Mookie Betts gets real about MLB's declining Black American representation

LA Dodgers star Mookie Betts was concerned after learning about a stat that showed declining Black American representation in MLB. After Jackie Robinson broke the barriers by becoming the first Black American to play in the MLB in April 1947, the league has seen several Black stars thriving and continues doing so to this date, led by current modern stars which, include Betts, Marcus Semien, Tim Anderson and several others.

On Thursday's "All the Smoke" podcast, NBA star Matt Barnes shared a revealing stat regarding Black American representation in MLB. He said during the 90s it was around 20% representation, which has now declined to around 10%.

Betts pointed to the high cost of entry into baseball as one of the main barriers.

"Yeah, I think it's mostly the expense thing," Betts said.

The financial burden of participating in baseball—equipment, travel teams, and coaching—creates hurdles for many Black families. Betts further added that the MLB needs more dominant Black stars for the young generation to look up to.

"Like, there are a lot of guys that play and are around the league, but there aren’t a lot of really good, dominant Black players in baseball, especially," Betts added (27:20 onwards). "And so, I mean, the culture and everything is so different in baseball. You have to grow up in it and stay in it because once you kind of step away from it, even just for a little bit, a lot of people start playing baseball but then transition to other sports.

"They get around their friends who play other sports and do other things, and they just kind of fall away from baseball because it's not as fun or appealing. It's really hard, man, but it's going to take having more dominant Black players first. We have to be an example. Kids need to look at the TV and say they want to be like us."

Mookie Betts answers if he faced racism during his time with Boston Red Sox

Los Angeles Dodgers v Boston Red Sox - Source: Getty

Before signing with the LA Dodgers, Mookie Betts played six seasons with the Boston Red Sox, where he was a four-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glover.

Matt Barnes asked Betts if he faced racism during his time there.

"No, I haven’t faced racism personally," Betts said (28:50 onwards). "But I came up in Boston, and I’ve heard so many stories about being in Boston. I had a great experience, and I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I played well in Boston. I think if you don’t play well there, maybe the experience is different—I don’t know. But I thoroughly loved my experience in Boston. It was great."

Betts acknowledged that MLB is making efforts to address the declining Black American representation but insisted that the ultimate responsibility lies with the players.