HBCUs recognized in Seattle
Fred Jeter | 7/13/2023, 6 p.m.
HBCU baseball players had the spotlight on June 7 at T-Mobile Field in Seattle.
That was the setting for the inaugural HBCU Swingman All-Star Classic, hosted by baseball legend Ken Griffey Jr., who began his big league career in Seattle.
A total of 50 players, including several white players, represented 17 HBCUs, with the American League defeating the National League, 4-3.
All 12 schools in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) were represented.
The winning run scored in the eighth when Randy Flores of Alabama State doubled, stole third and came home on a wild pitch.
This was MLB’s effort to stimulate baseball interest among young Black players. According to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), only 6.2 percent of this season’s Major Leaguers are African-American, meaning born in U.S.
By contrast, when Griffey Jr. played with his father, Ken Sr., in 1991 with Seattle, the African-American percentage was 18%.
Griffey Jr. has a connection to HBCU’s.
His son, Tevin, is a football defensive back at Florida A&M.
