No U.S.-born Black players expected on World Series rosters

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October 26, 2022

By Ben Walker, Associated Press

Philadelphia Phillies celebrate after winning the baseball NL Championship Series in Game 5 against the San Diego Padres on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Looking around Memorial Stadium before Game 1 of the 1983 World Series, Philadelphia Phillies star Gary Matthews saw a lot of Black talent.

Joe Morgan. Eddie Murray. Garry Maddox. Ken Singleton. Al Bumbry. Disco Dan Ford. And plenty more that night in Baltimore.

“There were quite a few of us,” Matthews recalled.

When fans watch the Houston Astros and Phillies line up this week to begin the Fall Classic, it will be a much different picture.

To be sure, Houston’s Jose Altuve and Philadelphia’s Jean Segura are among scores of Latin players helping keep big league rosters diverse.

But for the first time since 1950, shortly after Jackie Robinson broke the Major League Baseball color barrier, there project to be no U.S.-born Black players in this World Series.

Zero.

“That is eye opening,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. “It is somewhat startling that two cities that have high African American populations, there’s not a single Black player.”

Read more about this lack of representation in baseball.

Could this mean current fans don’t have their counterpart to famed ball player Jackie Robinson?

ABHM’s breaking news page covers Black sports and culture.

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