Baseball was once known for breaking racial barriers in the US.

On April 15, 1947, at Everett's Field in Brooklyn, Jackie Robinson makes his first appearance

as a major league baseball player and shatters a half century of tradition.

And since then, black players have been many of major league baseball's leading lights,

breaking records on their way into the history books.

Players like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Black man is getting a standing ovation in the

deep south for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol.

And Ken Griffey Jr.

Well hit and there it goes.

Junior has just broken his own major league record.

But now, black representation in the major leagues is at its lowest in decades.

This year, the MLB did something to try and change that.

All-Shar we kicked off this past weekend in Seattle by putting a new generation of diverse

talent in the national spotlight.

The first annual HBCU Swingman Classic, an opportunity for players from historically

black colleges and universities to play in front of scouts and executives on a national

stage and a national TV.

Consider this.

The decline in black representation in baseball has been steep in recent decades.

Now the major leagues in black former pro players are trying to reverse that trend.

From NPR, I'm Wanda Summers.

This Tuesday, July 11th.

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