The struggles of being a black baseball fan

I've been a baseball fan all my life. But MLB's embarrassing diversity problem might change that.

Baseball players.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Scott Taetsch/Getty Images, Dylan Buell/Getty Images, Todd Kirkland/Getty Images, jessicahyde/iStock)

I used to play pick-up baseball in a schoolyard in the Bronx every summer. The field was concrete, the bases were drawn in chalk, and the weather was punishingly humid. I usually played shortstop, but when it came time to step to the plate, I modeled my switch-hitting batting stance after slugging outfielders: Juan Gonzalez from the right and Barry Bonds from the left. After playing, I'd walk to my grandmother's house across the street for a snack and turn to a game on television.

Back then, I lived and breathed baseball. I still do. But it's rare these days for black boys and girls to say the same — and I can't say I blame them. The truth is, Major League Baseball hasn't made itself welcoming to many people lately.

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Stephon Johnson

Stephon Johnson is a staff writer for the New York Amsterdam News and a contributing writer for The Sports Fan Journal. He's also written for The Athletic, The Hardball Times, Polygon, The Classical, and The Cauldron at Sports Illustrated.