Saturday, June 29, 2024 | 2 a.m.
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Major League Baseball introduced a whole new audience to a field of dreams this past week when they played a game in Birmingham, Ala.
Rickwood Field was the stage, but the real honors went to all the Negro Leaguers who played in that ballpark.
It’s tragic that Willie Mays couldn’t join in their celebration since it was his home field as a 16-year-old phenom playing for the Birmingham Black Barons.
His passing marks the end of an era that saw the demise of the Negro Leagues and the beginning of modern baseball as we know it today — one that’s open to players of every ethnicity and degree of talent imaginable.
But with only 6.3% of major league rosters now filled by African-Americans, there is a renewed push to involve more black youths in our “national pastime”.
The game that was played on last week appears to be a good start in that direction, and I can’t help but think that Willie would approve.
