MLB hopes to invigorate African-American participation

[Senser81]

Also, let's face it. The idea of spending 3-4 years riding buses before you can even get to the majors and 6-7 years before you can even THINK of getting paid a large amount of money isn't very appealing to under privileged youth.

Why not? Its not like they have to sit in the back of the bus.

[Senser81]

Right - chances are if you are not good enough to get drafted in the first 2-3 rounds out of high school, you will not be looking at enough money to entice you to turn down a free college education. (Record scratch) ... BUT WAIT ... there are only 11 scholarships for 30 roster slots for each college team. And only 9 players get to play at a time. However, if you are also good at football, there are plentiful opportunities. 85 schollies, 100 roster spots, and 22 starting jobs that need filling.

Easy to see why guys like Quincy Carter, Ricky Williams, Pat White, etc. eventually went with football. Humans are going to gravitate towards the easiest and most beneficial path.

I would have to disagree with this, as well as FedEx's "bus" point. I don't think guys are going into football because of the "free education", and I don't think they are going into football because that sport offers more collegiate scholarships. I would say that baseball offers the best opportunity to play right away, because there are jobs in the minors and you don't have to get accepted/go to college. You can turn pro after high school. I think its more of a cultural thing than a "path of least resistance" thing.

[FedEx227]

But the pay absolutely sucks compared to what they can make in football and basketball in shorter time. Sure, you can have a job in baseball right away but unless you're a top, early round pick with a huge signing bonus you're getting paid relative peanuts to play in Beloit in front of 400 people. You have to do that for a year or two, then you move up to Huntsville for a few years, THEN you can make the majors and play for 5-6 years and get paid a large amount provided you were any good and didn't flame out in Beloit.

College football you have to go to school and be an "amateur" for 3-4 years but you're getting a lot of perks, play in front of huge/good crowds, get your choice of co-eds and become a relative god on the campus if your team is any good. Yeah, you can flame out in college too but you've gotten to a higher point (i'd argue) than Class A baseball.

Basketball is similar to football but even more of a quick turnaround after 1 year.

They all have advantages and disadvatages but I think you have more of a chance of making BIG money quicker in football and basketball than you ever would in baseball.

[ralaw]

But the pay absolutely sucks compared to what they can make in football and basketball in shorter time. Sure, you can have a job in baseball right away but unless you're a top, early round pick with a huge signing bonus you're getting paid relative peanuts to play in Beloit in front of 400 people. You have to do that for a year or two, then you move up to Huntsville for a few years, THEN you can make the majors and play for 5-6 years and get paid a large amount provided you were any good and didn't flame out in Beloit.

College football you have to go to school and be an "amateur" for 3-4 years but you're getting a lot of perks, play in front of huge/good crowds, get your choice of co-eds and become a relative god on the campus if your team is any good. Yeah, you can flame out in college too but you've gotten to a higher point (i'd argue) than Class A baseball.

Basketball is similar to football but even more of a quick turnaround after 1 year.

They all have advantages and disadvatages but I think you have more of a chance of making BIG money quicker in football and basketball than you ever would in baseball.

What you say about earning power is true, but black kids aren't sitting down with their parents and financial advisers going over which sport offers the quickest route to financial prosperity. Black kids are playing the sports that dominate in their community, which is football and basketball. Within the black community there really aren't role models or coaches that know baseball well enough to teach it or make it appealing, which is another problem.

[FedEx227]

I'm not saying it's a conscious decision though. Of course they don't go through the 10-year plan and look at where they'll be with both sports but it's hard for me to believe it doesn't subconsciously come up in their minds when they are deciding which sport to focus most of their time on.

Let's take Derrick Rose for example. He's from one of the poorest and crime-ridden areas of Chicago. As a black kid from that area who's good at baseball and basketball (Rose's HS Simeon is great at both), why in the world would you ever choose baseball when one of your own currently brings in $16,402,500 yearly at age 24 in addition to an almost $500 million deal with Adidas? At age 24 in the baseball world you're lucky to even be in the majors let alone earning anywhere in the neighborhood of seven figures.

I totally agree that there aren't role models or coaches in the area to promote it but even then I don't see why a kid would chose baseball or basketball if they were skilled at both.

[ralaw]

I'm not saying it's a conscious decision though. Of course they don't go through the 10-year plan and look at where they'll be with both sports but it's hard for me to believe it doesn't subconsciously come up in their minds when they are deciding which sport to focus most of their time on.

Let's take Derrick Rose for example. He's from one of the poorest and crime-ridden areas of Chicago. As a black kid from that area who's good at baseball and basketball (Rose's HS Simeon is great at both), why in the world would you ever choose baseball when one of your own currently brings in $16,402,500 yearly at age 24 in addition to an almost $500 million deal with Adidas? At age 24 in the baseball world you're lucky to even be in the majors let alone earning anywhere in the neighborhood of seven figures.

