Number Of Black Players In Major League Baseball Is Not Declining

Yesterday was Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball, the 66th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier. And in conjunction with the celebration, Bud Selig recently announced that Major League Baseball is going to form a task force to examine how to increase diversity in the sport.

But while many have concerns over the small percentage of African-Americans playing baseball, data shows that the percentage has held steady over the last decade.

According to Major League Baseball, 8.5% of the players on opening day rosters were black. That is up from 8.1% last year. And over the last ten years, that number has fluctuated very little, ranging from 8.1% (61 players) last year to 10.2% in 2008 (77 players).

Certainly Major League Baseball would like to appeal to more black athletes. But while the percentage of African-Americans is down from 19% in 1995, the number has held steady in recent years. And the diversity in the sport may actually be higher as the number of Hispanics has risen from 13% in 1990 to 28% in 2012...