Relationship Between Players’ Salary and Racial Discrimination in Major League Baseball

Sports in a society bring people together and help aid in people making friendships or gaining respect for each other. Baseball isn’t a traditional game that minorities play in and possibly one of the most well-known sports for segregation with the Negro League being formed for African Americans before they integrated. Whites were perceived as the better baseball players so African American and minority baseball players weren’t allowed to play with them (Jiobu, 1988). African American baseball players weren’t worse baseball players and actually had better stats and success in the Negro League. Some even believed they were worse players because they were told so by the white people who were seen as the smarter race even though the numbers said

Yankee Stadium was said to have profited hundreds of thousands of dollars a year just by renting out the stadium to the Negro Leagues. Shadow-Ball further illustrates the substantial differences in funding between the MLB, and the Negro Leagues. Because they Negro Leagues didn't have the money to buy supplies such as baseballs in some instances, they created Shadow-Ball. In this process, the "players would actually practice hitting the ball and catching a ball that wasn't actually there. In fact, they would go full practices without even having a ball, which further enhanced their discipline and focus." (Conrads, pg. 6) but in some instances, when they couldn't play in Major League ballparks, they were simply left to play on the dilapidated fields various areas - wherever they could find a field. Other than this, the players in the Negro Leagues did not make as much money as their counterparts who played in the MLB. For example, in Jackie Robinson's case, he "signed his contract with the Dodgers…for the Major League minimum salary: $5,000…for the year." (Rampersad, pg. 167) Furthermore, in general, "Negro leaguers made about a quarter of what their counterparts in the major leagues were making," but they kept their spirits alive, obliterated the negative energy, and kept playing the sport they loved…baseball. (Conrads, pg. 2)

Baseball has been known as America’s great sport since the 1920’s. Many people love to watch the games and create their own fantasy teams because they look up to the wide, diverse players on each team. Every team consists of males of different races and this helps bring culture into the great game. Having such a big diversity in one sport makes it easier for more people to enjoy because there is something in it for every person. However, baseball has not always been like this. From the very beginning of baseball, only white men were playing in the Major Leagues. African Americans were technically allowed to be on the team, but no one wanted them on the Major League teams. This was a time where African American’s were still treated badly and segregation was very big. People would not see an African American on a baseball team until the 1940’s. The first African American to play on a white team had to be the best at the game and needed the strength to withhold any feelings that would lead him to acting out because of the things the whites would do or say to him. This man happened to be the young, courageous Jackie Robinson. The hardships Jackie Robinson endured changed the game of baseball and still influences not just athletes, but people in every aspect of life.

Every year, it becomes more obvious that many sports in America have problems. For years, Hockey has been criticized for its excessive violence. The National Football League has also been scrutinized for this reason as well as the fact that many of the top players have constantly been in trouble with the law. Major League Baseball is no different. The situation with baseball is more complicated, and is not only ruining the game itself, but also drawing millions of fans away from the sport. The biggest problem is with the high salaries paid to athletes. These salaries are taking the competitiveness out of several sports, especially baseball, where there is no salary cap. Action must be taken

In 1947 Major League baseball was 98.3 percent white and 0.9 percent African American (Baseball Demographics). Professional baseball was certainly a “white man’s game” yet, there was Jackie Robinson, making his mark on the world in professional baseball. In 1981 these numbers peaked with 18.7 percent of African Americans playing baseball. Robinson had opened the door to many men of color and encouraged them to take a step in with him.

In 1960, Major league baseball was fully integrated. It was such to the point where the Negro league had become completely obsolete. Years after the integration, many different African-American payers, as well as former Negro league players had been elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Baseball is one of America's favorite pastimes. No longer segregated, Major League Baseball today is one of the most popular sports to exist. Blacks, whites, and people of all races play together, merely enjoying the sport that

The rise of Latino players is another factor that has hindered African Americans in the MLB. According the yearly research done by UCF, Richard Lapchick states that the league is composed of 28.5% Latinos and 8.3% African Americans as of Opening Day 2016. These numbers would’ve been the opposite 30 years ago, but since the late 1980s the numbers have switched. This can be attributed to the attempts of the MLB to extend their reach beyond the fifty states. Recently the league has begun to incorporate various parts of Latino culture, including the use of accents in players’ names on their jerseys as well as increasing their advertising in foreign countries. These changes implemented by the MLB are attempts to capture a fan base that has a deep

