Tell me you don't watch baseball without telling me you don't watch baseball.
Oh, there you are, MSNBC. Looks like you're at it again with the "racism everywhere" thing.
Bro, I can't believe I'm doing this, but I'll give you guys the diversity statistics from the MLB's website.
As of Opening Day [2023], MLB rosters remained among the most diverse in all of professional sports, with 40.34% of overall rosters (including the injured list, suspension and restricted lists) coming from diverse backgrounds -- a 2.34% increase from a year earlier.
This included 945 players overall -- 59 Black players (6.2%), 285 Latino/Hispanic players (30.2%), 30 Asian players (3.2%), six Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian players (0.53%) and two Native American players (0.21%).
In fact, the MLB is quite diverse. And by "diverse," of course they simply mean not white.
Bro, just say "not white." It's not that hard.
Yet here we find that MSNBC is right, only 6% of MLB players are black. But that doesn't tell the whole story (and it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things because these sports are not looking at skin color when they draft players).
Here's the MLB with more:
In the last two years, Black players have represented 12.5% of the top 100 selections (12 of the top 100 in 2021 and 13 of the top 100 in 2022). Four of the first five selections in 2022 Draft were Black -- the first time in Draft history that happened. All four were alumni of the DREAM Series, a diversity-focused development programming offered in part by MLB and USA Baseball. In the opening round of that Draft, 12 picks (40%) were Black or Latino.
Meanwhile, 11 Black players are currently projected among the Top 100 players for the 2023 Draft.
Overall, 49% of the MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list includes players from diverse backgrounds (Black, Latino, Asian).
While MLB aims for a higher percentage of Black players over time, it's interesting to note the impact the current Black players are having on the sport. Three of the last six Rookie of the Year winners have been Black players -- Kyle Lewis with the 2020 Mariners, Devin Williams with the 2020 Brewers and Michael Harris II with the 2022 Braves.
What's more, that 6% number above doesn't even include the black Hispanic players, who dominate the sport.
Still, MSNBC wants to play the race game and call the MLB, and baseball in general, racist, even though the journalist who wrote this piece must have read the same article I just quoted from.
Here goes MSNBC with the race malarkey:
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% …
Over the past few decades, Major League Baseball has shown what it looks like to outwardly celebrate diversity (with things like Jackie Robinson Day on April 15) while thumbing your nose at it in practice.
In recent years, we've seen more than one team abandon its longtime home and look to greener pastures in whiter communities. We've seen stubborn inequality in the management ranks. We've also heard Black players speak out about the racism they've experienced from fans at games — including home games — and about how having more Black players could combat that …
It's a reminder and a warning that, in the absence of motivation, diversity measures almost always fall by the wayside. And whether on the baseball diamond or in the classroom, it's often Black participants, or potential participants, who suffer most.
It would be a waste of time to quote this poorly-written piece of "journalism" any further, so let's get back to reality.
For instance, check out the community note MSNBC got for this X post:
MSNBC, should we bring some equity to the NBA by recruiting more Europeans, some tiny little Hispanic guys, and maybe a few more Asians?
No, we shouldn't. Sports aren't meant to be diverse. Sports are meant to be competitive. And that means 70% of NBA players can be black, 53% of NFL players can be black, and a tiny 6% of MLB players can be black (not including black Latinos).
If anything, the MLB actually represents our national demographics better than any of the major sports. Just look at the U.S. numbers.
MSNBC, keep your racist hands off of baseball. It's the most racially equitable sport we got!
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