MLB To Study Decline of Blacks In Game

Admittedly this is a sample size of n = 1, but ...

My 15YO is heavily involved in two extra-curriculars at his school (they're both technically academic subjects, but football and orchestra do not set this old professor's heart a-flutter). He's a pretty doggone good student when he doesn't have his head up his ass, which is about most of the time. Anyway, he had a little academic mis-step in the fall semester that landed him some lengthy restrictions, among them an almost total removal of his video game privileges. Both his mother and I marvel at how much pleasanter a kid he is* when video games aren't part of his life, because when they are EVERYTHING is subordinate (if we don't let it). And he actually seems happier, because he futzes around with lots of stuff, like his fishing, reading for pleasure, etc., when video games aren't on the scene. But I just know when the old Xbox is out of storage, he won't be nearly as happy as his mom/dad are sad.

*On the margin; remember that we're talking about a 15YO here.

 

Makes you wonder if it's really worth it for the parents. They spend $5K a year for eight years for a total of $40K, and their kid may only get a partial scholarship anyway. Figure with 11.7 scholarships, if the team is fully funded, they may give a full schollie only to the top 3 or 4 kids. Everyone else may get only a half, a quarter, or none.

 

I was thinking about this a couple of days ago. I don't know about the Uptons -- I know they're from Chesapeake, Va., but I have no idea what their home life was like growing up -- but Heyward is a suburban kid. Played on the strong club teams. Had two well-educated, successful parents. If street cred is all about color, then sure, he's got it. Otherwise, no.

RE: Cost. My own experience -- and this was a few years ago -- reflects what has already been mentioned. My son really enjoyed baseball, but it was cost prohibitive. There are team fees, and then there is equipment, and if you want to be elite, there are endless lessons at area baseball schools. The closest one to us was 20 miles away. It was a massive commitment, and while I'd have loved for him to play high school ball, I wasn't willing to let the lives of my entire family revolve around it. In this regard, I caught a break, because my son approached me about taking karate, and I told him we couldn't afford for him to do both, and he chose karate. Turned out that was less expensive and less time consuming than advanced baseball. Frankly, I think it was better for him.

For those lower on the socioeconomic scale than me -- and in my town, that includes a lot of blacks -- I can see where it would be very easy to walk away from baseball and not look back.

 

Do parents do it for the scholarship reasons? Some might, but not all. Maybe not even the majority. One of my best friends from high school has had his daughter - now a junior in high school - in elite travel softball since she was very little. And now his younger children are starting it up. He recognized years ago that she'd play D-II softball, at best.

I think it's just kind of the culture now. Your kid plays at the highest level he or she can. Call it social pressure or whatever you want to call it.

 

Social pressure may be a factor, but why else would you want to uproot your family's lives and spend thousands of dollars on something when there is a cheaper and easier option?

 

But the costs are the same without regard to the player's race. This is a socio-economic issue, not a uniquely African-American issue. MLB's focus is race conscious, but absent any discriminatory intent, their focus on race is patronizing and pandering.

 

Baron, I would guess most parents have more realistic expectations about their kids, and are thinking more about the kid playing/contributing in high school ball (regardless of the sport).

My kids' club expenses are just ending, and were about $1000 per year (soccer and water polo). I didn't think it was a poor 'investment' at all.

 

What is the cheaper and easier option?

 

Maybe their kids are talented and enjoy competing at the highest levels. Not all parents are in it for the scholarship.

 

Justin attended the same public high school my wife did (though she's several years older) and B.J. went to a private school she attended for elementary school. I'm not from Chesapeake and won't claim to know every nook and cranny, but the parts of Great Bridge I know are completely suburban and not at all "street."

 

Whatever happened to stickball?

www.artofmanliness.com/trunk/535/willie-mays-plays-stickball/

 

The people going crazy about it, they definitely have aspirations for college or beyond. I said parents are well above $5,000, but really $10,000 or more a year is not unusual.

In my situation, it's so my son has a chance to play in high school. That and the fact that he likes it. (First home run last night! Woohoo!) You can't play high school around here if you spend ages 10-14 playing three months a year of low-competition Little League.

As for the cost, it's just the way things are. Any activity costs these days. My older son swims, not very competitively, and it costs as much as baseball. The fitness and team building are worth it to us. And for my sons the only opportunity cost is the aforementioned video games.