HBCU baseball players to showcase talent tonight during MLB All-Star Game week

The latest installment of the HBCU Swingman Classic looks to continue its purpose of exposure and inclusion of Black baseball players.

The 2024 version of the event, led by Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., will take place at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, during MLB All-Star Game week.

The goal is to spotlight Division I HBCU players who have historically been overlooked and underrepresented in the game.

While we continued to see strength in overall diversity and many encouraging signs in the Black player pipeline, the percentage of Black players on MLB Opening Day rosters was essentially static this year—6.0% in 2024 versus 6.2% in 2023.

Mark McLemore, who played in the majors for more than a decade, told MLB.com that he is concerned about the decline of American-born Black players over the years.

“When I came into the league in ’86, I think it was 26 or 27 percent Black, and when I retired in ’04 it was at 8 percent,” he said. “So, saying it fell off the cliff is an understatement.”

That’s why the HBCU Swingman Classic, Dream Series, and other MLB-backed initiatives are so important to incorporating more Black players into the game.

“A lot of kids are not going to be drafted, but you can still be in the sport that you love,” Griffey told MLB.com. “There are plenty of jobs in Major League Baseball that you can do. You may not be able to play, but you can be around and you can eventually work your way up and be a GM or a president or anything. I think the problem we have in sports is everybody looks at it and goes, ‘Oh, if you don’t make it, you’re done.’ That’s not the case.”

Many of the players, like Grambling State infielder Cameron Bufford, are looking forward to the opportunity to compete on baseball’s biggest summer stage and maybe put himself among the next generation of Black baseball players.

“I think it’s a great way to showcase our skills in front of scouts and that you can play baseball at the next level, no matter what color you are,” said Bufford. “It’s been great. I can’t express how grateful I am to be able to get that knowledge. To ask questions, and have them give him back real answers. They’ve been in the same situations we’ve been through.”