By Mardeio Cannon | OBSERVER SPORTS COLUMNIST

When I wrote a column earlier this year about the lack of African Americans playing on Major League teams, I said that if the trend does not improve, then the roster of Major League Baseball would start to look like the National Hockey League.

Well, my anointed ones, that time is here staring at us all in the face. I remember several years ago when Ebony magazine would show pictures of African Americans on each MLB team roster.

The numbers fluctuated with each team; however, I recall that most MLB teams had an average of six to 10 African American players on their roster.

I know that at least three of you watched the American and National League division series on TBS and FOX Sports to determine who would play in this year’s World Series. The teams are set and there are zero African Americans on the participating teams.

The Colorado Rockies have no Black players on their starting nine. The Boston Red Sox are not much better. The only player on the Boston Red Sox roster that could even pass for a brother is David Ortiz, and he is Hispanic, then there’s Coco Crisp, and I don’t know what nationality he is.

The Cleveland Indians, who lost to the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series had only one starting African American player, Kenny Lofton, who is about 60 years old.

The Arizona Diamondbacks, who were eliminated, do have Orlando Hudson, who is Black, as their starting second baseman, but he is out with an injury.

The D-backs also have Tony Clark, who is African American, as a utility infielder.
What makes this situation even worse for the foreseeable future is the fact that since there are so few African American faces starring in this year’s World Series then far fewer African Americans will be excited enough to even tune in to watch the games on television, which makes it harder for African Americans to develop a love for baseball.

I do not believe, however, that MLB will suffer the same fate as the NHL and be banished from the normal television outlets like ESPN, Fox Sports or ABC, NBA or CBS.

MLB has been ingrained into the hearts and minds of a huge percentage of White youth today because their fathers took them with their baseball gloves to MLB games.

Those same kids are now adults and they are taking their kids to MLB games. MLB set an all-time attendance record this past season.

The bottom line is that unless there is a significant turnaround in the African American community, like parents taking their kids to baseball games or encouragement for little boys to pick up a bat and ball instead of staying on the basketball court, then you’ll see more African Americans playing Major League Hockey than Major League Baseball and that would be an American Sports tragedy.