If you are black, does your son play baseball?

[Anonymous]

Honest question - if you are black or half-black, does your son play/like/want-to-play baseball? Just curious because my dad talks about all the great black ball players in the 70s and 80s and after the adam jones comments from yesterday, it got me thinking about how the black % has fallen in baseball compared to back in the day.

I have my own theories about why taht's happened but I just wanted to see what black parents felt about baseball and specifically the opportunities their sons are getting in playing it.

[Anonymous]

My son is biracial (half black/half white) and he plays baseball. However, it's my husband (who's white) who got him into it, as he is a big baseball fan.

[Anonymous]

This is a tending topic all of the sudden. Started by Adam jones and is now front page on ESPN.con

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a tending topic all of the sudden. Started by Adam jones and is now front page on ESPN.con

It's been a topic (i.e. black participation) in baseball for about a decade now but the adam jones comments have pushed it to the front page again.

[Anonymous]

This is not a new topic.

To answer your question, both of my sons play baseball (my oldest DS is baseball CRAZY). I am black, as is my husband. My DH played baseball through high school.

[Anonymous]

No. Mine played Tball when they were little, like 4/5ish but that was about it.

I do however, have a 3rd cousin that plays in the MLB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a tending topic all of the sudden. Started by Adam jones and is now front page on ESPN.con

It's been a topic (i.e. black participation) in baseball for about a decade now but the adam jones comments have pushed it to the front page again.

Remember a couple of Little League World Series ago, there was a team from Chicago. All-black team, rare to see LL teams from urban areas ascend. It's unfortunate that the LL there cheated in terms of player eligibility, and they were ultimately stripped of various trophies, etc.

[Anonymous]

Not too familiar with what was said more recently but Michael Wilbon touched upon this subject in one of this editorials a while back:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041302316.html

[Anonymous]

Mixed here (Black/Asian). They played for a couple years but got bored. It's all Hockey & Football now. Baseball is just too slow for today's kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. Mine played Tball when they were little, like 4/5ish but that was about it.

I do however, have a 3rd cousin that plays in the MLB.

Did your third cousin have dad at home or was he raised by single mom? Just curious.

[Anonymous]

Yes. My 16 yo DS has been playing baseball since he was 5. Loves the sport and is very good at it. He has always been the only AA on his travel teams.

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised by the MLB numbers - 58% white, 8% black. i guessed the highest percentage of players were Latino.

[Anonymous]

My two sons love baseball. We are African American. One is in little league and the other in t-ball. My husband coaches and that has them even more excited. They are often the only on their teams. I like that it's slower than what kids today have gotten accustomed to. Forces you to pay attention! Even if everyone thinks all these kids have strention issues...the game requires it!

[Anonymous]

Oops! Attention issues not strention issues!

[Anonymous]

My sons play football in the fall, wrestling in the winter and soccer in the spring.

I wish I would've put them in the more white dominated sports instead. Which wrestling and soccer could be considered as such but I mean baseball or swimming maybe lacrosse