The last thing I have a gripe with concerning Major League Baseball is the lack of black players in the league. They have done a great job of globalizing the game, but have marginalized the amount of American born black players in the process.
I got into baseball, circa 1984, watching the Chicago Cubs with my Uncle, the good ole’ days, with “Ryno” at second, “the Hawk” Andre Dawson hitting home runs and Harry Carey singing in the booth. My uncle’s favorite player was Shawn Dunston, the fiery shortstop with a strong arm and short temper. I remember a lot of black players back then, like the aforementioned Bobby Bonilla, or Rickey Henderson, Dwight Gooden, Daryl Strawberry and Ozzie Smith. You couldn’t pay me to name you three legit black stars in baseball right now. I realize a lot of black kids put too much emphasis on sports dreams as it is; and I’m not suggesting the empowerment of our youth through sports stars. I simply saying bring baseball back to the hood. Even with no baseball diamond present in most poor communities, we improvised and play “Strike him out.”
Please let me explain, for those who forgot and for those who haven’t heard of the game “Strike him Out”; that’s when you find a building, most likely the local school building, spray paint a box on the wall, with a X in the middle, which represented the strike zone, and then you get a bat, ball and a friend to pitch you the ball. Simple game of baseball, Ghetto style, it was a fun game that I don’t see Shorty’s in the hood play anymore.
What can baseball do to get interest back for black youth? Does Major League Baseball even care? Not sure, but I know regardless the color of the players, baseball has to do something to clean up its image. I mean how long can Major League Baseball continue to put out a tarnished product and expect to prosper?