MSNBC published an editorial on Monday claiming that Major League Baseball’s representation of black players serves as a “warning about the war on DEI” after it was reported that the number of blacks has fallen to six percent of the league’s players.
Network writer Ja’han Jones was despondent in his “ReidOut Blog” post about the falling number of black players in pro baseball and claimed it is a reflection of the culture war against “diversity.”
“As Major League Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson and his pioneering contributions to the game, I can’t help but think about the fact that the league is reporting a historically low number of Black American players in its ranks: only 6%,” he wrote at the top of his piece.
Cedric Mullins, #31 of the Baltimore Orioles, reacts in the dugout after hitting the game-winning two-run home run against the Minnesota Twins during the ninth inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 17, 2024, in Baltimore, Maryland. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
“I think this is a teachable moment at a time when diversity efforts across various arenas (no pun intended) have come under attack. Major League Baseball, unfortunately, is a prime example of what it looks like to talk the talk without always walking the walk, Jones exclaimed as if MLB purposefully set pit to scale back on signing black players.
The question over the number of black pro baseball players is not new. But it does have far more causes than any “war on DEI.”
In fact, it has been a problem for many years. Even back in 2004, it was reported that only 4.8 percent of NCAA college baseball players were black. And up to the year 2000, only 3 percent of youth leagues were made up of black kids.
But a major part of the falling number of blacks in baseball is that baseball just doesn’t appeal to black kids. It appears that black kids are far more interested in basketball and football, and fewer even try out for baseball teams.
Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers doubles in the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on April 16, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
“Everybody wants to play basketball and football because those are the two big-dog sports,” said Miles Scott, a junior at Servite High School in Anaheim, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
So, it appears that baseball isn’t leaving blacks. Blacks are leaving baseball. That makes it hard for MLB to sign black players when the pool of blacks who even want to play keeps shrinking.
Meanwhile, the number of Latinos in the MLB has risen to 30.29 percent.
Despite the actual reason that MLB has experienced a falling rate of black players for the last 20 years, MSNBC’s Jones seems to think it is because of this “war on EDI,” a cultural phenomenon that only emerged in the last few years.
Many on social media were not impressed with Jones’ reasoning powers.
Pretty sure it's skill based not skin based.
— Hersades1989 (@hersades1989) April 17, 2024
What’s % of Whites in NBA?
— Fred Garvin (@Pbizzlemyshizzl) April 17, 2024
If you don’t think MLB is incredibly diverse, you don’t follow baseball.
— Dan Edmonson (@dansedmonson) April 18, 2024
This is so obviously a product of people who don't watch the game. A great many players are obviously "non-white".
— True Antifascist (@spongeworthy2) April 17, 2024
Like all the white male 100 m sprinters.
— Malthe (@MaltheJP) April 17, 2024
The truth is the falling number of blacks in Major League Baseball has been a much-debated issue for decades. It has nothing whatever to do with any “war” on the left’s most recent crusade to push “diversity” and “equity” over equality.
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