PITTSBURGH (AP) - David Reese always knew what he wanted to be when he grew up - a right fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates like his hero Roberto Clemente.
But as one of the only black players on his Wilkinsburg baseball teams from childhood through high school, Mr. Reese, now 59, slowly saw his dream evolve.
He watched his white peers go to private clinics and play in All-Star games as they gained exposure and improved as players. Meanwhile, many black players from the community either quit teams or refused to sign up because they didn’t get the same treatment from coaches or see the same playing time. Some were shut out completely because they couldn’t afford to play.
For nearly 40 years David Reese has been introducing African American children to baseball.
The same opportunities, Reese said, never seemed to extend to black players, regardless of talent or skill level.
“At the time when I came up, Wilkinsburg was very prejudiced,” he said. “A lot of black players in the neighborhood wanted to play and should have been playing but gave it up because they weren’t getting a fair shake.”
Now, as a coach for the Wilkinsburg Baseball Association and Pittsburgh Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program, he has coached and mentored generations of players in the Wilkinsburg area for more than 30 years. He is also the executive director for Washington County’s Department of Human Services. Through coaching he hopes to “give minority kids the chances me and my friends did not have,” he said.
“We look at this as so much more than a baseball program,” Reese said. “We look at this as an avenue for the children to come and express themselves. We don’t turn away anyone.”
He’s one of more than a dozen coaches in the RBI program, which provides almost 1,000 children from 10 communities, including Wilkinsburg, Braddock and the Hill District, the opportunity to learn the game from volunteer coaches. The program was designed to provide children from predominantly low-income communities exposure to the game, training and the opportunity to compete.
A 2015 study conducted by TIDES - The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport - at the University of Central Florida found that, while the total percentage of players of color has risen over the years, the percentage of black players is relatively small, making up about 8 percent of players in the Major Leagues. The study highlights diversity initiatives sponsored by Major League Baseball - including the RBI program - and their potential to remove economic barriers and expose underrepresented communities to the game.
Brandon Moyer, a representative for TIDES, said the lack of diversity league-wide, including managers, professional and coaching staff, is “pretty disappointing.”
The report reflected data from the MLB central office, which showed that women made up 29 percent of the total workforce, and people of color made up 28 percent. In 2015, only four people of color were serving as general managers. For the 2014 season, Latinos held 26 percent of coaching positions, blacks held 10 percent and Asian, American Indian and Alaskan Natives collectively held 1.5 percent.
“We take these diversity initiatives very seriously and evaluate them,” Moyer said. “It’s our hope that the next generation of players will better represent our country in terms of demographics.”
Charles Saunders, program director for Pittsburgh RBI, said lack of access and affordability are two of the biggest barriers for young minority players who want to learn the game. While RBI helps provide players with supplies - including gloves, uniforms and baseballs - his biggest challenge is finding volunteers to devote time and resources to helping players, Saunders said.
“Some of our kids come from very challenging backgrounds and there aren’t a lot of David Reeses in the world who will dedicate their time and lives to helping our children learn the game,” Saunders said. “A lot of times kids don’t play just because a nice glove can cost up to $300. If you don’t have those resources, if your family can’t afford to pay fees for travel and competitive ball, that opportunity is closed to you. Doesn’t matter how good you are or how much potential you have.”
Reese said young players also have fewer examples of black players excelling in the sport to look up to.
The program recently allowed players to participate in a question-and-answer session with Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen. For almost half an hour he answered questions about everything from his favorite hobbies to how he battles nerves before games.
“I remember sitting there in the trailer park with my mom and dad just trying to make ends meet and put food on the table,” he told the room full of more than 50 young players and their parents. “Think about someone you want to make proud and let that be your motivation.”
For her son Anthony, Marva Brower, 54, said that person was Reese. He coached Anthony for eight years in Wilkinsburg before they moved to Penn Hills.
“He coached and mentored my son through some of his most difficult years,” Brower said. “I’m a single mother, and I saw him reach out to Anthony and some of the other kids as a father figure. He kept Anthony grounded and focused, not just in baseball, but with life.”
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Information from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, https://www.post-gazette.com
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