In 1946, there were zero African Americans in Major League Baseball. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, marking the beginning of a race—one not just for talent but for representation. By 1975, African Americans made up 18.5% of MLB players. I was born in 1976, when that number stood at 18%. That year also marked the beginning of my personal journey in baseball.
My love for the game began in the summer of 1984. I was eight years old, spending my days watching Chicago Cubs day games with my grandad, Horace Dunn. After each game, I’d go outside and pretend the kudzu in my grandparents’ backyard was the famous ivy on the outfield wall at Wrigley Field. My favorite player? Gary Matthews Sr., also known as “The Sarge.”
In 1990, I had my first tryout with the Cubs. I was drafted by them in 1994 out of Westlake High School and again in 1998 out of Dekalb College. By 1998, I signed with the Cubs, and “The Sarge” became one of my hitting coaches. It was a dream come true.
Two African American men played crucial roles in my journey. The late T.J. Wilson, an Atlanta Police Officer, took me to those Cubs tryouts and advocated for me. Derrick Stafford, also from Bankhead, was one of my travel ball coaches. I also played travel ball at East Cobb Baseball, founded by Guerry Baldwin, where travel baseball was born.
Fast forward to today: African American representation in Major League Baseball is at a historically low 6%. Without intentional efforts, we could see a return to zero by 2040.
The decline is rooted in African American boys not being trained in what I call the “6 A’s”:
– Attitude: How a player acts.
– Awareness: How a player thinks.
– Adjustments: How a player responds.
– Aptitude: How a player corrects.
– Athleticism: How a player makes things happen.
– Aggressiveness: How a player competes.
Training is more than practice. It’s about developing talent (what you do naturally), habits (what you do repeatedly without thinking), and skills (what you do under stress). If we want to prevent the race from returning to zero, we need to ensure that African American boys possess all six of these A’s.
The race for representation in baseball began in 1947, peaked in 1975, and is now in danger of reversing. We must act now to stop this decline.
For more on baseball demographics, check out this link: [Baseball Demographics]