Dusty Baker of the Astros believes that baseball will suffer if no American-born Black players are in the 2022 World Series.

 

This year, the World Series between the Astros and Phillies will likely be the first without a Black player born in the United States since 1950.

 

For the first time since 1950, the World Series between the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies is set to include no players of African descent who were born in the United States. Dusty Baker, the Astros manager, offered his opinion on what it means for baseball during a Thursday media availability.

 

Although it’s not good luck for the game, Baker told reporters that he is still optimistic about its future.

 

Baker, who played 19 MLB seasons, said: “I don’t think that’s anything that baseball can be proud of.” Assistance is on the way, as evidenced by the many African Americans selected as No. 1 overall in the draft. “It looks horrible. It demonstrates to the public that getting to this point didn’t require a year or even a decade.”

 

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in the league. He and the Brooklyn Dodgers later participated in that year’s World Series. Since then, only the 1950 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees hasn’t had a player of African American descent.

 

There are other players of color on the rosters of the Astros and Phillies. Jose Altuve, a Venezuelan player, plays for Houston, while Jean Segura, a Dominican, plays for Philadelphia. On the other hand, Bob Kendrick, director of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, told the Associated Press that the absence of a Black player born in the United States in the World Series is “startling.”

 

Kendrick added that there isn’t a single Black player in two places with significant African American populations, which is eye-opening. It serves as a reminder that much work has to be done to provide Black children with the best possible opportunities to pursue their dreams.

 

At Minute Maid Park, the Astros will host the first two games of the Fall Classic on Friday and Saturday.