It has been pointed out that the Astros have very few African-Americans on their roster. In the past couple of years their 40 man roster has generally had 1 - 3. This year it appears there are 2 (Preston Wilson and Charlton Jimmerson) , although there are a couple of names I don't recognize. The following is from Peter Gammons' blog: "One GM offers these shocking statistics: There are only 76 African-Americans spread out across the 30 40-man rosters. Seven teams have one or fewer, three have none." The link is to an ESPN Insider article: http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=gammons_peter#20060304 Gammons goes on to write: "Obviously, the Baseball Academy in Compton, Calif., is a beginning. But baseball somehow has to get spread back into the African-American culture, especially those in the impoverished areas of the country, from the inner cities to Tobacco Road. One major problem is that it's practically impossible to be poor -- whatever culture -- and play college baseball. Because baseball programs are limited to fewer than 11 scholarships per program -- for 30-man rosters -- money must be carefully allotted. So there has to be a way for baseball to make scholarship money available to poor kids who want to play juco or college baseball and are academically qualified. But when 76 of the nearly 1,200 players on spring training rosters are African-American, the problem is worsening."
This one goes in the D&D, Another Brother... Where's Quantell X when you need him? BTW: I am Mexican and hate Johnny Mata of the LULAC as well.
I think the discussion can be relatively civil enough. I found the 76 number pretty surprising (on the low end). Just looking at some of the teams lineups would seem to indicate it should be higher. For example, the Twins generally start 3 blacks.
I see what you're saying... but please don't tell me that there is some Affirmative Action violation going on here... if they're good, they're good, no matter if they're pink, green, black, white, brown, yellow... I agree it's low, but if there aren't any good players, there just aren't, man... We Hispanics/Latinos/Spanish-speakers aren't complaining that MLS doesn't have enough of us in their teams... why don't you use your argument in the MLS? See how many African-Americans there are in MLS... bring back the numbers, then we can talk...
Why would a black kid want to toil around in the minor leagues for years when he can become a millionaire be age 20 in football or hoops? It's not just black kids, either. Basketball and football are more popular with all kids. Plus, little league baseball has the highest injury rate among youth sports. Oh well, at least the Astros can say that they were the ORIGINAL team with no black players. The three this season are just pretenders.
While I note your point, A, I want to stay away from the "[insert sport] is for [insert race] kids" argument. Funny, though... even that brings up stereotypes among those who say "Why do you stereotype us, man?" EDIT: HOLY CRAP. I LOVE YOUR NICKNAME RANK "Vamos Los Astros"
I am not arguing anything. The lack of blacks on the Astros has been discussed a number of times in the past and I don't remember anyone ever showing the number in the entirety of MLB. This article gives real numbers and shows the Astros' 40 man roster has been consistent with the numbers in all of MLB.
Inconsistency doesn't mean it's violating anything. Sorry, I didn't mean to say YOU were the one arguing. But you brought this up... and were surprised by the low numbers...
OK, why would ANYBODY want to toil around the minor leagues for years when they can become a millionaire at age 20. I'm just tired of this whole "bring baseball to the inner cities" crap. Baseball requires a big field with grass, and in case nobody has noticed, those two things aren't exactly plentiful in the inner city. In fact, basketball has really spread OUT from the inner city to the suburbs. I know that I see a lot more basketball courts than I do baseball fields these days. What somebody needs to do is take a poll of all the black baseball players asking them where they grew up and if they were poor. My guess is that there weren't too many black baseball players who grew up in a one bedroom apartment in Harlem. Believe it or not, black people DO live in the suburbs Besides, it's not like spring training started this year and no black people showed up. This is a trend that has been progressing steadily since the 80's
My surprise at the low numbers was due to simple observations of games. At face value, it would appear there would be more than 76 African Americans out of the ~1200 on the 40 man rosters. In 2005, when watching the Twins you saw Jones, Hunter and Stewart starting. When watching the Yankees you saw Sheffield, Jeter and Williams starting with Gordon relieving. With the Cubs you saw Patterson, Lee and Hairston and, when Astros' fans were lucky, Latroy Hawkins. With the Giants, you saw Durham, Bonds and Winn. Those 14 players on only 4 teams represent almost 20% of every single African American on every team's 40 man roster and those were the ones I was able to quickly think of off the top of my head. That is the reason I found 76 out of ~1200 surprisingly low.
SO is Gammon asking for Affirmative Action in Baseball? I don't understand. What's the whining about? Not yours, I mean Gammon's... does he miss black players in Baseball? I am still NOT understanding this... is there going to be a big riot and a boycott?? Now that I think about it, I don't see too many black fans at the games... or maybe the TV stations where I watch the games only show the "expensive" seats which major corporations donate...
Gammons loves the game and he knows it needs to have roots in different cultures and backgrounds to flourish. I don't think he's asking for affirmative action...just more effort to share the game.
When are they going to open the Basketball Academy in the Woodlands? If blacks want to play other sports, why should we bend over backwards to try to get them to play baseball? There used to be a lot more blacks in the game 20 years ago, and playing the game hasn't suddenly required the use of much more expensive equipment over that time. I don't buy the expense argument. These kids grow up watching Michael Jordan, Kobe, LBJ, Mike Vick, Reggie Bush, etc and want to play the same sports. I don't see why we need to change their minds.
actually it has. equipment is far more expensive even than what it was when I played as a kid. my son is playing his first year of little league...the advent of "daddy ball" has increased a lot of the associated costs.
granted i didn't read the article, but from the little blurb that bobrek posted, it's seems that gammons wants MLB to promote baseball harder in the urban/inner city areas. more camps, leagues, facilities, etc. they've neglected that population recently, and now other sports are becoming much more popular.... nothing wrong with that.
Looks great for his age. Loves the camera. Drives a Hummer with rims. Embraces the dirty south. Has 99 problems but a pitch ain't one. Roger Clemens is the only black player I need on this team.
Who said anything about Baseball "violating anything?" You were the first one to mention this belongs in the D&D, yet you are the only one making some kind of debate about it. The point of the article and the reason it was posted here is to show that the Astros weren't a fluke in not having had a black player on the roster last season, just part of the overall trend. If Baseball wants to do something about it and spend money on it, that's their business and their prerogative. And it's not like this is just PR, or about finding talent, btw. It's about getting people interested in baseball period. Getting people interested in baseball means more fans and more fans means even more money.
Sure there have been increases in the cost of high dollar stuff and league costs over time. Have these increases been more than basketball and especially football, though? Probably not. I don't buy that excuse. Were these inner city kids playing "daddy ball" 20 and 30 years ago when there were a lot more blacks in MLB? Doubtful.
