28 February 2006
Baseball and Race
¶ 12:01 PM 
A suprisingly well-written article that focuses on two African-American Mets and how they view race and baseball:
"A lot of good athletes don't make it in football and basketball, but maybe they could make it in baseball if they played it," says Floyd. "I know a lot of my boys back home had more talent than me in baseball when we were young, but they didn't stay with it. "I want to do something to make kids realize baseball is fun, and it's out there for them. Sometimes kids just need to be put in the right environment."
That's Cliff Floyd, the veteran left fielder. The article also focuses on Lastings Milledge, the AA prospect from Florida who was the only black kid on his high school baseball team, and now is on the fast-track to Shea (by 07, they say).
With Omar Minaya, the Mets Domican GM, there has been plenty of talk about the Mets reflecting New York in their diverse clubhouse - players from the DR, Puerto Rico, Japan, Korea, Venezuela, not to mention a few small-town farm boy 'mericans. Seldom is the lack of African-American players discussed. A lot of what the article says, about baseball not being an attractive sport for inner-city youth, applies to soccer as well. Will soon-to-be stars like Milledge in baseball and Eddie Johnson in soccer change that?
