When the Pittsburgh Pirates faced the Boston Red Sox in a make-up game at Fenway Park last Thursday (April 13), they had three Black players in the lineup: Andrew McCutchen (RF), Josh Harrison (2B) and Josh Bell (1B).
You’ll hurt your eyes trying to find another team with as many Black players starting a MLB game.
Of the eight starting field positions for the Pirates, three are occupied by African American players. According to MLB.com’s depth charts of all 30 teams from April 13, no other team in the National League had more than two Black starters, and only one team in the American League, the Oakland Athletics, had three. There were four teams that had no Black players as starters (Astros, Padres, Nationals, Rockies).
A report by USA Today revealed that African Americans made up just 8 percent of MLB opening day rosters in 2016.
[pullquote]The Pittsburgh Pirates have more Blackeveryday players than any other team in the National League, but some say more must be done to keep Black youth interested in the game[/pullquote]
But with McCutchen as the face of the organization over the past seven seasons, and the emergence of Harrison and Bell, does this translate into more Pittsburgh Black youth becoming interested in baseball?
There are kids like Lincoln resident Caleb Dalton, 9, a member of the Paulson Jr. Pirates, who told the New Pittsburgh Courier he likes playing baseball, especially hitting. “I like how I play, and I like how I succeed in baseball,” Dalton said. “(Hitting) feels wonderful.”
Caleb has a brother, Joshua, 7, also on the team. Their mother, Monique Dalton, said her sons playing baseball “teaches them discipline, following direction, team-playing, resilience and not giving up.”
On the other hand, there are plenty of African American youth in Pittsburgh and across the U.S. who have no interest in the game. That’s why Charles Saunders, director of the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program in Pittsburgh, said the jury is still out on whether the Black Pirates star players enhance the visibility of the sport to Pittsburgh’s Black youth.
The local RBI program was established by the Pirates in 1994 as part of a Major League Baseball initiative to grow awareness, provide physical and financial resources, and facilitate competitive play to youth in underserved communities. Saunders said the RBI program here has nine communities with youth baseball teams; East Hills, Northview Heights, Braddock, McKeesport, Carnegie, Duquesne, Homewood, Mt. Oliver, and the Hill District.
As many as 1,300 youth ages 5 to 19 have participated in the various baseball leagues in a particular year, Saunders said. But last year, the number stood at 800. Saunders said the number could increase with more active participation from African American Pirates players.
“I understand Pirates (Black) players have time constraints, with traveling, batting practices, games, etc.,” Saunders said, “but could you imagine the amount of kids that would come out if, (more players) were at the field?”
Saunders said Pirates players have supported the local RBI program in the past with appearances. He hopes that in the future, there could be even more. “You would get more of a turnout from the youth,” Saunders said. “That would be a promotion in itself.”
“Getting more kids to play baseball and softball, of all races, is a large objective of Major League Baseball,” said Patricia Paytas, SVP of Community and Public Affairs for the Pirates.
“The Pirates share in that goal and are working diligently with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania to provide baseball and softball opportunities to those youth in our community who are living in underserved areas. Almost 1,000 youth belong to Pittsburgh’s RBI program, and many of these youngsters are African American. Through this effort, we help to organize teams and leagues, train coaches, provide equipment and uniforms, and give RBI participants the opportunity to come to PNC Park and watch the Pirates play. When they’re here, they see Andrew and J-Hay and our other players. We hope our players, along with our youth baseball and softball efforts can inspire them to continue playing baseball and make their own dreams come true,” she said.
Saunders also said, “The Pirates, in my opinion from 25 years of experience, are more involved with youth sports impacting African Americans than any of the other professional teams in this city.”
The dearth of Blacks in the highest level of professional baseball starts early, Saunders said. From a financial perspective, many colleges and universities don’t offer complete scholarships for baseball, like they do in football or basketball, Saunders said. And, “To be recognized in baseball, you have to be on a travel team. That costs a lot of money. Now, you take that same (Black) kid, with that same athleticism, and make him start shooting jumpers.” Saunders said that route is just more financially feasible for many Black families.
Former Steelers player Ryan Clark seemed to echo the same sentiments, speaking on ESPN’s First Take a few years ago. “That’s what happened to me. Played baseball all growing up, was my first sport, was playing really well, making all-star teams, and a guy came to me that I played basketball against, (he said) ‘I’m starting this AAU basketball team, we want to play during the summer,’ and it was intriguing to me, like we’re going to travel, we’re going to do all this type of stuff. I was like, cool,” Clark said.
Another primary reason why Pittsburgh’s RBI program isn’t larger in youth numbers, according to Saunders, is a lack of adult coaches and volunteers. “There’s not the buy-in that there once was,” Saunders said. “It’s hard to teach kids to get involved in something if you don’t know too much about it yourself. The little nuances, the fundamentals, the techniques of baseball—not a lot of guys in our community can teach that.”
Saunders, who has been RBI director here for 17 years, said the Black community in Pittsburgh must “step up” when it comes to promoting the game of baseball to area youth. The benefits of youth baseball for African Americans here is more than meets the eye.
“Parents sign their kids up for baseball because they see what’s going on in their communities, and they want their kids to participate and get active in something positive,” Saunders said. “It gives them structured activity. It’s a physical game, so when it’s over, they’re tired and not going to want to go outside and cut up.
“They have the identity of putting on a uniform, being an athlete, as opposed to something negative,” Saunders said.
Saunders said the local RBI program also stresses education, and assists teens with everyday life issues.
“Parents are searching for absolutely anything to save their children,” Saunders said. “Getting involved with this is a gateway into getting our kids to be productive members of society.”
There are other leagues for Pittsburgh’s Black youth to join, including one in conjunction with the local YMCA, such as the Paulson Jr. Pirates and Chadwick Jr. Pirates in the Lincoln-Larimer area.
Darrell Hopson, coach of the Chadwick Jr. Pirates, agreed with Saunders. “We try to get them to play some type of sport to keep them focused and positive. We basically become their role models,” Hopson said.
Hopson said the kids feel safe under the coaches’ watch, and “we give them respect, they respect us, and learn to respect other people.”
Hopson, who played little league baseball in Pittsburgh and has been coaching the game for 20 years, said he loves teaching the 5- to 9-year-old kids. “Basics and fundamentals of baseball, respect for their teammates, and they learn they have to keep up with their grades, and respect each other. Positive things.”
Tamitra Ray, of East Hills, grandmother of Paulson Jr. Pirates player Terron Whitehead said, “I think it helps him pay attention more, work with peers and the brotherhood that they’re starting to develop, sooner rather than later.”
The Pirates seem to find their way into a positive note when talking about diversity. They had the first all-Black and Latino starting lineup to play a Major League baseball game on Sept. 1, 1971.
“The Pirates have a long tradition of outstanding African American players, who were not only exemplary athletes, but were also exemplary human beings,” Paytas said. “No one epitomizes that more than the great Willie Stargell. We couldn’t be more proud of our current African American players like Andrew McCutchen, Josh Harrison and Josh Bell. They are also tremendous athletes, and equally good men. Men that we believe kids, especially young African American children, can look up to.”
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