During the 2020 season, Major League Baseball began recognizing Juneteenth, which is celebrated on June 19 every year to commemorate the day slavery officially ended in the United States in 1865.
On June 20, the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants will play the first MLB regular season game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., as a salute to the Negro Leagues and in observance of Juneteenth.
“I played there in 1996 or 97,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Obviously, that’s a long time ago, but I do think that it’s great for the game, and I hope it’s a good turnout. I really do.”
Roberts added: “At that point in time, I knew about the Black Barons, but I didn’t know. I didn’t appreciate it. I was young and dumb.”
Now, MLB has been trying to increase its diversity and inclusion efforts in recent years, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
Roberts is one of only two Black managers in the league, along with the Los Angeles Angels’ Ron Washington, but he has seen improvements. “Well, diversity, one question. I think that we’ve gotten a lot better,” Roberts said.
“You see Latin American managers, I think that’s great. As far as Black managers, myself and Wash, I just think that it’s the executive side, just speaking candidly.
“The world hires people that look like them, and so I think that’s the challenge, and something I think that we’re trying to address like in our game itself.”
When asked what proactive measures could be taken to help increase the number of Black executives, Roberts deferred to MLB team owners and front offices.
“You know, I’m going to stand down. I gave my thoughts, and then after that, I’ll kind of let the powers that be decide on that one,” Roberts said.
MLB still has work to do, but they are making efforts. Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program has led to positive results thus far on getting more diversity in the game, as well as the Dodgers’ own efforts with their DreamField initiative.
Dave Roberts: MLB becoming better at highlighting Black athletes
Last month, MLB made the monumental decision to add the statistics of the Negro Leagues into their official record books. Roberts believes the league is becoming better at highlighting Black athletes. “I do. I do,” he began.
“I think that baseball is continuing to get it right, and to kind of correct some things that I don’t think that we were great at, in the sense of appreciating the platform that we have and appreciating how many people now recognize the great men, the great athletes in baseball that they are identifying with.
“And so now, how do we capture those viewers and eyeballs to be invested in our game? And so Black Heritage Night is frankly, this is the most I’ve seen colored people, Black people at Dodge Stadium home games, and for me, that excites me.”
The Dodgers celebrated Black Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium on June 15, which Roberts enjoyed. “It’s great. It’s great. Obviously, it’s something I look forward to,” he said.
“And then you think back to all the Black players that played in baseball, and specifically for the Dodgers. Some are very good friends of mine, or were good friends of mine. So to bring that to light is fantastic.
“And I think the Dodgers, we do a great job of highlighting certain groups or demographics, and kind of that melting pot for society. And today’s a day that is certainly personal for me.”
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