Percentage of African Americans in MLB Drops to Lowest Level Since 1940s

April 15^th marked Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball.  Players across the nation wore number 42 – Robinson’s number – to celebrate the first man to break the color barrier back in 1947.  However, while the integration of baseball opened the floodgates to black players, in recent years, the percentage of blacks playing America’s pastime has declined. In 1995, 19% of players were black, but today, just 8.1% of major leaguers are black, a level not seen since the late 40s and early 50s.  Business Insider highlighted this trend in its chart of the day, and also noted that while black participation in baseball has steadily decreased, the percentage of Hispanics in MLB has doubled in the past 20 years.