February is Black History month, and with all of the talk about the declining number of African-American Baseball players, due to the increased popularity of the NBA and the NFL, the lack of funding for organized Baseball leagues in inner city neighborhoods, and seemingly zero marketing by Major League Baseball, i thought we should look at the achievements of African-Americans in Major League Baseball history,
in april 1947 Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers became the first Arican-American player in Major League history, 3 months later Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians became the first African-American to play in the American League, 1 year later the Cleveland Indians would sign 42 year old Pitcher Satchel Paige, Paige would become the Oldest Rookie in Baseball, Paige was signed out of the Negro League, the all black Baseball league which played from 1920-1951, Paige ended his career in 1965 with the Kansas City Athletics, at the age of 59 Paige is the oldest player to pitch a Major League game,
over the next few years things would start to change, as more and more teams started signing black players, the Dodgers, the team that helped pave the way with the first black player, would see another first, Catcher Roy Campanella would become the first black player to win multiple MVP awards, taking the honers in 1951, 1953 and 1955,
the Boston Red Sox were the last team in Baseball to have a black player on there roster, until Elijah Green made his debut in 1959,
by 1967 African-American's made up 27% of Major League rosters, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Bob Gibson and Joe Morgan were some of the games most popular players, in 1974 Hank Aaron would become Baseball's Home Run king breaking Babe Ruth's all time Home Run Record,
and in 1977 another Robinson would see a first, as Frank Robinson would become the first African-American Manager in the Major Leagues when he was named Player-Manager of the Cleveland Indians.
Historical firsts for African-American players:
First Position Player: Jackie Robinson, 1947
First Pitcher: Satchel Paige, 1948
First Rookie of the Year: Jackie Robinson, 1947
First MVP: Jackie Robinson, 1949
First Championship: Larry Doby, 1948
First No-Hitter: Sam Jones, 1955
First Manager: Frank Robinson, 1977
Major League Records held by African-American Players:
Home Runs: Hank Aaron
Runs Batted In: Hank Aaron
Stolen Bases: Ricky Henderson
Runs Scored: Ricky Henderson
Walks: Ricky Henderson
Strike Outs: Reggie Jackson
Hit by Pitches: Don Baylor
Baseball has become an international sport, players from all over make up Major League rosters, last season only 1 of every 10 players in the Major Leagues was African-American, a number that is decreasing every year, as we enter spring training there is currently only 3 African-American Managers in the League, cut in half from two years ago, Baseball needs to do something to bring interest back to the black community, in a recent tryout camp at FT.Myers in Florida where high school players hope to catch the attention of scouts, of the 150 players who attended the camp only 6 were African-American.
in april 1947 Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers became the first Arican-American player in Major League history, 3 months later Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians became the first African-American to play in the American League, 1 year later the Cleveland Indians would sign 42 year old Pitcher Satchel Paige, Paige would become the Oldest Rookie in Baseball, Paige was signed out of the Negro League, the all black Baseball league which played from 1920-1951, Paige ended his career in 1965 with the Kansas City Athletics, at the age of 59 Paige is the oldest player to pitch a Major League game,
over the next few years things would start to change, as more and more teams started signing black players, the Dodgers, the team that helped pave the way with the first black player, would see another first, Catcher Roy Campanella would become the first black player to win multiple MVP awards, taking the honers in 1951, 1953 and 1955,
the Boston Red Sox were the last team in Baseball to have a black player on there roster, until Elijah Green made his debut in 1959,
by 1967 African-American's made up 27% of Major League rosters, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Bob Gibson and Joe Morgan were some of the games most popular players, in 1974 Hank Aaron would become Baseball's Home Run king breaking Babe Ruth's all time Home Run Record,
and in 1977 another Robinson would see a first, as Frank Robinson would become the first African-American Manager in the Major Leagues when he was named Player-Manager of the Cleveland Indians.
Historical firsts for African-American players:
First Position Player: Jackie Robinson, 1947
First Pitcher: Satchel Paige, 1948
First Rookie of the Year: Jackie Robinson, 1947
First MVP: Jackie Robinson, 1949
First Championship: Larry Doby, 1948
First No-Hitter: Sam Jones, 1955
First Manager: Frank Robinson, 1977
Major League Records held by African-American Players:
Home Runs: Hank Aaron
Runs Batted In: Hank Aaron
Stolen Bases: Ricky Henderson
Runs Scored: Ricky Henderson
Walks: Ricky Henderson
Strike Outs: Reggie Jackson
Hit by Pitches: Don Baylor
Baseball has become an international sport, players from all over make up Major League rosters, last season only 1 of every 10 players in the Major Leagues was African-American, a number that is decreasing every year, as we enter spring training there is currently only 3 African-American Managers in the League, cut in half from two years ago, Baseball needs to do something to bring interest back to the black community, in a recent tryout camp at FT.Myers in Florida where high school players hope to catch the attention of scouts, of the 150 players who attended the camp only 6 were African-American.