MINORITY BASEBALL SCORECARD
ORLANDO - Major League Baseball continues to demonstrate an outstanding record on the issue of racial and gender hiring practices, according to "The Racial and Gender Report Card -MLB," released today by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida.
However, after steady improvement in both areas for several years, this year there were decreases in the percentages of people of color and women in several categories.
Overall, baseball received an A for race and a B- for gender in the 2011 Report Card.
Baseball’s grade for race dipped slightly from 92.5 to 91.6, while its grade for gender dropped from 82 to 79.3. Baseball’s overall score for the 2011 Report Card is 85.5, which is lower than the 2010 score of 87.3 that was MLB’s best-ever combined score. MLB’s combined grade for 2011 is a B+.
Richard Lapchick, principal author of the study and director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida, said, “Bud Selig has helped make MLB’s central and team front offices look more like America.
“Jackie Robinson’s dream was to see more African-Americans playing, coaching and in the front office. While this year there has been a slight decrease in the grade for racial and gender hiring practices, there has been a long-term consistent and dramatic increase in the role of people of color and women regarding who runs the game.
“At the same time, the percentage of African-American players decreased for almost 15 years resulting with opening day rosters having only 8.5 percent of the players being African-American, down from 10 percent in the 2010 season. This has been a concern of Major League Baseball and leaders in the African-American community. However, the 38.3 percent of players who are people of color also make the playing fields look more like America with its large Latino population. MLB has made great strides with diversity in who runs the game and today is one of the best in sports. However, there is clearly room for improvement, especially regarding hiring more women into professional positions.”
Lapchick noted that, “The Commissioner and his team in the League office, led by Wendy Lewis, Sr. Vice-president for Diversity, have had a remarkable positive imprint on the diversity record for Major League Baseball. MLB continues to have an outstanding record for Diversity Initiatives which include the fifth annual Civil Rights Game, Jackie Robinson Day and Roberto Clemente Day.”
Below are some of the report’s highlights:
Players
· At the start of the 2011 season, the total players of color were 38.3 percent. The opening day rosters were 61.5 percent white, 27 percent Latino, 2.1 percent Asian, 0.4 percent Native American or Native Alaskan and 0.3 percent Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
· The percentage of African-American players decreased to 8.5 percent of total players on the 2011 Opening Day season rosters. It was 10 percent in the 2010 season. The 2011 percentage was the lowest since 2007 and the third lowest in decades.
· The percentage of Latino players decreased from 28.4 percent in 2010 to 27 percent in 2011. This was one of the lowest percentages for Latinos since 1999 when it was 26 percent.
· The percentage of Asians increased slightly to 2.1 percent, up by 0.2 percentage points.
· The 2008 season was the first season in which there was an increase in African-American players in MLB over the previous season since 1995. After reaching 10.2 percent in 2008, African-American players have taken what could be considered a step back to the current level. There continues to be significant debate on why African-Americans seem to be abandoning baseball.
· In the 2010 season, the total population of Major League Baseball players of color (40.5 percent) was comprised of Latinos (28.4 percent), African-Americans (10.0 percent), Asians (1.9 percent), and Others (0.2 percent).
· Between the 1998 and the 2011 seasons, between 59 to 61.6 percent of the players have been white in each season with the exception of 2004, when 63 percent of the players were white.
· The percentage of international players in MLB on 2011 Opening Day rosters was 27.7 percent, spanning 14 countries and territories. The percentage of international players in MLB in 2010 was 30.1 percent, an increase of 1.9 percentage points from 2009. In addition, of Minor League players under contract as of 2011 Opening Day, 47.4 percent were born outside of the United States. Minor League players span 41 countries and territories, down from 43 a year ago.
MLB Central Office
· Of the staff in MLB’s Central Office, 33 percent were people of color while women made up 38 percent of the positions based on 2010 MLB workforce data.
· According to MLB, at the director and managerial level, 22.5 percent of the employees were people of color, while women occupied 32 percent of the front-office positions at the MLB Central Office based on 2010 MLB workforce data.
Teams
· Arturo Moreno, who owns the Los Angeles Angels, remains the only person of color to own a Major League Baseball team.
