BLACK PR WIRE/FAMU-TALLAHASSEE) – With the World Series in full swing, it’s hard not to notice the limited amount of African American players in the baseball arena. While the percentage of black players has risen from 8.2 percent in 2007 to 10.2 percent last year, blacks are still underrepresented in the sport as compared to other major sports.

Between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies, there are only five African American players between the two World Series rosters. The underrepresentation of African Americans in baseball can be attributed to the expense of the sport beginning in the youth realm. Basketball and football have a minute overall expense in comparison to baseball, not to mention baseball fields are not easily accessible in inner cities.

Strides are being made to expose African American youth to the sport, such as Major League Baseball’s RBI, which is designed to provide a platform for inner city youth and African American children to play baseball at a competitive level all over the country. Overall, while basketball and football thrive as the go-to sports for black youth, it is important that our youth are exposed to a variety of athletic and cultural avenues, in an effort to diversify the world around us.

Baseball is an American sport, so why not embrace it? While the percentage of African Americans in the sport remains dismal, there are always hopes that the percentage will one day increase.