May 03
by Jeff Fannell in Baseball, MLB, Sports Issues, What's Up With That? 0 comments tags: Adam Jones, Boston Fans, Boston Redsox, Jackie Robinson, Race

Standing with Adam Jones

On April 27, 2017, I had the privilege of attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the Jackie Robinson Museum in lower Manhattan.  The museum, which will open in 2019, has been in the works for decades.  In addition to housing baseball memorabilia, the museum will focus on Jackie’s life on and off the field, including his contributions to the civil rights movement. Among my personal highlights at the groundbreaking ceremony was the opportunity to meet Jackie’s widow, Rachel Robinson, who is known to some as the First Lady of Baseball.  In addition, I had the opportunity to chat with noted civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, who shared how the Dodgers moving out of Brooklyn played a role in stoking his passion for justice and equality.  According to Siegel, the Dodgers helped forged friendships between blacks and whites who shared a common interest in cheering their team on.  When the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, many of those bonds were broken, which ultimately led Siegel on a life-long crusade against any barriers that would tend to create racial divides. Thoughts of Jackie, Rachel and Norman returned to the fore as baseball ushered in its second month of the season with the story […]
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Apr 15
by Jeff Fannell in Baseball, MLB, People 0 comments tags: African Americans, Baseball, Diversity, Hispanic, Jackie Robinson, Minorities, MLB

Stepping up to the plate on Diversity

April 15 is officially Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball. A day in which the game honors the man who broke baseball’s color line in 1947. A day in which every player, manager, coach and umpire wearing a uniform, dons Jackie’s number 42 in celebration and remembrance of the tremendous contributions Jackie made to the game of baseball and to American society. It is also a time when many will reflect on the lack of African-Americans playing the game at various levels. You have probably read the statistics: roughly 20 percent of Major Leaguers in 1981 were African-American; as of last year, there were fewer than 8 percent. The reasons for the decline have been discussed and analyzed from various angles. Whether it’s the lack of full scholarships to play at the college level, the relatively high financial cost it takes to play the game, or the fact that many minority youngsters view the game as boring (especially compared to basketball and football), we’ve been there, done that. Now what? Well, the good news is there are fresh faces in baseball’s leadership ranks – MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, and MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark both recently ascended to their […]
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