Rapids

Why so few black kids in 2007 Little League World Series?

Inspired and a little bored, I did some research. And by do research. Here’s what I found out about the various regional teams in this year's series: US Great Lakes: Hamilton, OH: All white US Southwest: Lubbock, TX: All white US Mid-Atlantic: Salisbury, MD: All white US Midwest: Coon Rapids, MN: All white. Maybe. US New England: Walpole, MA: All white. US Northwest: Lake Oswego, OR: All white. US Southwest: Warner Robins, GA: All white. US West: Chandler, AZ: One Edgar Galiz! Now, I'm not saying that there’s some sinister plot behind the paucity of non-white kids or anything; to be sure, the dearth could be total coincidence. There are dozens of possibilities that could chalk it up to something innocuous, like the precipitous fall of baseball from pop culture. But, out of eight teams and almost 100 kids, there’s one (maybe 1.5) non-white kid? What your theories?

Public Comments

1. Only Mexicans and Cubans (Hispanics) play Baseball. Football and Basketball are Black Sports.
2. Yeah, well, welcome to this sick country called America. Everything here is going backwards in terms of racism. I just wish I knew where to move because I hate it here and I do hate that group that permiates racism daily; the ones that caused it at the inception of this country---land of the free? All men are created equal? Blah
3. I think that in general, baseball is losing (has lost) its popularity with African American kids. The majority of the players (especially in the major leagues) are now Afro-Latinos (Dominican, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, etc..) It seems as though African American kids are more interested in faster paced games, such as basketball, football, etc...
4. They're just aren't many talented non white kids in baseball? Who really cares, it's not the end of the world for you, is it?
5. Well, I like baseball, but I don't like playing for competition. It sucks when you have stakes on it. Plus, baseball doesn't come with a lot of opportunities. Scouts come out to football and basketball 10X more than they do for baseball.
6. Who in the hell cares.
7. well because baseball is considered by many african american children as a white sport. Also becuase many Africa Americans are not wealthy so basketball is easier to play everyday. You just grab a ball and go shoot. ANother reason is the fact that alot of the kids that reach that level have been specially coached their whole lives which costs a lot of money.
8. Well, you have to consider the demographics of these towns: Walpole, MA: 95% white Coon Rapids, MN: 92% white Lake Oswego, OR: 90% white Hamilton, OH: 88% white Chandler, AZ: 69% white Lubbock, TX: 61% white Warner Robins, GA: 61% white Salisbury, MD: 59% white