MLB Demographics: What percentage of MLB players are Black?

What percentage of MLB players are Black? Diversity and inclusion have become big hot-button issues recently. Not just in sports, but people from all walks of life are taking more notice of these issues.

The league is very diverse. Although most players come from the USA, there are significant numbers of players coming from other countries and regions of the world. Some of the top countries besides the USA that produce players are the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba, Japan, Canada and Taiwan.

"75 Years Ago Today: The Cleveland Indians acquire Larry Doby from the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League! In two days he'll become the first Black player in American League history! (July 3, 1947)" - Baseball by BSmile

Back in the day, there were separate leagues for players based on skin color. This began to change when Jackie Robinson made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Soon after, racial quotas were abolished, paving the way for talent over race to take precedence in the league.

National origin does not necessarily give us a straightforward answer to how many players of each color there are in the league. For example, the USA and the Dominican Republic are both diverse countries that produce players of different races.

Before the start of the 2022 MLB season, a report from "The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES)" at the University of Central Florida shed light on the racial origins of players.

"Since 1947, African Americans have made up less than 12% of MLB’s all-time demographics. African Americans make up 50% of MLB’s current top 10 leaders in career HRs." - @ Kaelen Jones

The report concludes that players of color constituted about 38% of players in the league on Opening Day 2022. The vast majority (28.5%) were of Hispanic origin. According to the report, only about 7.2% of players were Black.

The report also states that this is the lowest number of Black players to be in the MLB since the early 1990s. However, there may be a caveat to that statistic.

While many black players in the league come from Latin America, they may be counted as Hispanic, although they may also be Black. Some of the top examples of such players in the league are Yordan Alvarez, David Ortiz and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

2022 MLB World Series first without US-born Black players for decades

The 2022 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies will be historic. This is set to be the first World Series to not feature a Black, US-born player since 1950. Because Black players have given so much to the game, it's hard to believe there won't be one in this World Series.