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

Good point . . . like to hear the backstory on that.

 

To put it bluntly, they completely suck. The Lakewoods, Wilsons and Polys are playing in prestigious spring tournaments and out-of-league games against other elite teams. Compton doesn't give a shit about baseball, so they probably play the minimum that the league requires.

Duke Snider went to Compton High.

 

MLB is going to keep on serving what the people don't want.

In addition to the Compton Urban Academy
http://mlb.mlb.com/community/uya.jsp?id=program&loc=compton


MLB and the Dodgers dedicated ANOTHER park in Compton two years ago.
http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111114&content_id=25973218&vkey=news_la&c_id=la

My guess is if I drive by this park on the way home tonight, I'll see latino kids playing soccer on it.

 

MLB should reach out to the gangs and sign them up to play baseball. They already have the caps.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=6201169&sportCat=mlb

 

If anybody on here is really stupid/deluded enough to think there are socioeconomic factors keeping white kids from playing basketball or football at a high level, well, I just wish your school systems had done a better job. Or your parents.

But you don't really think that. You're just doing this to annoy people.

 

I like that you posted, then came back and added those last two sentences.

 

One of the biggest socioeconomic factors for blacks not playing baseball is the lack of dads around to teach/practice the sport with their sons. Maybe Gannett will be proposing that, in addition to all these academies, MLB should start providing fathers for these boys.

 

Cost is a huge factor. Even kids that only play Little League feel "embarrassed" or marginalized if they don't show up with a cool looking travel bag, filled with an expensive bat and their own batting helmet. All of this costs quite a bit of money.

The days many of us remember where a coach brings a big canvas bag with the team's catching gear, bats and a few helmets are long gone.

 

Yet those same kids will have $100 nikes. Again, they give a shit about basketball and basketball shoes to spend $100 plus on a pair of Jordans, but not $100 plus on baseball equipment.

 

In the seven years I've been involved with our Pony League, I have never even seen a league-issued bat or helmet. They're required equipment for all players. My son is 9, and this year he got a middle-of-the-road (for our league) bat. It cost $149.

 

Maybe take some of the Nike sneaker budget and put it towards a decent bat and glove.

 

Same here. My son's 13 and is too big for the 31-inch bat he's used the last three seasons. The cost of "big boy" bats is insane, so he takes my old wooden, 34-inch Louisville Slugger as a warm-up bat and uses one of his friend's bats in games -- or at least he has so far.

My wife says some of the other parents aren't impressed by this "sharing" ... well, screw them! Little Coco (and I use that term "little" loosely these days!) is not playing travel ball, and he's basically playing juniors because his friends are doing it. Nothing wrong with that at all.

So yeah, for poorer/inner city kids who are elite players to come up with the $500 or so for the gear -- not to mention the expenses of being on a traveling team -- cost is a huge barrier. That's much more than a one-time purchase of gym shoes.