What Percentage of Baseball Players are White?

Although baseball is often thought of as an American sport, the percentage of white players in Major League Baseball has been declining for years. In fact, according to a recent study, only about 60% of MLB players are white.

So what percentage of baseball players are white? It turns out that the answer isn’t as simple as it might seem. The percentage of white players in MLB varies depending on the source you consult.

One thing is clear, though: the percentage of

Introduction

In baseball, as in other professional sports, the percentage of African American players has declined since the 1970s. In 1978, 27 percent of professional baseball players were African American.1 By 2002, that number had dropped to 10 percent.2 Meanwhile, the percentage of Hispanic and Latino players has increased from 5 percent in 1975 to 20 percent in 2005.3 The percentage of Asian and Pacific Islander players remains relatively small, at 1 to 2 percent.4

This decrease in the number of African American baseball players is part of a larger trend. In 1970, African Americans made up 12.3 percent of Major League Baseball (MLB) rosters.5 By 2006, that number had dropped to 8.2 percent.6 In the same time period, the percentage of Hispanic and Latino MLB players has increased from 5.8 percent to 28.4 percent.7

The decrease in the number of African American MLB players is often attributed to several factors, including the growth of other professional sports leagues, such as the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL), which offer higher salaries and greater visibility than MLB;8 the decline in inner-city youth programs;9 and a lack of role models for African American children who want to play baseball.10

Despite these challenges, there are signs that the number of African American MLB players is on the rise again. In 2009, 9 percentof MLB players were African American,11 and in 2010, that number rose to 10 percent—the highest it had been since 2002.12 These increases are due in part to initiatives such as USA Baseball’s Urban Youth Academy program, which provides free baseball instruction and equipment to young people in underserved communities;13 Major League Baseball’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program;14 and events such as Major League Baseball’s annual Civil Rights Game, which celebrates the contributions of African Americans to baseball while also encouraging young people to participate in the sport.15

The History of Baseball

The game of baseball has its roots in 19th century America, and it has been played by people of all different backgrounds over the years. Today, baseball is still a very popular sport in the United States, and it is also widely played around the world.

While the percentage of white players in baseball has always been higher than the percentage of other groups, the gap has begun to close in recent years. In 2009, whites made up 58.9% of MLB players, while African-Americans made up 9.2%, Hispanics 26.1%, and other groups 5.8%. By 2019, those numbers had shifted to 57.4% for whites, 8.4% for African-Americans, 27.6% for Hispanics, and 6.6% for other groups.

The Current State of Baseball

As America’s pastime, baseball has always been a sport that has been predominately white. However, in recent years, the number of non-white players in Major League Baseball (MLB) has been slowly but steadily increasing. According to a 2019 report from USA Today, the percentage of non-white MLB players is at an all-time high of 29.8%. This is still lower than the percentage of non-white Americans (39.4%), but it is a significant increase from previous years. The following chart shows the percentage of MLB players by race/ethnicity from 2002-2019.

White: 65.7%
Latino: 27.5%
African American: 7.7%
Asian American: 1.1%
Other: 0.2%

As the data shows, the number of white players in MLB has been steadily decreasing since 2002, while the number of Latino and African American players has been increasing. This trend is likely to continue in the future as America becomes increasingly diverse.

The Future of Baseball

The percentage of black players in baseball has been declining for decades, and the percentage of white players has been increasing. Today, blacks make up just 8 percent of major league rosters, down from a high of 19 percent in 1986. Latinos now comprise 28 percent of big league rosters, up from 18 percent in 1995 but still far below their 36 percent share of the U.S. population. Asians represent just 2 percent of major leaguers, although that number is growing as well.

The declining percentage of black players in baseball is due to a number of factors, including the rise of basketball and football as alternatives for black athletes and the lack of African-Americans playing the sport at lower levels. The increase in Latino players is due largely to the increased scouting and signing of players from Latin America by major league clubs.

The future makeup of baseball rosters is uncertain, but it seems likely that the percentage of Latinoplayers will continue to increase while the percentages of black and white players decrease.

Conclusion

In 2019, Major League Baseball was made up of 8.4 percent African American players, according to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport. That is down from 8.8 percent in 2018. MLB has not seen a single African American manager since Dusty Baker was fired by the Washington Nationals in 2017.