Ken Griffey Jr.’s first Swingman Classic shines spotlight on HBCU players: ‘These kids can play’
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Posted By: S. Moore on July 11, 2023 Representation among Black ballplayers in Major League Baseball has hit a historic low, and Ken Griffey Jr. did not need a reminder of just how far the numbers have dwindled. “You’re talking about 6.2%,” the Mariners icon said in an interview this week, cutting short a question to quote the exact ratio of Black players represented on MLB rosters this year. Griffey is trying to help change that. Back in Seattle for MLB All-Star festivities, the Hall of Fame center fielder held court outside the home dugout at T-Mobile Park on Friday evening, greeting old friends and watching batting practice before the first HBCU Swingman Classic, a showcase event featuring players from 17 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The idea for the event came from Griffey, who said inspiration struck him in the middle of the night. He made a few phone calls, sent a couple emails, and soon the concept took root, with the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation working with him on logistics to make the event come to life. “I just threw out a very big idea … but it was one of those things that needed to be done,” Griffey said. The 2022 World Series was the first one since 1950 that didn’t include a U.S.-born Black player, according to a study by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida. Participation among Black players dipped to 7.2% in 2022 and dropped to a new low (6.2%) this year. “Everybody knows the numbers,” Griffey said, noting there are no players from an HBCU on a current MLB roster. “Everybody sees it. Just the opportunity for these decision-makers to come down and watch these kids — that means something. These kids can play.” Ken Griffey Sr., 73, is back in Seattle this weekend too, serving as one of the coaches for the HBCU Swingman Classic, along with a dozen other former major leaguers. Griffey’s youngest son, Tevin, plays football at an HBCU (Florida A&M). Before the game Friday night, Griffey walked out to the mound to deliver a baseball to Hall of Famer Andre Dawson, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Vince Coleman, a former Mariner. MLB’s demographic rates were not formally recorded when Griffey Sr. began his career in 1973, but the number of Black players then was believed to be around 30%. By the time Junior and Senior played together with the Mariners in 1990 and ’91, those figures had fallen to 18%. The rising costs of elite-level youth baseball is one reason many cite for the dwindling participation among Black ballplayers. Similarly, Griffey noted the NCAA scholarship limits in baseball (11.7 per school) makes the sport unaffordable for many families hoping to send their son to a major-college program. “I would love to see the numbers to where my dad’s was when he played, but that’s so far from now,” Griffey said. “I just want for these kids to have an opportunity to believe in themselves and go out and play.” The Griffeys have, for the past several years, served as coaches and mentors at the Hank Aaron Invitational, an MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation event for players ages 13-18 held at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Fla. “The last four or five years has been really rewarding for me, because I had never seen anything like it in my life,” Griffey Sr. said. “We’ve had some pretty talented kids coming through here. You watch them play and they play hard. … They want to show people what they got and how they handle themselves out on the field.” Junior’s initial idea for the HBCU Swingman Classic was to pair it with the youth event at the Hank Aaron Invitational. But then he thought it could have even greater potential in Seattle, and he’s now hoping to make it an annual event during the MLB All-Star Week. “It’s all about trying to get seen. I mean, if I can give an opportunity for a kid, one kid, two kids, three kids to be seen, how many kids can that be over the next five, 10, 15 years?” Griffey said. “How many lives will that one person change? That’s all we’re trying to do.” Harold Reynolds, one of Junior’s closest friends, is one of many former Mariners in town this weekend to support Griffey and promote the event. Having Griffey’s name attached to the cause, Reynolds said, gives it the gravitas it needs. “I have known him since he was 17,” Reynolds said. “I’ve watched him grow into the man he is. He’s always understood his mantle and where he was at, and I think now with the passing of Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson and other men who have passed on — they were great ambassadors for the game — he understands his place and he’s using that platform to reach out.” Notes
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