Put Me in Coach, I'm Ready to Play

Today marks the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball. On April 15, 1947, he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers thanks to the courage and determination of not only Jackie Robinson but also Dodgers president, Branch Rickey. It’s hard to overstate the magnitude of that moment in American history.

Coming a year before the integration of the U. S. Armed Forces, seven years before Brown vs. The Board of Education, and 15 – 20 years before the height of the American civil rights movement, the impact of this simple act of inserting an African-American into a baseball lineup reverberated far beyond the baselines and dugouts of Ebbetts Field.

Surprisingly, there is a question about whether this monumental event continues to reverberate today. I believe it does – just not necessarily as expected.

The question arises because of the steady and precipitous decline in the number of African-Americans who are playing in the Major Leagues. In the 1970s, 27% of the big league players were black; in the 80s, 23%; in the 90s it fell to 19%. That was the period of steady decline. Since 2000, the decline has become precipitous, reaching a mere 8.4% in 2006.

There are indications that the number will go much lower. We have two large high school sports leagues, comprised of 14 high schools, in our city of well over 300,000 residents. While almost 9% of the students at those schools are African-American, only 4.2% of the varsity baseball players are black, with almost half of the black players attending one school. Eight of those schools, including the high school with the highest percentage of black students, 17.5%, have no African-American varsity players.

I won’t play amateur social scientist and pretend to have the answer to the question of why this drop has occurred. It could involve the availability of public baseball facilities and coaches; it could be simply a much greater interest in football and basketball; it could reflect the shifting focus in the homes of black students. I’m sure there are a number of factors, these and many others, that are at play.

But, my point is that the Jackie Robinson reverberation is still alive in America because those students have the opportunity to freely make the choice to walk into those high school and Major League dugouts and to cross the barriers that those baselines used to represent. If they’re choosing football and basketball, or other interests they want to pursue, so be it. Good for them.

If the absence of African-Americans on American baseball diamonds represents something other than a matter of personal choice, then there is need for further dialog with the social scientists, high school administrators and coaches, local government officials who fund recreational leagues and facilities, parents, and, most importantly, the young black athletes.

I hope these athletes are just choosing something that is more appealing and rewarding to them than baseball. I think that would still please Mr. Robinson.

Today I add my voice to saying, “Thank you, Jackie. May the memory and the impact of No. 42 remain alive and well in America. You may have played second base, but your contribution to our country was and is first class all the way.”

Play ball!