ARTICLE FROM si.cnn.com (Full story click here)

I just watched the Seattle Mariners get beat by the Angels tonight. For the eighth game in a row, I looked on the screen for African Americans in the crowd at Safeco Field and I have seen a total of only TWO AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE CROWD!

Well those two were more African Americans than the Mariners have on their entire team. Ken Griffey Jr is the only African American on the team.

Right now the Mariners do zero advertising in African American owned media in Seattle (The Seattle Medium and The Facts and Music Inner City TV), hardly any African Americans are going to the games and we have one 39 year old African American player in future hall of famer Griffey Jr.

The Mariners traded Adam Jones (picture) who is a five tool player and is having a great start to the season so far. The Mariners said they needed pitching so they traded the young 23 year old Jones. There is full page pic of Jones in this weeks SI.

Tampa, the Phillies, the Dodgers, the Nationals and the Angels draft African American players AND KEEP THEM IN THE SYSTEM. Unlike Seattle.

How can young kids in the inner city be interested in baseball when here in Seattle they do not see any on our team? Only on visiting teams.

Angel center fielder, Tori Hunter and Ce Ce Sabithia are on a mission to help young African American kids get interested in baseball again like back in the day when players like Reggie Jackson, Lou Brock, Ken Griffey Sr, Joe Morgan, Frank Robinson, Paul Blair, Willie Stargell, Bobby Bonds, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Bob Gibson and many many others roamed the fields of MLB.

When it comes to teams like the Mariners and the Red Sox, African Americans are no shows besides Grif Jr, first base Lee Tnsley and broadcaster Dave Sims.

The Mariners are having a little league weekend, I am sure there will not be to many African American kids at the games at Safeco. Besides Grif Jr, no young African American hero to look up to on the Mariners like kids in Tampa have Clif Floyd and Upton and Crawford and the Phillies have Howard and Rollins and Angles have Hunter and Figgins etc.

Big shout out to Seattle Times baseball writer Larry Stone who once or twice a year writes stories on African Americans and baseball. He is the only writer or sports jock bold enough to discuss this topic. The question is why?

This is truly sad. Gordon Curvey

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