Pittsburgh Pirates President Frank Coonley told the audience at the most recent African American Chamber of Commerce PowerBreakfast meeting that despite considerable outreach efforts by the Pirates and other major league teams, talented Black athletes are opting to play other sports, primarily because of the expense—and baseball is suffering.
Excluding Black players from the Caribbean, Central America and South America, African American participation in major league baseball peaked in 1986 at 19 percent. Today, it stands at 8 percent.
“This is critical to our future. Something is going on that’s bad for baseball,” he said. “We’ve seen participation declines across the board but more significantly by African Americans. We must make sure we break down barriers.”
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