SEATTLE (AP) — Ken Griffey Jr. holds a plethora of titles, especially in this part of the country. Hall of Famer. Cultural icon. The guy who made baseball in the Pacific Northwest relevant. Arguably, the greatest of his generation.
He even holds a title in association with Major League Baseball as a special adviser to Commissioner Rob Manfred.
But what’s most meaningful to Griffey currently is his association with Friday’s HBCU Swingman All-Star Classic that serves as the first major event of All-Star Game festivities, featuring players from 17 Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
The event was an idea generated by Griffey, fostered into reality with help from MLB and the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation, and comes at a time when U.S.-born Black representation in the majors is at its lowest level since tracking began more than 30 years ago.
“It’s all about trying to get seen. I mean, if I can give an opportunity for a kid, one kid, two kids, three kids to be seen, how many kids can that be over the next five, 10, 15 years?” Griffey said. “How many lives will that one person change? That’s all we’re trying to do.”
Fifty players in total were selected to take part. For some, it may be the biggest stage they’ve ever played on and the best opportunity for scouts and executives to see that despite limited resources compared to others in Division I baseball, their talent deserves to be showcased.
“It’s huge. I think a lot more people see his name and they get drawn to it just because he’s Ken Griffey Jr.,” said Trey Paige, who played this past season at Delaware State. “Having his name on it draws attention from people who would have had no idea about it.”
That’s partly the goal, especially with how current numbers have tracked.
A recent study from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida found Black U.S….
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