Bob Frantz, The Examiner
2007-04-09 10:00:00.0
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SAN FRANCISCO -

It’s a conspiracy, right? As we approach the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s historic shattering of baseball’s indefensible color barrier, a new conspiracy is underway to purge MLB rosters of black players, right? Has to be. Otherwise, what could possibly motivate guys such as Cleveland pitcher C.C. Sabathia to proclaim, “There aren’t very many African-American players. It’s not just a problem — it’s a crisis.”

A crisis? Is he kidding?

Sure, black players comprised only 8.5 percent of major-league rosters in 2006. And yes, that figure is roughly 11 percent lower than it was in 1995. But how exactly does that constitute a crisis?

Is baseball losing money? No. Revenues are up virtually across the board.

Is attendance falling off? No. A record 75 million fans saw games in major-league parks just two years ago.

Television ratings down? Nope. The TV contracts are rock-solid and remain huge sources of revenue.

So where’s the “crisis”? How is baseball suffering from this recent lack of black interest in the sport?

ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” devoted an entire show to the issue of blacks in baseball this weekend, featuring Sabathia and Florida pitcher Dontrelle Willis. The two are the only prominent black starting pitchers in the game, a fact Sabathia described in an interview as “Amazing. Unbelievable. I don’t think people understand that there is a problem.”

You’re right, C.C. We don’t understand. What’s the problem?

“They see players such as Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado and just assume that they’re black.”

We do?

Funny, because I can honestly swear that I’ve never, not even once, looked at Jose Reyes or Carlos Delgado and assumed anything! Why? Because it doesn’t matter!

What does matter to me is whether a Delgado pops up or goes yard to help my team win or lose a game. And I don’t care whether the guy has ancestry in Africa, Venezuela, or Sheboygan. So why do you?

But you don’t understand, they said on OTL, “People see the dark skin of David Ortiz and he looks just like Jimmy Rollins, so no one sees the problem.”

“Very close to the same,” prodded ESPN’s Tim Keown.

“But culturally,” Willis interrupted, “a whole different world.”

Again I ask: So freaking what?!? Are these guys wearing “culture” on the front of their uniforms, or team names? Are any of these “cultures” being excluded from playing the game? Then why should anyone give a rat’s derriere who’s playing and who’s not?

White players still make up only a fraction of the rosters in the NBA, and no one’s screaming “crisis” are they? That’s because it doesn’t matter! If guys are good enough, they’ll make it to the league, and everyone knows it. So what’s the problem in baseball?

Jackie Robinson would be slapping these guys for complaining in an age when every young boy of every race, nationality and creed from around the world has a chance to play baseball. The terrible racism that black ballplayers endured before Jackie broke the door down — that was a crisis. But in 2007, when baseball is scouring the globe for talent and bringing in Latinos, Asians, Europeans — anyone who can run, throw, or hit — we’re supposed to be worried because black Americans are suddenly more interested in basketball and football?

“I think Major League Baseball should do something about it,” Sabathia said.

Like what? Have young black kids who head for the asphalt instead of the sandlot arrested?

“Put more money in the inner city,” he suggested. “Bats, balls, and gloves cost money ... it’s expensive.”

Yeah, because those young stars from dirt poor homes in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Panama and Columbia have so much money for baseball equipment.

Look, if kids want to play, they’ll play. And if they have talent, they’ll keep playing. But when kids choose not to play, it’s not a crisis, C.C. It’s freedom.

And by the way, about your teammate, Grady Sizemore, help me out: He’s got a white mother and a black father. Is he part of the solution, or part of the crisis?

I just want to know which part of his culture I should be rooting for his next time up.

Sports personality Bob Frantz is a regular contributor to The Examiner. E-mail him at bfrantz@examiner.com.