In the past twenty years, there has been a huge decline of African-American participation in baseball.
According to the Boston Globe’s examination of MLB records, in 1975, 27% of professional MLB players were African-American.
In the 2013 player diversity report, only 8% of players identified as African-American.
The topic of diversity has been such a problem, that Major League Baseball created a diversity task force to tackle the issue in April 2013.
These findings discovered that regional baseball has been hurting the most in urban areas because equipment is not affordable; there is not enough exposure to youth leagues and training facilities, and fewer scholarships are available to baseball players, according to the Chicago Trbune.
Right now, initiatives are being taken by RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) programs to expand and increase marketing in low income urban neighborhoods.
Notable African American ballplayers like Andrew McCutchen, David Price, and Adam Jones are at the forefront of the desperate efforts being made by Major League Baseball to boost the game’s popularity.
Despite the harsh reality found in Major League Baseball’s study, there is hope for the future and it was found in the small town of Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Every year, Williamsport is the home of the Little League World Series where teenage ballplayers from all over the world battle for supremacy on the diamond.
Even though this event is nationally broadcasted on ESPN, sports fans and viewers worldwide do not pay too much attention to it.
This year, the story is different after being introduced to pitcher Mo’ne Davis. Davis is an African-American female from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Furthermore, Davis opened many viewers’ eyes with her performance and poise on the pitcher’s mound and off.
She is only the fourth African-American girl to ever play in the Little League World Series.
In addition, Davis was the first Little League baseball player to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
But her story gets even better. On August 15, 2014, Davis was the first female in Little League World Series history to earn a win and a shutout as the Philadelphia Little League team won 4-0.
In that game, Davis struck out eight batters and only gave up two infield hits.
After her shutout, she received Twitter messages from sports celebrities Kevin Durant and Mike Trout offering praise for her historical achievement on the mound.
Unfortunately, the Philadelphia Little League team was eliminated by Las Vegas putting an end to the team’s magical run.
Luckily, the Mo’ne Davis story was the not the only headline of the Little League World Series. Chicago’s all-black Little League squad called Jackie Robinson West won the hearts of millions as they brought the United States championship to Chicago after defeating Las Vegas in the U.S title game.
Crowds chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!”, after the South Siders clinched a spot in the world championship.
Eventually, the team lost in the title game 8-4 against South Korea but not without a late rally in the final inning.
Nevertheless, the common denominator between these two stories goes beyond skin color.
Both of these stories involved teenage ballplayers who brought their passion, poise, and respect for the game onto the field.
Hopefully, the exposure of Davis and Jackie Robinson West will set a precedent to bring a new demographic of African-American and maybe female ballplayers to the sport.
Phil Novotny can be reached at philip.novotny@theminaretonline.com