ARTICLE FROM theglobeandmail.com (Click here for full story)

The article above is from three years ago but the information in the article is the same or even worse in 2016.

Major League Baseball is doing a flat out terrible job in reaching young inner city youth and I mean African American kids. Young African American kids do not give a damn about baseball after the age of 12. This is a fact.

Take a look at most high school and college baseball teams. And you you will not find many African American players.

I watched a University Of Washington/Oregon baseball game for a little while the other day on TV. There was a grand total of zero African Americans playing  for both teams! This is truly truly sad.

Let’s take a look at what young inner city kids see on TV. They see NBA/NFL current and ex players doing commercials/marketing. They see Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard, Lebron James, Payton Manning, JJ Watt, Russell Westbrook, Shaq, Marshawn Lynch, Richard Sherman, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Chris Bosh, Paul George, Kevin Garnett and more.

But I cannot name ONE Major League Baseball player doing commercials. No Andrew McCutchen or Matt Kemp or David Price or Tori Hunter or Reggie Jackson or Derek Jeter and others. The question is why is this going on.

Most young African American kids think baseball is boring. Not cool. They see players with there socks up to their knees and they think that is also not cool.

The sport is living in 1954 not 2016. With “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” or “America The Beautiful” at the 7th inning. Stuff that has went on for decades but meanwhile the NBA has Drake and Kendrick Lamar playing at games.

Baseball has to do MUCH BETTER job in reaching young African American kids to get them interested in playing baseball again. Because right now, they can care less about playing or watching the game.

Gordon Curvey

Comments? gcurvey@yahoo.com