During the 1920’s and 1930’s, which was a time of discrimination and racial injustice for African-Americans, to whom Major League Baseball was exclusively off limits, was considered a “White Man’s Game.” Until 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, by suiting up for the Brooklyn Dodgers on Opening Day, April 15, 1947. All baseball fans know the story of Robinson and the integration of baseball, but, the more important stories come from his predecessors, who worked hard to make Jackie’s feat possible, and to those who would come after themselves. We all know the names Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, and Ray Dandridge, but we don’t all know the extensive struggles they faced in order to help African-Americans

Baseball is an immensely popular American game, known as the "national pastime," played between two teams of nine players each. The basic implements used in the game are a leather-covered ball, wooden bats for hitting the ball, and gloves for catching it. Baseball is played on a large scale in Latin America, Japan, and other places besides the United States, but it is in the United States that it thrives both as a participant's and spectator's sport. It is played at its highest level in the United States and two Canadian cities, where 26 teams make up the American and National Leagues (each with two divisions, East and West). Combined, these leagues are called major-league (professional) baseball.

Any sports one looks at can be classified as a money-making pit. Scouts looking at young talent ready to sign them for a quick buck and then once they stop producing, move on to the next potential talent. Baseball is the sport that is an industry dominated by trying to gain a profit from a region’s juvenile talent (Ruck). Since 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, there has been an increase in Latin American countries represented in MLB. More than a quarter of major league players are from Latin American, with about half of the minor league players being Latino (Ruck). On the opening day of the 2011 season, eighty-six players represented the Dominican Republic alone. That is more than a tenth of major leaguers (Ruck). One would

For baseball, Negro League baseball was a US$2 million business in the 1940s. Many White teams and managers smelled the money and thought that Black players could help them win games and bring in more fans. An early example of this integration was Branch Rickey signing Jackie Robinson to play for MLB. After that, MLB started to grab talented Black players from the Negro Leagues, and, as a result, Negro Leagues disappeared. White managers and MLB benefited financially from the integration, but Black teams and managers lost their fans and jobs. Although Black athletes gained access to compete in professional sports, they were still discriminated by the management and “were frequently subjected to the racial insults of fans.” (Davis, 19) In terms of the education system, Brown v. Board of Education declared segregation unconstitutional, but desegregation was not comfortable for many Black people either. “With the integration of schools, Black schools were dismantled, and the biggest casualties were Black teachers and administrators.” (Smith, Harrison Jr., and Brown, 16) This one-way integration of Black students going into “White” schools also gave the Whites controls to fire Black teachers and principals. “Black adults lost jobs and White teachers gained access to an entire segment of Black students that provided jobs.” (Smith, Harrison Jr., and Brown, 16) For White students, they still got their “private” education resources as they moved to suburban schools or private schools. Thus, the reintegration of the education system benefitted White adults financially and put many Black people out of work while keeping the White students pretty much

In the pre-dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, the 1940s were rife with racial tension. Nearly all public institutions were segregated. Libraries, schools, transportation, the armed forces. Sports teams were just as rigorously divided into two sects--the Negro leagues and the major leagues. There was no question about which division a black man would play for. Nobody dared cross the rift between whites and blacks; they were too afraid. Eventually, however, all it took was one man to begin breaking down the barrier. Jackie Robinson’s time in baseball’s major leagues broke color lines and brought about significant social changes both on and off the field.

Baseball is worldwide known as one of the most famous and passionate sport, this game has a huge reception among the fanatics from some regions, such as USA, Asia, and Latin America. The most important league in the world is the Major League Baseball of the US, and there are more leagues all over the world that played during an entire year; for example, the Nippon Professional League, the Winter Leagues in the Caribbean, and the Italian Baseball League. Among those league, the Winter League is the only one that can compete against the Major League Baseball.

The purpose of this study is to find out why the percentage of African-Americans playing in the MLB has been on a steady decline the past few decades. This percentage is dropping every year and there does not seem to be much of a change in the future. While the numbers of African-American professionals are much higher in football and basketball and not at risk of dropping soon, what is it that is making baseballs number slowly diminish.

For prospects that are forced into the minor leagues for development, the road to the majors has proven a grueling process and the majority of players never make it to the major leagues. Extremely low salaries and bonuses in the minor leagues has become an ongoing, controversial topic between MLB commissioner Bud Selig and minor league players 17. A fast food worker makes between $15,000 and $18,000 a year, which is two or three times as large as minor league players’ average salary, so minor league players are forced to have multiple jobs throughout the year 18. The majority of minor league players lie below the federal poverty level and while MLB salaries are rapidly increasing, minor leagues salaries remain constant. The MLB receives exemptions