As it seems like I write every year, the African-Americans in College Baseball continue to dwindle across the country. The Sacramento Bee continues the conversation today with a fantastic article.
Sacramento City College’s Jared James stepped into the batter’s box to face Cosumnes River College’s Josh Pigg during a recent game, an unusual moment for both sophomores.
It was just the third time in two years that James, an African American, faced a pitcher who also is African American. And one of the other times came against Pigg.
“You can’t help but notice,” James said. “It’s a very rare thing, and it’s a funny feeling.”
Much has been made about the decline of African Americans playing major-league baseball, which annually honors Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947. The percentage of African Americans in the major leagues has dwindled from 19 percent in 1986 to 8.2 percent this season, far lower than the 76 percent of NBA players and 66 percent of NFL players who are African American.
