As the World Series approaches, baseball still struggles with racial bias

Nearly 80 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, analysis shows Black and Latino players still face obstacles as they attempt to make the majors

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947 to usher in a historic moment for civil rights, yet Black representation in Major League Baseball stands at the lowest level since the 1950s. MLB initiatives have increased the number of Black players taken with top draft picks since 2010 – but those draftees haven’t made their way up from the minors often enough to stop the decline in the number of Black players in the majors.

An exclusive new analysis of the minor leagues shows one factor stopping Black players from making the majors: there has been persistent bias against Black and Latino players since 1950, preventing them from playing at certain positions and rising through the ranks of the minors. Players of color with darker skin often moved to the outfield and suffered the most bias. Conversations with former players, scouts, front office analysts, and baseball historians confirm those findings, with some recalling instances of overt bias even within the last 20 years.

As the World Series approaches, baseball still struggles with racial bias

Topics

Related

World Series 2024: Giancarlo Stanton, playing in his first Fall Classic with the Yankees, can still impact the baseball with more force than anyone else

The Perks of Being Baseball’s Wallflower on the Final Out of a World Series Win

Yankees' Aaron Judge attributes World Series struggles to lack of plate discipline

Shohei Ohtani has arrived to baseball's biggest stage. Can he handle it?

Yankees-Dodgers 2024 World Series Preview: Judge vs. Ohtani, winner predictions | Baseball Bar-B-Cast

Why this Yankees vs. Dodgers World Series is great for baseball as polarizing powerhouses square off

2024 World Series media day takeaways & Yankees vs. Dodgers Game 1 predictions | Baseball Bar-B-Cast

Juan Soto opens the World Series on his 26th birthday with baseball abuzz about his future

More from The Guardian

ICC issues arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged Gaza war crimes

Ukraine claims Russia fired intercontinental ballistic missile at Dnipro

Police report details sexual assault allegations against Pete Hegseth

First close-up image of a star outside Milky Way shows supergiant in ‘cocoon’

Cop29 live: Saudi Arabia opposition to targeting of fossil fuels breaks into the open