This is a good start. Baseball simply cannot keep pointing to the example of Jackie Robinson as an example that the sport is color blind and ignore the situation as it stands. There needs to be more participation on the field, in the dugout and in the GM and owners boxes.
On the gender side, I have been saying for years, MLB should find a way to partner with and fund the women's professional softball league so that they are not beholden to the I.O.C. for their survival.
The marketing and promotional synergies that would be presented would be unbelievable.
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FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS:
NEW YORK -- The percentage of black players in the major leagues increased to 10.2 percent last year, the first rise since the 1995 season.
The sport had reached an all-time low of 8.2 percent in 2007, according to Richard Lapchick, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports.
Baseball received an A for race hiring for the first time in his annual report, which was released Wednesday, up from an A- last year. He cited 10 "managers of color" at the start of this season, matching the previous high in 2002.
The sport got a B for gender hiring, up from a C+.
FULL REPORT AVAILABLE HERE:
http://web.bus.ucf.edu/documents/sport/2009_mlb_rgrc.pdf
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