But can they play ball?

THE CURE · But can they play ball?

I think Gary Sheffield has missed the mark with this comment. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2891875

Cap'n Slappy

I read somewhere that the decline of black players in baseball is at every level not just in the major leagues. Basketball has become the sport of choice for blacks.

slash

I think that professional sports organizations are so driven to win that they could not care less what color someone is as long as they help the organization win and therefore make money.

Kestrel

I remember the topic of blacks in baseball being discussed on NPR recently, and I remember folks saying one of the major problems is that baseball costs a lot and requires a lot of space for a field. I've heard parents at work complaining about the cost of bats and gloves, and there are few baseball fields in this area compared to basketball goals.

THE CURE

Baseball is for the most part seasonal but the kids play basketball year round.

The Rock

There's a good amount of baseball fields around here actually (Ledgerwood, Emry Park, Rec Center, Chockoyotte, etc.)

I think people should just play what they wanna play. If black people don't wanna play baseball then who gives a damn? It's not like the MLB is actively pursuing to stop blacks from playing in the major leagues. I don't think they or anyone else for that matter should actively pursue trying to "talk them into" playing baseball because there's not enough black people on the field.

Cap'n Slappy

I think you've got part of it Cure. There is not much baseball going on in November and December around here.