Baseball looks for its next generation of urban legends

One of the keys to baseball’s future lies in Compton, on fields so close to the 91 Freeway that the rumble of trucks and whoosh of traffic are part of the ambience.

It lies in the hands of the 36 young men who gathered there last week for the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy’s first high school showcase and displayed their talents for more than 130 scouts.

It also rests with kids who may never play before anyone other than family and friends, such as the 150 junior high students who got a boost of self-esteem while getting baseball tips from members of the Dodgers on Wednesday.

The late Jackie Robinson will be honored at major league ballparks April 15, the 60th anniversary of the day he shattered the sport’s color barrier. He deserves every accolade, but tributes are only words.

The Urban Youth Academy, a 10-acre complex at Compton Community College, is a living tribute to Robinson and inclusion and all it can mean.

The $10-million facility, which will be a year old Feb. 28, operates year-round with four instructional leagues and a summer camp for boys and girls. Former and current major leaguers offer lessons, and educational programs are available to prepare kids for life outside the white lines.

Thirteen young men who played at the academy or participated in the grass-roots Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program were drafted by major league teams last June. The RBI program, born in Los Angeles in 1988 and since expanded to more than 200 cities, last year moved its World Series to the academy grounds.

Crenshaw High alumnus Trayvon Robinson, who played in the RBI program, was chosen by the Dodgers in 2005 and has played two seasons of rookie ball. Robinson, a popular figure at Wednesday’s clinic, said few of his friends played baseball when he was young. Baseball “in the inner city, it doesn’t have a lot of popularity, but I think it’s getting it back,” he said.

Dodgers first baseman James Loney, who is African American, played in the RBI program while growing up in the Houston area. His team advanced to the 1999 RBI World Series in Orlando, Fla., and he’d like to see other kids have the same chance to play and fall in love with baseball.

“I think a lot of it is most minorities play basketball and football because it’s the easy thing to go do,” Loney said. “You just throw a football on a field or go shoot hoops somewhere. Baseball takes more time, maybe more guys to play with, equipment, all that stuff. And maybe it’s not the coolest thing to do. I think some people think that.”

According to the most recent report by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida, 9% of major league players in 2005 were African American, the fewest in 26 years. No African Americans were majority club owners and the Angels’ Arte Moreno was the lone Latino owner.

Regaining lost athletes and fans is among the academy’s aims. Its students reflect the community, about evenly split between black and Latino kids.

“We had a generation that passed away of guys not being interested in our game and it’s going to take a generation to get them back,” said Darrell Miller, the former Angel who is the academy’s director.

Miller attributed the slippage to “the disintegration of the family. The family was critical for Little League to develop.... In urban America especially it’s hard to find a good solid thriving Little League, and when you have the kids not playing at the youngest level, they’re not going to be as apt to pick it up at an older level.”

He also blamed the media’s fixation on personalities. “The big stars we’ve been exposed to lately are football and basketball. The Michael Jordan syndrome is what I call it,” Miller said.

Miller, who grew up in Riverside with younger basketball-playing siblings Reggie and Cheryl, and Nomar Garciaparra, who grew up in Whittier and attended Bellflower St. John Bosco High, spent many hours on local sandlots. They believe fewer kids do that today in a world that seems less safe than theirs was.

“I was grateful that I had a park where I was able to play. I’d come home, do my homework, and then it was my chance to go out and play the game I loved,” said Garciaparra, whose hitting lessons found a rapt audience Wednesday.

“It’s a lot harder than it used to be. Times have changed, unfortunately, and you’re a little nervous about that. Do you want your kids out there? But a facility like this and people taking the time to help coach these kids makes it a lot of fun.”

New Dodgers center fielder Juan Pierre also emphasized enjoyment over technique. “They need to think of this as an avenue to have fun,” said Pierre, who is also African American. “I know baseball is not getting played too much in the inner city. Basketball and football are. I’m trying to reach out to them and give them another avenue to make it.”

Tom Lasorda, special advisor to the Dodgers’ chairman, ended the day by urging the kids to avoid trouble and pursue their dreams. “You can be whatever you want to be in this country, but nobody’s going to hand it to you,” he said. “You’ve got to go out and earn it yourself.”

In baseball, and in life.

“If you’re talking to 50 kids you might have only one” you touch, Loney said, “but at least you did that. Hopefully, it helps everybody to share your experiences with them and they can relate to it.”

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