Kneeling Mookie Betts should be transcendent star for MLB
On Opening Night, Major League Baseball tipped its cap to diversity.
Players took a knee before and during the national anthem. They wore Black Lives Matter patches on their sleeves. And the pitcher’s mound was painted with a black MLB logo above the letters “BLM.”
Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts, who is African American and kneeled as the “Star-Spangled Banner” played, took it from there and showed he’s worthy of a push from the powers that be in the MLB. With the right marketing, he could reinvigorate the sport for a new generation of fans.
“I love Mookie Betts,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. He and Betts know each other well from their days with the Red Sox.
“I was proud of what he did. He stood for what he believed in. I absolutely think that given what he’s done in this game and his kind and gentle heart, he’s definitely somebody that Major League Baseball should lean on as one of its leaders today, one of its future leaders tomorrow.”
'Fearlessness' and 'hunger'
With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh Thursday, Betts kept his swing tight and yanked a slow curve from a sidearm pitcher into left field for a single.
Two pitches later, Chandler-Hamilton product Cody Bellinger, who stood with his hand on Betts’ shoulder during the anthem, hit a double to left that caromed off the wall on the third-base line, creating a moment of extra time. It was all Betts needed to zip from first to third.
And two pitches after that, Betts streaked home for the go-ahead run on a sharply hit grounder to second.
It took smarts, speed and daring, and it broke the spirit of the rival Giants. The Dodgers went on to win 8-1.
That kind of play doesn’t surprise Lovullo.
“There’s just built-in fearlessness,” he said. “(Betts) has a hunger to be great.”
A day before the opener, Betts signed a 12-year, $365 million contract extension. If the 2018 American League MVP and four-time All-Star can bring a World Series title to the perpetual runner-up Dodgers, fans in Southern California will praise his name for generations.
But it could be bigger than just L.A. The 27-year-old Betts could help open opportunities across the sport.
Teammate David Price called it a year ago.
“We’re trying to grow the game in the African American community,” he said in April 2019. “Put that guy on commercials. That’s how the game grows.”
We know baseball’s lackluster diversity statistics.
Only about 8% of players are African American, according to the most recently available statistics from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport. That number was a lot closer to 20% in the early 1990s.
And we’ve heard all about baseball’s generation gap.
The sport’s average TV fan is 57, much older than the NFL (50), NBA (42) and MLS (40), according to a widely cited 2017 study published in Sport Business Journal.
Betts could improve both areas. He could be an example for the next generation of young, Black players who would also become the next generation of young fans.
'The face of baseball'
Betts brings the right type of energy. He plays with an exciting style and a huge grin, both of which he flashed in the opener. And at 5-foot-9, he brings a “regular guy” quality that draws fans to stars like the NBA’s Stephen Curry and the NFL’s Kyler Murray.
When was the last time baseball had a transcendent Black player? Has there been one since the 1990s?
Have we seen a cool sneaker campaign since Reebok did the Frank Thomas “Big Hurt” spots? (“In the preseason my back hurts, my arms hurt, my legs hurt, my brain hurts – even my teeth hurt! But come the regular season, it’s all worthwhile, because I get to hurt right back.”)
Or Nike’s “Ken Griffey Jr. for President” ads (with the Reggie Jackson cameo)? (“We need a man in the White House who can hit five home runs in a five-game playoff series, and who isn’t Reggie Jackson … a man who has his own candy bar, and who isn’t Reggie Jackson. … That man is Ken Griffey Jr.”)
It's a shame the Generation Z doesn’t have those same types of cultural touch points.
Price made the point last year, calling out his own league. “Market the African American stars in baseball better,” Price said.
“Mookie Betts doesn’t have a single commercial,” Price said later. “He’s one of the most marketable people in all of baseball. … A very likable person. He could be the face of baseball … MLB just needs to step up.”