NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball has created a task force that will study how to increase diversity in the game, especially among black players.
Commissioner Bud Selig announced the committee Wednesday.
In less than a week, baseball will celebrate the 66th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier. A new movie titled “42” focuses on the Hall of Famer.
The 18-member committee includes representatives from club ownership, the players’ union, minor league and college baseball, the MLB scouting bureau and other areas. Hall of Famer Frank Robinson and former major league manager Jerry Manuel are among the members.
MLB says about 8.5 percent of players on this year’s opening day rosters identified themselves as African-American or black. That’s around half the number from the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s.
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