Jackie Robinson Day opens pandora box on baseball race relations

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Dodgers centerfielder Matt Kemp is an African American baseball player who credits No. 42 for his rise to stardom.

“I wouldn’t be here standing talking to you about baseball and the Dodgers it wasn’t for Jackie Robinson. I always appreciate Jackie and all the work they are doing for us,” Kemp said.

While the baseball community relishes Robinson’s achievement, the sport is slowly scaring away the generation for instant gratification. USC Sports Media Professor Dan Durbin explains why future pioneers are not latching on to America’s pastime.

“Baseball is simply boring, it is a boring sport today and younger generations In the United States are not as interested as they once were.”

Sixty-six years after Robinson crossed baseball’s color barrier, African American’s comprise only seven-percent of players in the majors, a 12-percent decline from its height in 1986. Baseball is gradually playing second-fiddle to up-tempo sports like basketball and football.

Matt Kemp broke the mold choosing to play baseball over collegiate basketball coming out of high school. “You get all the same amount of blessing as you would playing football and basketball then you do in baseball, so baseball is a great sport and it has brought me to a lot of places,” Kemp said.

Robinson started his playing days in his hometown of Pasaden. And now local programs in Southern California are trying to bring excitement back to the game in the inner-city. The Urban Youth Academy in Compton develops kid’s skills on and off the field. Director Darrell Miller says baseball combined with education can pave a strong path for success.

“Our goal is to make sure every single person that we touch, graduates from high school and our goal is to make sure that you have a chance, to make sure baseball and life works for you and this community,” Miller said.

Major League Baseball recently enacted a Diversity Task Force to find out why a growing number of African American players are leaving the sport. Professor Durbin says the leagues efforts will undercover a concerning trend.

“Major League Baseball still largely is run by a largely conservative, very white and very middle age to older group of people,” Durbin said. “Fans of major league baseball are getting older and older and less and less diverse.”  

Robinson was an honorable man who suffered years of hardship opening doors for future generations of athletes. His daughter, Sharon Robinson believes her father would not be overly concerned with the fading numbers of African Americans players.

“I think he would be very concerned that black kids are not graduating high school or not graduating college that would be more a concern to him.”

In the spirit of Jackie Robinson Day, the L-A Sports Museum opened a private exhibit showcasing memorabilia from his baseball career. The museum is enjoyable for fans of all ages, located in South Los Angeles on Main Street and Washington.