Baseball Problem Isn’t a New One

This is in regard to the article “Few Blacks Choosing to Play College Baseball” by Eric Stephens on June 27:

Baseball goes back 49 years in our family. My husband played minor league baseball. Our comments then were, “Look, only two blacks on a team.” When our children grew up they played baseball on a black Little League team that traveled. Parents paid all the fees. We wanted our children to learn the game, be exposed to baseball players of other colors and to play in unfamiliar parks.

In college, we saw qualified ballplayers overlooked by white coaches. Our son was co-community college player of the year from West L.A. with an AA degree. He did not receive one draft offer. So he went to college on full scholarship to Nebraska. Other qualified baseball players were not offered college scholarships in California, yet were offered scholarships to colleges out of state.

The RBI program was too political. I have a wait-and-see attitude about other programs that claim they are helping inner-city baseball. Our grandson plays in a league that claims to help produce pro players from the inner city. It too is political: Rules don’t allow players to learn fundamentals. Without the fundamentals few are going to play later in life.

Doreatha Hill

Los Angeles