Tracking African Americans in MLB

April 15, 1947: Jackie Robinson breaks baseball’s color

line. July 5, 1947: Larry Doby becomes first African American in the American League when he debuts for the Cleveland Indians. 1959: Boston Red Sox become the last team to add an African-american player; at that point, African Americans make up 17.25% of MLB rosters. 1975: African-american participation peaks at 27% of

opening-day rosters. 1995: In the first year after baseball’s work stoppage,

19% of rosters made up of African Americans. 2004: African-american roster presence drops to 9%,

the first dip below the 10% mark since the 1950s. 2008: After 12 consecutive years of flat or falling numbers, the number increases to 10.2%, only to see declines each of the next four years.