Despite efforts to change this, baseball remains the least chosen sport among Blacks.
Richard Lapchick’s 2011 Major League Baseball Racial and Gender Report Card recently shows that the percentage of Black MLB players has decreased to 8.5 percent, the lowest since 2007 and third lowest in decades. Furthermore, only 5.6 percent of Division I college baseball players are Black.
“I’m not sure what we need to do to make that number go up. The only thing I can say is that the small eight percent [of Blacks] that are in the major leagues need to come together and promote the game as much as we can in our respective cities,” pledges Denard Span, one of two American-born Blacks on the Minnesota Twins.
MLB founded Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) in 1989 to promote baseball and softball in inner cities, especially in those cities with MLB clubs.
According to Minnesota Twins RBI Program Coordinator Frank White, the local numbers of Blacks and other persons of color playing baseball have been steadily increasing: 299 Blacks played on eight city-wide baseball and softball teams in Minneapolis; and 482 Black participated in St. Paul in-house rec ball, softball and baseball teams in 2010.
“There has been a pretty significant increase in the number of [Black] kids coming back to play baseball,” believes White.
The Creekview Monarchs is an all-Black youth baseball team that features players from Minneapolis and surrounding areas. “The team was formed because there were players of color in the north suburban area who were not getting equal playing time as some of their peers, even though they had the same abilities and talent,” explains Crissanda Thomas, whose son plays on the Monarchs.
The Monarchs for the past two years have played in the annual Buck O’Neil tournament in Kansas City, Missouri. “They put together a nice program,” says White.
Jalani Thomas, a two-year member of the Monarchs, raised the Twins flag prior to their game against Tampa Bay last Wednesday. “It was an honor for me and an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life,” the 18-year-old high school senior admits.
Prior to that, 12-year-old Jacqui Cotton of St. Paul threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Cotton plays for the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center team and is the great-great grandson of the late John Cotton, who played for the Twin City Colored Gophers/Giants of the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s. The team barnstormed all over five states and Canada and featured many outstanding Black baseball players — all of whom were denied the opportunity to play in the major leagues because of racism.
Mr. Cotton once threw out the first pitch at a Twins game, and last week his great-great grandson did a similar feat. “It was very exciting for the family,” says Jacqui’s mother, Sasha Cotton.
“It was exciting,” Jacqui says. “I was kind of nervous, though.”
“I could tell he was nervous when he shook my hand,” says Span, who caught Cotton’s pitch behind the plate.
The Minnesota Twins Community Fund has donated over $1 million to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and St. Paul Parks and Recreation to operate leagues, as well as create and renovate ball fields in each city. “I got to give the Twins some props,” remarked Steve Winfield, who assists White. “They put their money where their mouths are.”
White adds that the Twins this season are dedicating funds to help improve ball fields, such as Farwell and North Commons on Minneapolis’ North Side. “They are trying to make a presence over North.”
The Twins’ downtown stadium will host both the 2011 and 2012 RBI World Series: Teams will play at various locations August 2-14 prior to the championship. The RBI softball championships will be played at the U-M on-campus softball venue.
“This is a major event,” White surmises, adding that the title games will be televised on the MLB Network.
Like former Twin Torii Hunter, who was very active in the Minnesota Twins RBI program, Span is now the team’s top spokesman. “I take this job very seriously, and will try to do the best that I can,” says Span.
Nonetheless, baseball still lags far behind among sports of choice for young Blacks. Even Jacqui Cotton admits that it isn’t high on his sports list: “It’s all right,” he simply says.
White advises Black parents to get their children in baseball at an early age: “My opinion is to start at around 10 years old,” he adds.
“I’ve been playing baseball for as long as I can remember,” Jalani Thomas says. “I grew up playing a lot of sports, but [baseball] is a sport that I am really good at.”
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.
Support Black local news
Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.
