Blacks in baseball

Any ideas on why the number of blacks in MLB is going down? So many of the greats were black; Mays, Gibson, Robinson, etc., but today the numbers are on the decrease....Why?

there is no difintive answer to that question, but you may have noticed many african american players joining the NFL these days

Originally posted by Dance Master MC
there is no difintive answer to that question, but you may have noticed many african american players joining the NFL these days

yes, but that's always been true. This is a change in baseball.

Originally posted by NimzovichLarsen
Any ideas on why the number of blacks in MLB is going down? So many of the greats were black; Mays, Gibson, Robinson, etc., but today the numbers are on the decrease....Why?

Hmm, this is the first I've heard of this. Do you have a link to a study?

PS - Many of the greats are still black 😕

Originally posted by darvlay
Hmm, this is the first I've heard of this. Do you have a link to a study?

PS - Many of the greats are still black 😕

http://www.bus.ucf.edu/sport/public/downloads/2004_Racial_Gender_Report_Card_MLB.pdf

this shows that only 9% of the players in MLB are black, a number that has been decreasing since the 70's.

http://liberalorder.typepad.com/./photos/uncategorized/shift.gif

http://media.www.thehilltoponline.com/media/storage/paper590/news/2007/04/02/Sports/Fewest.AfricanAmerican.Players.In.Mlb.Since.80s-2817663.shtml

I gather the number of foreign players in MLB has been increasing in recent years. If these are predominantly non-black, would that be enough to explain the reduction?

Originally posted by mtthw
I gather the number of foreign players in MLB has been increasing in recent years. If these are predominantly non-black, would that be enough to explain the reduction?

I don't think so. The numbers haven't changed in the NBA or the NFL. Besides, when Mays and Gibson played they were good enough even if there had been the same influx of foreign players, they would of remained in MLB. This isn't a case of all the black players are being pushed into the minors by better Latin (for example) players. It's just not that many are playing anymore. THis is true in little league, college, minors, and pro.

Since 1989, the number of blacks in MLB has declined from 17% to 9%. At the same time the number of latinos has increased from 13-26%

The high for blacks was in 1974 when they made up 27% of MLB.

During the 2001-2002 season the number of Latinos reached an all-time high of 28%.