Dee Gordon has an idea about how to get more Black kids into baseball

Dee Gordon has an idea to get more Black kids interested in baseball.

Seattle Mariners infielder Dee Gordon wants to see more Black kids playing baseball.

Over the weekend, the MLB celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Negro Leagues. Prior to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier on April 15, 1947, this was the preeminent league in America for Black baseball players. Baseball has been fully integrated for generations now, but Gordon wishes more Black kids in America were interested in the sport.

Gordon offered an interesting thought over the weekend. He suggested that for the upcoming 2021 World Baseball Classic there should be an entirely Black team. Gordon believes seeing an entire team comprised of the sport’s best Black players could be a catalyst to get more young kids interested in playing and following the sport, especially in urban areas of the United States.

https://twitter.com/Mariners/status/1295042889643446275

Would an all-Black World Baseball Classic team resonate on a big stage?

Gordon is a two-time MLB All-Star in his own right. He won a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger and a batting title back in 2015. Gordon has led the majors in stolen bases on three occasions. Though he does have a big-league father in former All-Star relief pitcher Tom Gordon, he didn’t start playing baseball regularly until he was in high school, as basketball was his first love.

Gordon could have kept playing basketball, as he was on his path towards being a big-time college recruit. However, he seems to have made the right choice professionally, as he has a .286 career batting average over a 10-year big league career with three different franchises. While having a former big league father might have pushed him in this direction, most people don’t have one.

While the idea of having an all-Black World Baseball Classic team is incredibly interesting, we have to wonder the practicality of pulling this off. In the four previous World Baseball Classics, every team has played under a country’s flag. Whether it’s the United States, Mexico, Canada, Japan or the Dominican Republic or the Netherlands, that’s usually the way it goes.

But since the World Baseball Classic is still in its infancy, why not have an all-Black team to really spark some interest all around? There is one huge issue with this though, but it can be sorted out: What nationalities will these Black players be drawn from? Will this team be strictly made-up of Americans or would it include players from Curacao, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, etc.?

Some countries may not want their star players going to the theoretical all-Black team. Then again, more players may be able to play in the World Baseball Classic simply by adding an all-Black team into the mix. It’s all about competition anyway. At this juncture, the World Baseball Classic isn’t the Summer Olympic Games or the World Cup. We should at least consider Gordon’s idea.

Having an all-Black World Baseball Classic team could create a generation of younger Black fans.