I totally agree that there aren't role models or coaches in the area to promote it but even then I don't see why a kid would chose baseball or basketball if they were skilled at both.

I see what you are saying, but before all of that happens a kid is steered in a certain direction, because of social and cultural reasons. Kids from the Dominican choose baseball, because baseball is a huge part of their culture regardless of their economic status....they figure it out. It is the same reason kids that grow up in Europe and Africa play soccer. For African Americans social and cultural influences steer them to play basketball or football.

[Senser81]

I'm not saying it's a conscious decision though. Of course they don't go through the 10-year plan and look at where they'll be with both sports but it's hard for me to believe it doesn't subconsciously come up in their minds when they are deciding which sport to focus most of their time on.

Let's take Derrick Rose for example. He's from one of the poorest and crime-ridden areas of Chicago. As a black kid from that area who's good at baseball and basketball (Rose's HS Simeon is great at both), why in the world would you ever choose baseball when one of your own currently brings in $16,402,500 yearly at age 24 in addition to an almost $500 million deal with Adidas? At age 24 in the baseball world you're lucky to even be in the majors let alone earning anywhere in the neighborhood of seven figures.

I totally agree that there aren't role models or coaches in the area to promote it but even then I don't see why a kid would chose baseball or basketball if they were skilled at both.

Derrick Rose was an elite professional talent who was earmarked for the NBA from the start. Kind of a terrible example, like asking why LeBron James didn't play baseball when his HS bball games were on ESPN. Yeah, I agree...it would have been dumb for Derrick Rose to have, say, signed a minor league baseball contract with the Rockford Cubs for $20k/year instead of having John Calipari's kid take his college entrance exam and go to Kentucky to play basketball for a year.

I think a good role model for this situation would be Shawon Dunston. Here is a great athlete from a poor neighborhood who never excelled at any fundamental baseball skill at the professional level, yet he earned tens of millions of dollars by playing nearly 20 years in the majors.

[FedEx227]

...and spent 6 years in the minors and didn't receive a million dollar payday until he was 27.

You completely missed my point. It wasn't about Derrick Rose going to play basketball it was about other kids from Simeon or the neighborhood looking at the two options. I can try to go be like Derrick and make $16 million/year or I can make $20k/year for 4 years with the hope that I can stick around the majors for a few more years I'll make a million.

Obviously Derrick is an elite talent, but I just can't comprehend how any black athlete even with "baseball" influences around them would chose baseball's financials versus football or basketball.

[Senser81]

...and spent 6 years in the minors and didn't receive a million dollar payday until he was 27.

Yeah...most black people from the Linden projects in Brooklyn receive their million dollar payday well before their 27th birthday.

[Houston]

At this point I think running a Negro League for a few years will catch the attention of blacks long enough for them to stick around while you reintegrate.


Plus there's the fact that self-evaluation is relatively simple in football and basketball. If middle school rolls around and you're significantly taller than the average person, you're likely to be interested in basketball. If you're strong or big then you're more than likely gonna be interested in football, without the push from anyone needed. Fast kids naturally gravitate towards the track.
Nobody is sitting around thinking "I have great hand-eye coordination, I'd be great in baseball."

[FedEx227]

Yeah...most black people from the Linden projects in Brooklyn receive their million dollar payday well before their 27th birthday.

If there's one thing lower class African-American youth have proven over time it's their willingness to be patient in acquiring money.

[Senser81]

If there's one thing lower class African-American youth have proven over time it's their willingness to be patient in acquiring money.

[Senser81]

You completely missed my point. It wasn't about Derrick Rose going to play basketball it was about other kids from Simeon or the neighborhood looking at the two options. I can try to go be like Derrick and make $16 million/year or I can make $20k/year for 4 years with the hope that I can stick around the majors for a few more years I'll make a million.

Obviously Derrick is an elite talent, but I just can't comprehend how any black athlete even with "baseball" influences around them would chose baseball's financials versus football or basketball.

So other kids from Simeon are looking at the financials, and weighing the ROI? Its not something as simple as "Derrick Rose is making money (relative, nondescript term) playing basketball, so I'm going to play basketball". What if it was Kirby Puckett instead of Derrick Rose coming from Simeon, would those Simeon kids think "Yeah, Kirby Puckett is making millions playing baseball, but I can make $16M/year playing basketball and only $20k/year playing baseball."

You make it seem as if each kid from the projects has his own Charles Schwab advisor.

[FedEx227]

And you guys make it seem like it's that impossible for them to see the easier and quickest route to big paydays is football and basketball. Doesn't take a Financial Advisor to do that math.

[Senser81]

And you guys make it seem like it's that impossible for them to see the easier and quickest route to big paydays is football and basketball. Doesn't take a Financial Advisor to do that math.

Football is an easier and quicker route to big paydays than baseball? How?