BLACKS IN COLLEGE BASEBALL

Blacks in college baseball

Blacks in college baseball

With the passage of time, baseball has become a significant part of American culture. It has grown into a modern day sport which holds a significant position in the functioning of the American society. However, with the rapid development that the sport of baseball has seen, there is a discrepancy that has caught the eye of social scientists in the last few years. This discrepancy is the deficiency of African Americans in college level baseball. Once, initial researches verified that the number of African American players in college baseball is indeed dwindling; social scientists moved their focus to the objective of determining why this deficiency existed. This paper will attempt to contribute to the development of this discussion by proposing a solution to the problem and justifying the solution with reference to the challenges and counter-arguments that the proposed solution is vulnerable to. Essentially, the paper will attempt to establish that the problem exists and that it needs to be solved while exhibiting knowledge and insight in researching and analyzing the conditions, resources, costs and benefits of dealing with the problem. The discussion will come to a conclusion by attempting to convince the readers to endorse the proposed solution and take active measures to implement the proposed solution.

The problem

Before delving into this discussion, it is important to realize that this problem has been around for over two decades now. For instance, in 1990, William C. Rhoden of the New York Times reported that there were only six African American players in the One hundred and seventy six players who comprised the College World Series for that year (Rhoden, 1990). Rhoden was particular in pointing out that Division I football constituted almost thirty seven percent African American players while basketball constituted almost fifty six percent African American players at that time. Rhoden identified that the deficiency in the number of head baseball coaches at the college level and a perspective amongst college students that considers football and basketball to be relatively more lucrative prevents African American students from entering college level basketball. Ironically, when examining the historically black Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC), findings surface which again support the difficulty of finding African-Americans in collegiate baseball. African-Americans are the minority on many of the rosters of these teams.

More recent factors that have begun to influence the number of players entering college level baseball is that which is associated with the modus operandi for drafting new players (Isidore, 2007). The system has evolved to give increased relevance to players from foreign markets. This creates a scenario in which the problem at hand is clearly multilateral.

The recommended solution

The solution that this proposal presents is one that is based on the development of a campaign that brings forth the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards that college baseball has to offer. This paper recommends that the solution to be implemented addresses the modus operandi used to recruit new players at the higher level ...