In the 1970s and 1980s, when I was living in the Bay Area, approximately one in five major league ballplayers was black. I think it may have been higher on the Oakland A’s. This season black players accounted for 6 percent of opening day rosters, only 57 players across 30 teams.
One reason, according to Ken Griffey, is because of the rise of “travel teams.” Not sure what these were, I called my good friend who has a vast knowledge of sports. He explained that travel teams are run privately. They are not connected to schools or even communities. Players pay a fee, often hefty, and their parents take them to the games, sometimes in other states. Parents stay in hotels. The kids are usually recruited for their skills, and they are told that college coaches and even professional coaches will see them play.
Obviously, kids of parents who don’t have the money to pay the fees or the travel expenses won’t be on the team, whatever their race. Once again in the U.S. money seems to be the crucial factor in success, in this case in baseball.
The statistics and Ken Griffey info were taken from an article by Tyler Kepner in The New York Times, (29 May 2024), p. B-9.
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