There will be no Black baseball players on either team when the Houston Astros face the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.
It will be the first time there are no Black players in the World Series since Jackie Robinson broke the Major League Baseball color barrier in 1950.
Philadelphia Phillies star Gary Matthews recalls looking around Memorial Stadium before Game 1 of the 1983 World Series and seeing Joe Morgan. Eddie Murray. Garry Maddox. Ken Singleton. Al Bumbry. Disco Dan Ford.
“There were quite a few of us,” Matthews said, according to the Associated Press.
“That is eye opening,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. “It is somewhat startling that two cities that have high African American populations, there’s not a single Black player.”
“It lets us know there’s obviously a lot of work to be done to create opportunities for Black kids to pursue their dream at the highest level,” he said.
Dusty Baker Jr., a Black outfielder for the 1981 champion Los Angeles Dodgers, manages the Astros.
Outfielder Michael Brantley, who is Black, is out for the season with a shoulder injury. And relief pitcher Josh James had arm surgery in early October.
The Phillies released Black outfielder Roman Quinn last year. Darick Hall, who is also biracial, isn’t on the active roster.
