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Why does USA Today push the "African Americans in baseball" theme

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by poindexter, Apr 18, 2012.

  1. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    Thanks for contributing.
     
  2. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    I don't agree. I think many economically challenged kids (of all races) are not playing baseball at the high school level because they don't see a clear a path to the pros through college. College ball is not an option for most of these kids unless they have the ability to pay for half their tuition. Meanwhile, college football programs have 85 full scholarships.
     
  3. YGBFKM

    YGBFKM Guest

    Come on, bp! Don't leave us hanging! We really want to know! Your opinion is important, too.
     
  4. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    WTF is that suppose to mean?
     
  5. YGBFKM

    YGBFKM Guest

    Please, bp, grace us with your important thoughts. Our country depends on it.
     
  6. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    Not having a clear path to college doesn't seem to stop Dominican kids from succeeding at the major league level.

    But Domincan kids like baseball. African American kids don't. Is it really hard to understand, and can we move on?
     
  7. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    Is the number of 'white' American players rising, falling or holding? What about the number of all American players?
     
  8. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    He wasn't going to be able to top your take on hats.
     
  9. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    Who gives a shit? (Besides Gannett?)
     
  10. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    How many maintained baseball fields are their in predominantly African-American neighborhoods, vs. basketball hoops.

    You need equipment to play baseball, and you need a group of kids.

    For the most part, kids don't play baseball unless the game or practice was organized by adults. It's much more structured than basketball.

    Even in affluent neighborhoods, you rarely see kids juts playing baseball. The fields are almost always empty, unless an adult has organized a practice or game.
     
  11. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    It either refutes or bolsters the argument.
     
  12. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    In addition to the travel ball/elite factor, what poin says carries a lot of weight too -- it's just looked upon more favorably in the African-American community to be better at basketball and football.

    cran, I don't know if the numbers exist, but I'd be very very surprised if this decline in participation at the major league level wasn't also reflected at the youth level, for the reasons I stated. Simply put, kids aren't even making a choice in high school about what to pursue, because they've either never played the sport or been out of it for at least three years.

    Dave Winfield was all over this situation, using his HOF induction as a platform to talk about. He cited the cost of youth baseball as the biggest barrier.
     
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