When MLB found a declining number of black players participating in the sport,, the powers-that-be put forth initiatives to revive the game in the inner cities of our country.
from the undefeated.com:
"In 1956, (Jackie) Robinson's final year in the majors,
African-Americans constituted
6.7 percent of major league rosters. Today (2017) that number is
7.7 percent, according to MLB." (underlining and italicizing by me)
USA today states that in 2020 it is 7.8%. I wonder what the all-time high was? (I looked it up. See the answer below.)
Source: The Society of American Baseball Research
Highest percentage of African American Baseball Players:
18.7% Year:
1981
The years 1975-1986 compromised a 12 year span with the highest percentage of African American baseball players in the Major Leagues with 1975 (18.5%) the first year with over 18% and 1986 (18.3%) the last year with over 18%.
The low marks during that time span were 1978 and 1980 with 17.4%.
The recent low is
6.7% occurring in
2013, 2014, and 2016. Their study ended in 2016.
The Society of American Baseball Research has much more data if you are interested.
Apparently, the expense of the sport relating to "traveling" baseball teams limits African American participation in baseball these days.
From a USA Today article:
“We think our roster should look like the United States of America,’’ Michigan coach Erik Bakich said. “. . . Look at the cost of travel ball and these showcases. There are 9-year-old kids paying $3,000 a year for travel ball. That’s ridiculous. It prices out all of the lower income families, and that’s a mistake."
“You look at every college campus, and the best athletes are on the football and basketball teams. We’re losing our best athletes to those sports because we are (pricing) them out of baseball, and that’s baseball’s loss." (bolding and parenthetical clarifications by me)
Most of Major League baseball's players of "color" are from Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, or Asia (most Asians baseball players, I would think, would be from Japan and Korea).