Of all the walks you can take in a wide world of venues, a saunter through the hall at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in the historic 18th and Vine District in Kansas City has always been among the most illuminating, inspirational and invigorating for a baseball-centric, ink-stained wretch like myself — one who has been to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and also watched games from the stands of both Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.
A recent stroll through proved particularly stirring because it came on a tour led by the museum’s president and master storyteller Bob Kendrick, who painted detailed and rich pictures of the rise of Black baseball, the personalities and talents of those involved, and its place in American society.
The group taking the tour also included a young major league ballplayer in , who represents the present-day baseball lineage of those recognized in the museum. A subsequent conversation confirmed Scott recognizes and embraces the opportunity to impact those who will follow in his footsteps.
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The past served as the foundation for the present, and the present hopes to shape the future.
“We always kind of look up to those players. We hear about them as we’re growing up,†Scott said of being part of the legacy. “With me being an African American baseball player, it’s really monumental that I continue to encourage those that are younger than me, to know this is what I’m playing for.â€
Scott, drafted in 2022 and who made his big league debut this season on opening day, said the “deeper meaning†in the museum’s layout struck him.
As Kendrick explained, visitors purposely get a view of the Field of Legends as soon as they walk through the turnstiles. Though they’re separated by the same sort of chicken wire that used to separate Black fans from white spectators at Major League Baseball games.
The museum’s setup forces visitors to walk through the exhibits depicting and conveying the plight of Negro League players and seminal figures like former player, manager and executive .
As a visitor, you’re exposed to how the players lived and traveled, how the Negro Leagues influenced local business and the Black economy, and the sort of treatment the players endured before you’re able to step foot on the Field of Legends.
The venue doesn’t just recognize athletic accomplishment. In fact, Kendrick makes a compelling case that the museum provides a richer appreciation for the United States by telling a uniquely American story, one of social progress.
Jackie Robinson’s path to breaking baseball’s color barrier certainly holds a significant historical place, but it’s also put in the historical context of being a precursor to the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott in the days when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was still just a student.
A DECK OF CARDS: Great to welcome my friend, , mgr. Oliver Marmol, and to the today. Also, big thanks to all the Cards fans who turned out in big numbers!
— Bob Kendrick (@nlbmprez)
There were also innovations such as developing a lighting system that allowed for night games five years before what had been recognized as the first major league night game and spreading the game across the globe with a team of Negro League All-Stars taking part in a 1927 goodwill tour in Japan.
Taking in that history made Scott think about paying it forward, and his perspective proved insightful.
“How can we take what they gave us and be able to kind of build off of what they gave us?†Scott asked.
It’s no secret that the number of Black players in the majors has plummeted in recent decades. From 18% of the players in the majors being Black in 1991, that slide to just 6.2% in 2023. That’s part of the reason MLB has invested in programs aimed at increasing participation at the grassroots level — such as the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program — and increasing exposure for amateur players via the Breakthrough Series.
When Scott referenced “building off†the platform provided by Black players of the past, he didn’t just mean by playing the game blandly and dullishly.
He meant by players bringing some of their own style onto the field, interjecting some swag into a game often tabbed as stale and stodgy.
“They gave us a gateway to even play the sport,†Scott said. “Now you see players wearing flashy things, kind of really expressing themselves within the game and being able to tell our stories in baseball.â€
While that may sound sacrilegious to some baseball purists, MLB’s All-Star Game now features a red carpet show where players are asked about their wardrobe as though they were actors or musicians at an awards show.
Most clubs now have City Connect uniforms they wear annually for portions of their home slate of games. There are now clocks on the field. MLB has leaned into its annual Players Weekend as a vehicle to allow players to display their creativity, bring attention to causes, and recognize friends, family and loved ones.
The game has grown and changed, though very slowly.
Scott sees it as a responsibility to push the game forward in that regard. It’s not something I’d given a lot of consideration to in the past, but I’m glad young players like Scott have that sort of awareness.
Scott, who led the minors in stolen bases last season and won a Gold Glove as the best defensive center fielder in the minors, . He’s one of few major leaguers to have his own music as his walk-up song when he comes to the plate.
More often, you’re seeing images of players , just the way it has been in the NBA and NFL.
On the field, things like bright-colored sliding mitts, neon cleats, chains and accessories players wear on the field give a glimpse of a player’s personality and his background as well as his sense of style.
“A guy like Masyn (Winn), you can kind of tell what he’s like off of the field based on what he’s wearing on the field,†Scott said. “I’m kind of like more reserved in my attire, but you can tell that guy has some fly stuff on. So he probably has some fly stuff on off the field.
“It’s just a way to express how we play, the energy that we bring the game too.â€
If that expression and energy helps the game appeal to more people, different types of people and ultimately expands the pool of people interested in playing the game and getting involved in the game, then let the dusty, dull ways that muzzled individuality in the past go the way of the chicken wire.
The game will only be better for it.