Marlon Byrd has had Enough with the Negativity in Jackie Robinson Day Stories | Big League Stew

(AP)In addition to everyone donning the No. 42, it's
become somewhat of a Jackie Robinson Day tradition
to note the declining number of African-Americans in
the major leagues. USA Today took care of that on
Sunday by reporting that the percentage of black major leaguers on opening day rosters — 8.05
percent — was the lowest in over 60 years. The Chicago Sun-Times, meanwhile, identified Cubs
outfielder Marlon Byrd as the lone African-American
ballplayer on the roster of either Chicago baseball
team with a nonsensical "Black Hole" headline. It was a note that Byrd didn't appreciate and he used
his platform on Sunday to say that enough was
enough and that Jackie Robinson Day should be a day
for accentuating the positives and not the negative. From the Chicago Tribune : "If you want to take polls, then take polls asking how
many black lawyers do we have now, or how many
black judges or black doctors there are now," Byrd
said. "Just because we're black doesn't mean we
have to play sports. You can go through other
avenues. If the decrease (in baseball) is because they're going into academic fields, so be it. More
power to them." I'm actually really glad that Byrd spoke up because
I've felt the same way every time I see those
numbers rolled out each April. Could baseball stand to
get more African-American youth interested in the
game? Sure. But the game really needs to work
toward added interest from children ofanycolor in a culture that has been holding its NFL and NBA heroes
a little higher than those from Major League Baseball. (Also, as Byrd kind of gets at, there are plenty who
believe the unrealistic goal of becoming a
professional athlete bears too much weight in some
African-American communities. Shouldn't we be
worried about representation in careers that are
much more attainable? (Also, if 12 percent of the U.S. population is African- American, does it really qualify as an emergency if
they're represented in baseball at a number just a
few ticks lower?) That's not to say that the number of African-
Americans dropping from its apex of 27 percent in
1975 to today's numbers isn't worthy of further study
or finding a solution to bolster participation at all
levels. But it's also something that's worthy of more
than just an annual and opportunistic mention on the anniversary of baseball's most important date. So let's keep April 15 as a day not to single Byrd out,
but to remember that Jackie Robinson paved the way
for African-Americans like Ernie Banks and Frank
Thomas to become the faces of both Chicago
franchises after posting Hall of Fame careers. Let's celebrate the opportunity he gave to Matt Kemp
and Prince Fielder — two MVP candidates who signed
two of the offseason's biggest contracts — and that
the best pitcher in New York and one of the new
owners in Los Angeles are African-American. Let's note that guys like Curtis Granderson and Justin
Upton and Adam Jones have become not only great
players, but great role models for children from all
walks of life because Jackie had the courage to cross
the color barrier. Let's also remember Jackie Robinson the rest of the
year when we're trying to figure the rest of it out.