For some of the players opting out of the 2020 MLB season, it’s a matter of health and safety for them and their families with the coronavirus pandemic continuing.
For Colorado Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond, there’s so much more.
Desmond took to Instagram tell the world why he’s deciding to opt out of the 60-game season scheduled to start in July. His series of photos with his lengthy thoughts centers around his experiences in Sarasota, in which he spoke about prejudice and injustice in Little League, Major League Baseball and the world, and his experiences of being biracial.
You should absolutely read the entire thing, but here is one powerful quote to take in:
Think about it: right now in baseball we’ve got a labor war. We’ve got rampant individualism on the field. In clubhouses we’ve got racist, sexist, homophobic jokes or flat-out problems. We’ve got cheating. We’ve got a minority issue from the top down. One African-American GM. Two African-American managers. Less than 8% Black players. No Black majority team owners.
Perhaps most disheartening of all is a puzzling lack of focus on understanding how to change those numbers. A lack of focus on making baseball accessible and possible for all kids, not just those who are privileged to afford it.
If baseball is America’s pastime, maybe it’s never been a more fitting one than now.
