Why are few African Americans playing professional baseball?

[NYC Rebel]

Oh... I didn't know that's where you've been going with it. been busy with patients since noon.

But yeah. I agree 100%. Can't expect for us to invest in it if they don't won't to invest in us.

That's the direct problem. Baseball in PR went down when MLB left there to go to Venezuela, the DR and other places. It's natural to no longer have interest in something that no longer has interest in you.

 

[J-Fire]

when ya TV product ain't up to par...you ain't gonna get interest of people wanting to play. The atmosphere of the NFL and College football alone make you want to play and the fact that their is a spot for anyone of any size.

 

[NYC Rebel]

when ya TV product ain't up to par...you ain't gonna get interest of people wanting to play. The atmosphere of the NFL and College football alone make you want to play and the fact that their is a spot for anyone of any size.

that too.

Baseball needs to overhaul their model because while they make the most money, they're also the most greying audience that will soon die off.

 

[TheNig]

The changes that most fans and players hate?

The one thing I never understood about people and their fondness of football. I have yet to see Goodell make a choice that the majority agree with but people stay glued to the television every Sunday afternoon.

When white people decided not to fukk with basketball, they left it the fukk alone. Why can't they do that to football?

 

[Oville]

Naw....my dad and his social cohorts from that era always wax nostalgic over playing "stickball", and how that led to them developing a love for baseball. How many black kids do you see playing stickball nowadays...and that game is dirt cheap, so economics doesnt factor into it much.

Maybe the police presence in these neighborhoods shutting down streets where kids can't play stickball could be a factor.

 

[beanz]

You nailed it.

I'd also add that in the poor areas many blacks come from that it's way easier to buy a cheap basketball for 10 bucks at a local toy store and go hoop it up at the park then it is to buy a glove, baseball, bat, etc and find others interested in play a game not considered to be cool to most blacks.

thats not true. dominicans and cubans are poorer and still find ways to play baseball. my dad always tells me stories about making a bat out of a tree branch, a ball out of a rock and a bunch of rubber bands and old panty hoses, and a glove out of a milk carton. they would play 4 or 5 games a day everyday.

one of the main reasons is less and less park space in inner cities. back in the days there were more ball fields. you need a lot of space to play baseball. basketball you can get nice playing halfcourt 3 on 3s your whole life and playing at the gym in school. football you can turn any parking lot or street block into a short field to play 7 on 7 touch football and then u can always find a high school nearby with a team. baseball you cant shorten the field too much because every hit is gonna be a homerun. cant play on the street because windows will be broken. cant really play with less than 9 players or you gonna be running around chasing triples all day. its a matter of open space.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

You can't play a game of baseball with half the necessary players

 

[Big Boss]

Because black kids don't want to play in the minor league.

 

[pete clemenza]

Plus most times it takes a while til you get paid in baseball. A lot of players toil away for years in the minors.. some never even make it to the big leagues.

 

[NYC Rebel]

Plus most times it takes a while til you get paid in baseball. A lot of players toil away for years in the minors.. some never even make it to the big leagues.

You have less of a chance making it into the NBA with there being only about 1,000 jobs available.

That's a poor excuse you're creating.

We lost interest in the game after it lost interest in us. The void now is that it bores us. I could only imagine the level of negrocity that went on during the negro leagues. Satchel Paige telling the entire infield and outfield to sit down while he pitched.

 

[kingofnyc]

The changes that most fans and players hate?

nah...

the only changes fans hate are the players safety issues changes
im not talking bout those

 

[Trip]

The 3 sport athlete is basically extinct.

It used to be pretty much assumed a kid who played football also played basketball and baseball. Or in any other order.

There are so many year round leagues and crazy parents who think their kid is good enough for a scholarship/possible pro that they make them focus on one sport. Baseball just isn't it anymore.

 

[TheNig]

Plus most times it takes a while til you get paid in baseball. A lot of players toil away for years in the minors.. some never even make it to the big leagues.

But this isn't the reason for black youth who aren't interested in baseball. Maybe for a kid that's the 3 sport star. But not the kid with zero investment in baseball.

 

[Yakno1]

The 3 sport athlete is basically extinct.

It used to be pretty much assumed a kid who played football also played basketball and baseball. Or in any other order.

There are so many year round leagues and crazy parents who think their kid is good enough for a scholarship/possible pro that they make them focus on one sport. Baseball just isn't it anymore.

some truth to that

 

[Scientific]

thats not true. dominicans and cubans are poorer and still find ways to play baseball. my dad always tells me stories about making a bat out of a tree branch, a ball out of a rock and a bunch of rubber bands and old panty hoses, and a glove out of a milk carton. they would play 4 or 5 games a day everyday.

one of the main reasons is less and less park space in inner cities. back in the days there were more ball fields. you need a lot of space to play baseball. basketball you can get nice playing halfcourt 3 on 3s your whole life and playing at the gym in school. football you can turn any parking lot or street block into a short field to play 7 on 7 touch football and then u can always find a high school nearby with a team. baseball you cant shorten the field too much because every hit is gonna be a homerun. cant play on the street because windows will be broken. cant really play with less than 9 players or you gonna be running around chasing triples all day. its a matter of open space.

Even in Cuba the sport is starting to decline in popularity. DR is probably the last real main stay. All the traditional Latino baseball countries; DR, Cuba, PR, Panama, Nicaragua. They've all seen a decline in baseball interest. Soccer and Basketball are starting to come in and replace it. Soccer contracts are nothing to scoff at either.I was in Panama when they were playing USA for the World Cup Qualifier, the atmosphere was electric until they lost in those few minutes. From the trips Ive made down there, I haven't seen any kids play baseball.

Baseball has some interesting economics. They dish out all this money, yet they lag in popularity compared to the NFL and NBA. I like baseball, but I don't know how much longer it can really keep up with the lavish spending. Fewer and fewer people overall are really getting into it.