· MLB had six managers of color for the start of 2011: two African-Americans and four Latinos. Thus, 20 percent of MLB managers are people of color as of the start of the 2011 season, a decrease of 11 percentage points from 2010. MLB had nine managers of color for the start of 2010 season: four African-Americans, four Latinos and one Asian.
· In the 2010 MLB season, people of color held 29 percent of coaching positions in MLB (down two percentage points from 2009). African-Americans held 12 percent (down two percentage points), while Latinos held 17 percent (remaining constant). One person of Asian descent held a coaching job in 2010, the same as in 2009.
· According to the MLB, people of color constitute 42 percent of the coaching positions within the combined Major and Minor Leagues based on 2010 MLB workforce data.
· Pam Gardner is the President of Business Operations for the Houston Astros and is the only female CEO/President in MLB. There is no person of color as either CEO or team President of an MLB team.
· At the start of the 2011 season, there were three African-American general managers and one Latino general manager. The 2011 season started with 14 percent of the general managers being people of color. This was a five percentage point drop from the 19 percent in 2010.
· The Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros led MLB with six women each in vice president positions. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers each had three in 2010. Twenty-three MLB teams have at least one woman in a vice president position.
· In the 2010 MLB season, 9.8 percent of team vice presidents were people of color and 18.2 percent were women, indicating a decrease of 6.7 percentage points for people of color and a decrease of 0.4 percentage points for female representation in the vice president positions.
· In the 2010 MLB season, 16 percent of senior team administrators were people of color, the same as the previous year. Women held 18 percent of senior administration positions, a decrease of one percentage point from the previous year. According to MLB’s internal records, in the 2010 MLB season, 19 percent of senior team administrators were people of color. Women held 28 percent of senior administration positions.
· In 2010, the percentage of people of color holding professional positions with teams was 13 percent, indicating a decrease of two percentage points from the previous year. The percentage of women in those positions was 32 percent in 2010, an increase of one percentage point from 2009. According to internal calculations, in the 2010 MLB season the percentage of people of color holding professional administrative positions increased to 27 percent. MLB also listed the percentage of women holding team professional administration positions at 34 percent.
Diversity Initiatives
· Diversity Economic Impact Engagement Initiative (DEIE) is one of MLB’s newest initiatives to advance the level of MLB’s current workforce and supplier diversity efforts as well as create methodologies for cultural assessments, diversity economic platforms and industry-wide diversity training. This internal consultant model approach will be developed throughout the industry’s Central Office, member Clubs and eventually the Minor Leagues.
· Major League Baseball's Diverse Business Partner's Program is the leading supplier diversity program in sports. This major league procurement initiative has produced significant economic opportunity for baseball's Commissioner's office, its franchises and local communities. The strategic implementation of MLB's Diverse Business Partners Program has resulted in well over $800 million being spent with thousands of minority- and women-owned businesses. This award-winning program has continued to enrich baseball's business case for diversity by establishing a procurement environment that economically benefits the league as well as its minority and majority business partners. The DBP program has been awarded the recognition of being listed with "America's Top 50 Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities" for several years running.
· The “Civil Rights Game”: The 2011 Civil Rights Game comes to Atlanta for the first time with an extended slate of exciting events culminating with the exciting on-field matchup between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, May 15, 2011.
· The Selig Business Conference: MLB and the Atlanta Braves, along with MLB's Major and Minor League Clubs and strategic partners, will launch the inaugural Selig Business Conference at the Georgia Aquarium (May 12-13, 2011). This strategically ground-breaking event will provide a unique opportunity for career networking and entrepreneurs to connect with MLB industry representatives as well as register their resumes and business profiles on-site. The Selig Business Conference will not only capture MLB's advocacy in regards to supplier and workforce diversity, but will also present discussions that are educational, entertaining and celebratory.
The Racial and Gender Report Card is issued sport-by-sport. The Major League Baseball Racial and Gender Report Card is the first report issued in 2011 and will be followed by the releases on the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the National Football League, Major League Soccer and College Sport. The complete Racial and Gender Report Card will be issued hereafter.
