The subject of how racial inequality and sports intersect has always been a point of contention for fans. But Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker, who is African-American, voiced his concern regarding the lack of representation for US-born Black players during the 2022 edition of the Fall Classic between them and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Speaking with reporters, Dusty Baker issued a strong statement after he was asked what he thought about it being the first time since 1950 that a US-born Black player isn't on an active World Series roster.
“I don't think that that's something that baseball should really be proud of. It looks bad. It let's people know it didn't take a year or even a decade to get to this point,” Baker said, per Mark Berman.
Dusty Baker asked about the fact this is the 1st World Series since 1950 without a U.S.-born Black player: “I don't think that that's something that baseball should really be proud of. It looks bad. It let's people know it didn't take a year or even a decade to get to this point” pic.twitter.com/N4WLPBqdyx
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) October 27, 2022
This comes in stark contrast to the World Series loss in 1983, when the Phillies' roster was filled with talented Black players such as Joe Morgan, Eddie Murray, and Gary Matthews. Less than 40 years later, and that number has dwindled all the way to zero, ringing alarm bells, leading to Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, expressing his unease regarding the entire situation.
“That is eye opening,” Kendrick said, per AP. “It is somewhat startling that two cities that have high African American populations, there’s not a single Black player.”
Nonetheless, Dusty Baker still tried to focus on something positive that could be taken from this matter, which is that a more concerted effort can now be directed towards establishing more grassroots programs for Black people to pursue their dream of playing baseball for a living.
“It lets us know there’s obviously a lot of work to be done to create opportunities for Black kids to pursue their dream at the highest level,” Baker added.
Fans have argued that being afforded equal opportunities, regardless of race or skin tone, is important, while some retort that the cream manages to rise to the top, race notwithstanding. While that is true to an extent (teams will definitely prioritize players who contribute consistently, as it'd be disingenuous if they brought in a player just for the sake of meeting an arbitrary diversity quota), the pervasive racial inequality that affects society on a much deeper level still contributes to the lack of developmental opportunities that have been afforded aspiring Black players.
The onus is now on the MLB to do better in this regard, especially as Dusty Baker and the Astros take on the Phillies in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night amidst this glaring fact.
Follow Us
Subscribe