Here's one for Another Brother: Astros' lack of blacks is big blemish By RICHARD JUSTICE Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Richard Hidalgo's departure has forced the Astros to confront an embarrassing reality about their racial makeup. Only the caps are black. Whether it happened by accident or by design, whether there's something sinister at work here or not, is open to interpretation. The facts themselves are damning. The Astros are baseball's whitest team. Something to be proud of, huh? Let's summarize: They'll have an all-white starting lineup most nights once Adam Everett returns. They don't have a single African-American on their roster or coaching staff and very few in their minor-league system. They have one African-American — Marian Harper, vice president, community development — in a prominent front office position. Draft drought Of the 49 players they took in this year's draft, only three were African-American. The Astros acknowledge these facts and say they're not proud of them. Owner Drayton McLane says he despises both the numbers and the insinuations that accompany them. "Absolutely," he said. "Believe me, we're extremely conscious of this. Yes, it concerns me. We've pushed this hard with our scouts. One problem is that fewer and fewer black kids are playing baseball, so it's hard to find black players." Their situation is extreme, but not unique. Only around 10 percent of all major-league players are African-American, down from around 27 percent in 1974 and 19 percent in 1995. The Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that broke the color line with Jackie Robinson in 1947, have one black player, Milton Bradley (they also have one mixed-race player, Dave Roberts). Several other teams have as few as two. Nothing like '68 This is a far cry from, say, 1968, when many of the biggest stars at the All-Star Game were blacks: Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Curt Flood. This year, the NL lineup probably will have just two blacks, Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. Changes aren't around the corner, either. The 10 Big 12 baseball teams had 10 African-Americans this season. Neither Texas nor Texas A&M had a single black player. Reasons for the decline apparently include such things as the lack of inner-city baseball programs and the cost of outfitting a kid to play baseball. And there's image. Kids are emulating Kobe Bryant and Terrell Owens, but not Jim Thome and Mike Piazza. "I played three sports at Austin High School," said New York Mets coach Don Baylor, who is black. "You don't find kids doing that anymore. They're pretty much forced to pick their sport early on, and it's usually not baseball. Black kids see guys jumping from high school to the NBA. They see guys getting to the NFL three years after high school. You're not going to get to the big leagues that quickly." Baseball says it's addressing the problem in a variety of ways. This week, it began construction on a $3 million youth baseball academy in Compton, Calif. "We have said we'd do everything we can to build baseball for the kids and back in the inner cities, in areas that we have, quite frankly, neglected for the last two or three decades," commissioner Bud Selig said. McLane's stadium naming rights deal with Minute Maid requires the company to construct one youth baseball field per year. He has also urged Selig to consider funding baseball scholarships for African-American kids. "If you're a basketball or football player, you're going to get a full scholarship," he said. "If you play baseball, there are so few scholarships you're going to get, maybe a half-scholarship. Some families can't afford that." If acknowledging a problem is the first step toward repairing a problem, then the Astros and baseball in general are on their way. Do I believe the Astros are racist? I absolutely do not. Do I believe they've been vigilant in this area? Of course not. If they were truly racist, they wouldn't be as aggressive in pursuing talent in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Talk to their scouts when they've fallen in love with a young prospect, and they are as excited about the kid whether he's from Caracas or Tulsa. If they were truly racist, they'd tell you they were color-blind and simply have attempted to acquire the best players. Instead, they've essentially said: "We screwed up." And yet they haven't had an African-American player since outfielder Brian Hunter was released after a dispute with manager Jimy Williams last season. Inside the organization, general manager Gerry Hunsicker has quizzed his player development people about the lack of African-Americans in the minors. "I hammer them on that," Hunsicker said. "We want to make sure we're not overlooking anyone. They come back and say, 'They're not there.' " McLane is as sensitive about his public image as anyone I've ever met, so the last thing he wants are hints of racism circulating around him. For one thing, it's bad for business. I'm guessing he'll react to this issue by doing something more, like bringing a black executive into the baseball operation. I'm also guessing Baylor will be his next manager. Those are Band-Aid fixes for a problem that runs across an entire industry. But it's a start. And overdue. richard.justice@chron.com
This subject is so stupid and getting very old ............ people just need to get over it . I'm so tired of hearing black folks complain about this . Are they goona start complaining about the lack of players in the NHL next ?
I think it has a lot to do with the influx of latin players etc lowering the overall african american percentage.. I would like to see stats, but I'd think it isnt that the white percentage is increasing as much as it is the latin percentage etc?
I am black........very black in fact. This issue is ridiculous. Unless there is proof of an advertent attempt to make this an all white team, this issue mush be trampled. When I rush home every day to watch my Astros or listen to the games on the radio, I don't see these issues. This is in fact beyond ridiculous. This also goes the dumb caucasians out there who choose not to watch the Rockets because of the scarcity of caucasians on that team.
The latin % is near 20%, and could be around 50% by the end of the decade. They were talkin about this with Kevin Bass the other day, and he made a very good point. In Latin American countries such as the dominican, venezuela, etc., baseball is a sure-fire ticket out of there and into the U.S. In America, however, you'll see basketball and football emphasized much more than baseball (mostly due to the lack on inner-city fields, equipment, etc.), as a way to get $$$ and stardom. The situation with the Astros is more coincedental than anything. Its not like they're turning down all-star african-american players for mediocre white ones... its a baseball problem all around.
Between 1990 and 2001, the percentage of whites players dropped from 70% to 59%, which was just one point above it's lowest level in decades, though it jumped up to 62% for 2002. Apparently 46% of minor leaguers, as of opening day last year, were foreign-born, most of those are from Latin America, apparently.
don't care about skin color, thats the absolute last thing i could care about when watching a sports team
Another point with the Astros is that they were one of the pioneering teams in the late 80s/ early 90s to build Latin & South American baseball camps. I think Justice's article is a lot of BS. The Astros overall have a very good history on this issue. Another historical point is that Bob Watson was given his front office break with the Astros. Bob was Asst. GM to Bill Wood. Then became GM after Wood was fired, left the Astros to go to the Yankees in the mid 90s, and then went to the Commissioner's Office.
I have mixed feelings about this subject. I don't think the organiztion is racist. I believe its a coincidence that the team is made up the way it is. There are players that have been given their chances. I don't think any team in 2004 would shoot themselves in the foot by having a bias against certain groups or an affinity for certain groups. The spoils that come with winning in pro sports are just to valuable to pass up. However, this organization may have been a leader in getting Latin American player, and were at the forefront in putting Bob Watson in the front office, but that wasn't Drayton Mclane.
Bingo. You summed it all up perfectly here. As an aside, I don't think Drayton would have failed to have hired Bob Watson had he been the owner at the time.
