series (Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Tampa Bay Rays.) The 2022 World Series (Houston Astros vs. Philadelphia Phillies) was the first since 1950 that NO, as in zero, U.S.-born Black players played.

baseball legends — Those aspiring to play baseball no longer have a catalog of Black players to look up to.

So, where have all the Negroes gone?! How did we go from 19 percent representation (height in 1995) to almost being eliminated? There may be several contributing factors, as well as myths, that converge all at once.

One thing most people mention that separates African Americans from baseball competition is cost. Yes, you must buy bats, gloves, and cleats. And if you want to participate in travel ball, there are hotels, flights/gas, and food.

We spend thousands of dollars every summer for my son to play baseball. However, every parent that has a child playing summer sports spends approximately the same amount. According to a recent report from the Aspen Institute, whether it is baseball, basketball, football, soccer, or cheer, parents spend between $30 – $40 billion annually on their children’s sports activities.

Regarding baseball specifically, Nike Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (Nike RBI) was created to provide an opportunity for children in underserved and underrepresented communities to play baseball and help lessen the financial sting that comes along with the sport.

Well, then, maybe it’s the skill factor. Baseball is a skill sport, and natural athleticism cannot mask the lack of fundamentals needed to excel at a high level. Unlike football or basketball, where having size matters and skill can be taught later.

Former sports commentator Jimmy (the Greek) Snyder believed Black people were better athletes than Whites because they had been “bred to be that way.” This same skill versus athleticism argument is used when discussing the perceived inability of Black people to succeed at the quarterback position in football, as well as why there aren’t more Black head coaches in ANY sport.

Another factor to consider is the lack of interest. It is just not that exciting. OK, let’s be honest. Baseball is boring. Minus occasional home runs, there is not a ton of action. And if there’s good pitching, nothing is happening anywhere else, especially in the stands.

If you attend a high school football game on a Friday night, typically, it will be packed. It is called “Friday Night Lights” for a reason. The most crowded a high school baseball game gets is on a senior night or, if you are lucky, during playoffs.

Both basketball and football games come equipped with cheerleaders and have half-time shows that are sometimes bigger than the game. The closest thing baseball has in comparison are Bat Boys, the seventh-inning stretch, and a sing-along to “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

baseball player about to pitch — To want more Black players is also to want all their Blackness, and for a country that does not want that, it’s hard to imagine the country’s sport wants it, either.

Baseball also needs better PR. We have gone from having our own Negro League to not being able to name more than one person on our hometown roster. Baseball just is not “sexy” anymore.

Michael Jordan (basketball), Lionel Messi (fútbol), LeBron James (basketball), and Tom Brady (football) are among the most recognizable athletes in the world. Jordan has not played professional basketball since 2003, yet his Jordan brand sneakers sell out regularly upon their release. In a time when we fight for likes and subscriptions, baseball does not make stars.

Marketing campaigns were built around Ken Griffey Jr., Deion Sanders, and Bo Jackson. But unfortunately, we are now 35 years removed from “Bo knows” and his Nike Air Trainers. I do not believe Hunter Greene (Reds) has a shoe deal that will cause enough fervor to make people line up at the store for their release.

We tend to model after what we see. Those aspiring to play baseball no longer have a catalog of Black players to look up to. Conversely, there is a new “star” and face of the league in basketball and football every season.

Even though you can make more money, have a longer career, and potentially sustain health in baseball, the other sports offer celebrity, NOW. Kids are recruited and have mixtapes for basketball and football as early as junior high.

I had the privilege of going on a college visit with a rising high school basketball player, and the wooing process made me wonder how much eligibility I had left. Baseball does not offer the same, and certainly not that early.

But, does baseball want to? Maybe, it’s fine with the current trend. Maybe, it took a look at the other sports that allowed Black people to integrate and saw the decline of white participants and decided there’s one thing we have to keep as our own.

The aforementioned Nike RBI program is making strides, but if RBI was the solution, RBI has been run by MLB for over thirty years, which means the league identified the death of Black players decades ago and hasn’t cared enough about it to fix it.

In the words of Mitchell S. Jackson, “The league wants to appear as if it’s trying.” In all honesty, to want more Black players is to also want all of their black-ness, and for a country that doesn’t want that, it’s hard to imagine the country’s sport to want it either.

Dr. Mike Scruggs, Sr. is the Senior Pastor of Light of the World Church, adjunct professor, author, and rebel without a pause.

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Images provided by AdobeStock, Wikipedia, Dr. Mike Scruggs, Sr.