{"id":1493,"date":"2025-07-17T01:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T01:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/1493\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T01:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T01:27:10","slug":"the-state-of-black-baseball-is-critical-andscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/1493\/","title":{"rendered":"The state of Black baseball is critical \u2014 Andscape"},"content":{"rendered":"

ATLANTA \u2014 In the parlance of the internet, this is not a real place. There are certain cities in America where the sheer size, scope and variety of absurdity that goes on every day often makes the concept of everyday life feel like it\u2019s happening in some combination of a fever dream and simulation that you just couldn\u2019t make up if you tried.<\/p>\n

When it comes to ATL, that entire ridiculous meme actually makes sense. On July 10, at a lounge downtown, surrounded by hookah smoke and sauteed crab claws, comedians were cracking jokes while highlight clips of youth baseball players rolled in the background.<\/p>\n

At the fundraiser event for Minority Baseball Prospects \u2014 an organization born out of the pandemic and boasts a plethora of showcase events, tournaments and other programming for baseball and softball in the African American community \u2014 the realization hit me like an invisible car prototype popping up outside the club.<\/p>\n

The state of Black baseball in 2025: critical.<\/p>\n

While there are many definitions of that word for multiple contexts, that\u2019s exactly why it\u2019s appropriate today.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the big league level, the numbers are not getting particularly better. There are teams like the Washington Nationals, who have multiple brothas at every level of their organization, and others like the Philadelphia Phillies, who seem like if they have more than one Black player on their roster it\u2019s a miracle. <\/p>\n

These are loose generalizations, but very rarely is it more palpable than All-Star Week, when guys from all of walks of life show up to alumni-type events, and a good amount of them are Black players who even the most dedicated of fans have likely never heard of.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a constant reminder that there was a time when All-Star Week was the space many of us occupied in the big leagues. Not necessarily superstars everywhere, but a much higher proportion of everyday players who were solid contributors to their teams.<\/p>\n

Black players often index disproportionately in glamour events: James Wood, Byron Buxton and Jazz Chisholm in the Home Run Derby, or any number of players who showed up for the MLB All-Star Futures Game. Former big-leaguer Marquis Grissom managed in the game against his son, who at one point pitched against Harry Ford, the catching prospect for the Mariners playing in the game for a third time.<\/p>\n

One of the Futures Game teams had a Black manager, but there is a total of two Black managers in the entirety of the big leagues (Dave Roberts, Ron Washington) \u2014 and they both manage in the same city (Los Angeles) at that.<\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t acutely paying attention to every single effort that MLB is making through camps and its various programs, it feels like we\u2019re hanging on as a culture as much as cultivating crops to grow. A lot can change in a few years, and a lot has. Maybe it\u2019s because we lost Willie Mays last year<\/a> that it feels like there is an irreplaceable void, because there is, spiritually.<\/p>\n

\"\"MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announces Kyson Witherspoon as the 15th overall pick by the Boston Red Sox during the 2025 MLB draft presented by Nike at Coca-Cola Roxy on July 13 in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Daniel Shirey\/MLB Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, there are bright spots. The Red Sox picked three Black pitchers on the first day of the recent MLB draft, which was an eye-opener. In the college game, there seem to be as many impact Black players as ever on the Power Four level of conferences. Coaches on the other hand? That\u2019s another matter, still.<\/p>\n

But the more this nation continues to show itself as a place hellbent on isolationism and exceptionalism, the fundamental structures that are required for growth in any industry seem increasingly scant. When you apply that to what it takes in proverbially watering the plants necessary for growth of the game, nevermind Black folks, the feeling becomes quite grim.<\/p>\n

How much can we really achieve in this sector of one single sport when it feels like, as a country, we won\u2019t be able to pull off organizationally a World Cup, Olympics or World Baseball Classic because of fear of the authorities? Hell, we can barely keep kids in summer camp safe because indifference is so prevalent.<\/p>\n

Watching \u201cThe Sandlot\u201d on ABC Sunday night \u2014 a story that revolves around the childhood coming of age of a neighborhood group of kids whose lives revolve around a plot of land for public recreational use, flanked by the lot of an old blind Black man who lives on his own with his dog \u2014 felt like more than just a nostalgic fantasy but genuinely unimaginable today. Hell, we can barely get through a media day without people losing their minds because a question was asked about why the All-Star Game was moved out of Georgia<\/a> in the first place in 2021.<\/p>\n

