Best Baseball Player Matt Kemp MLB Deserve Black Support

Going back to the periods of Jack Johnson, Joe Louis and Jackie Robinson, through Jim Brown, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, the African American community has a history of enthusiastically supporting any sport when we've had the best player.



Discounting the steroid-tainted and disagreeable Barry Bonds, for the first time in at least a generation the consensus best baseball player, Los Angeles Dodgers centerfielder Matt Kemp, is Black. Kemp was flirting having a .400 batting average 30 games into the season, and remains among major league leaders in homeruns and RBIs. He plays a Gold Glove level centerfield, delivers inside clutch, and finds as personable and hardworking.



What does that mean to the community? Should Blacks provide Major League Baseball greater support with one of our very own looking like the game's standard bearer for the following several years? Should MLB get in touch with the Black community with greater interest?or is MLB already conducting a lot and possibly its efforts deserve a greater portion of our attention?



Today, Major League Baseball has the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program (RBI), a yearly, industry wide celebration honoring Jackie Robinson's first big league game every April 15, a regular-season Civil Rights Game annually, plus an Urban Youth Academy (UYA) program with facilities in Compton (Los Angeles County), Houston, Puerto Rico, along with a facility under construction in New Orleans.



The RBI program is basically youth baseball in areas which might be underserved by Little League. There are 200 RBI programs worldwide serving nearly 25 % million players from ages 5-18. There is also an educational component that promotes school attendance and success. RBI alumni include former National League MVP Jimmy Rollins and ace pitcher C.C. Sabathia. The next best baseball player may be an RBI alum.



The Jackie Robinson Day festivities include every player in most game donning Robinson's retired number 42 and pregame observances in select parks. The Dodgers, the franchise in which Robinson played, usually does something bigger just as the Mets since Robinson's big league debut was in Brooklyn and Citi Field in Queens is the closest big league stadium to capoeira where Ebbets Field once stood.



The Civil Rights game began in 2007. Two major league teams square off in a regular season game with pregame ceremonies built to celebrate the Civil Rights Movement. Some years have featured special uniforms for that teams involved, and prominent African Americans coming from all walks of life attend and so are celebrated. This year's game is going to take place on Aug. 19 once the Atlanta Braves will host Kemp and the Dodgers teammates. The last three Civil Rights Games have out of stock.



The Urban Youth Academy program is really a series of facilities near locations that feature full sized diamonds plus fields for t-ball and softball. The New Orleans facility may be the first to experience a full-service stadium. A facility in Philadelphia is planned while South Florida and the San Francisco Bay Area are candidates for future sites. Mentorship programs may also be in place for secondary school and beyond students.



It entirely possible that MLB is setting up a good faith effort for connecting with our community. Amateur baseball is pricey for families with $200+ bats, $100+ gloves and $50+ shoes. There may also be density issues in towns that sports like basketball don't face. Still, baseball's heritage inside the African American experience runs deep. All of us can remember older members of the family taking us to determine or telling us stories about Willie Mays, Hank Aaron or Ernie Banks whenever they were the most effective baseball player. Perhaps it's time to welcome baseball back as part of our culture, support youth leagues and attend professional games.



Players like Kemp, Rollins and Sabathia deserve our attention.



Paul Hirsch is a writer for Regal Magazine ; a Black Mens Magazine The magazine incorporates a ; Local Online Classifieds & Job Classified Black Business DirectoryVisit you just read about ; best baseball player



Paul Hirsch is really a writer for an online magazine focused on issues affecting African American men. Visit to view Local Online Classifieds & Job Classified Black Business Directory. To read more about the very best baseball player visit Article Source: Hirsch is a writer for Regal Magazine  ; a Black Mens Magazine


The magazine incorporates a  ; Local Online Classifieds & Job Classified Black Business Directory

Visit to read about  ; best baseball player