Pair that with the fact that half of my For You Page on TikTok is either a real or fictitious depiction of some travel ball scam or a parent blowing up on an umpire in a disgusting fashion and you think to yourself: Well beyond the money, it\u2019s completely understandable why Black folks do not want to be involved with many of these operations. With headlines like \u201cPrivate Equity Taking Notice of Youth Sports,\u201d in the New York Times<\/a>, it ain\u2019t great.<\/p>\n

Yet, I digress.<\/p>\n

Related StoryHank Aaron\u2019s legacy still brings former Black baseball players togetherRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

Back in Atlanta on Saturday, some familiar faces graced the MBP All-American Game, held at Marietta High School. Matt Kemp, 40, exactly the kind of player who used to be far more prevalent in the bigs in terms of production, was there to see his nephew. <\/p>\n

Kemp was a three-time All-Star with the Dodgers and won a couple of Silver Sluggers and Gold Gloves. He even dated pop singer Rihanna at one point, to give you an idea of his popularity then if you didn\u2019t know. He knows he comes from a different generation, somewhat, but is happy that the experience exists, even if still fledgling in its growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t have the chance to play in something like this growing up, which I\u2019m kind of jealous, but it\u2019s good for, you know, my nephew, and all these other kids that I know, and I\u2019m close to, and then some of their parents that I know, it\u2019s for them to be able to experience this, and for the minority baseball guys to put this on for them,\u201d Kemp said, wearing a vintage Milwaukee Braves hat. \u201cJust a beautiful thing, man, just to see all these, you know, these wonderful-looking Black people here doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n

As basic as it seems, it\u2019s understandable. A safe space for Black kids to play, grow and potentially be seen by a larger audience is ultimately the goal in the short term, but it\u2019s still so much of a business that heart and determination aren\u2019t all it takes. Thankfully, they\u2019ve gotten some assistance from Adidas, which helped them look and feel like they belong. But the environment is comfortable enough that even famous parents aren\u2019t getting hounded like celebrities, per se.<\/p>\n

\"\"Marquis Grissom, manager of the American League team for the Futures Game, salutes the fans during the Futures Game at Truist Park on July 12 in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Jasen Vinlove\/Miami Marlins\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Codey Gauff \u2014 yes, that Gauff, Coco\u2019s brother \u2014 is playing behind the dish at the All-American Game as well, with his travel ball teammate Josiah Kemp. The two only could show for a couple of innings before hauling it back to Hoover, Alabama, for another tournament. Gauff\u2019s dad Corey was there, just like any regular supporter in the family.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wants to bring kind of a speedy, athletic catcher to the game, which not to say there\u2019s none, but they\u2019re not that many brothers, for the most part, outside of the Atlanta Braves,\u201d Corey Gauff, also the father of two-time major winning tennis player Coco Gauff, said of his son.<\/p>\n

Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin made his MLB debut this season after being a non-roster spring training invite. Corey Gauff is aware of the dearth of players we have at that position, noting that former big-league catcher Charles Johnson, someone his son looks up to, is a familiar face to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe lives not too far from us (in Florida), so he used to throw the first pitch out all the time at our Little League,\u201d Corey Gauff explained, before telling a story so familiar to many people. His father-in-law played at Bethune Cookman. His pro career bounced him around the bus leagues, then he gave back.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo my father-in-law started the Little League in 1971. Delray Beach American,\u201d Corey Gauff said. \u201cHe had a charter, one of the few Black charters out. He might be the only remaining Black charter still left. He started the league because they wouldn\u2019t let us play in their league back when he was young. After he finished traveling the minor leagues, he did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fact that you can draw a straight line from a French Open tennis champion to a town in Florida with segregated Little Leagues shows you exactly how little infrastructure we truly have to work with in the most agrarian major sport in the U.S. On top of that, armed ICE agents are raiding baseball practices<\/a> in the hometown of the President of the United States of America.<\/p>\n

Talent isn\u2019t enough. Nor is it all we have. In order for Black baseball to survive, nevermind thrive, the time is now more than ever for the vested parties to commit to their investments. College scholarship allowances are up, but that doesn\u2019t mean every school wants to spend money on Black baseball.<\/p>\n

After a weekend in Hotlanta, the mecca of Black baseball in America, it\u2019s clear what it will take to make our participation in the sport great again.<\/p>\n

Clinton Yates is a tastemaker at Andscape. He likes rap, rock, reggae, R&B and remixes \u2014 in that order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATLANTA \u2014 In the parlance of the internet, this is not a real place. There are certain cities…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-1493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}