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MLB’s percentage of Black players increases in consecutive years for the 1st time in 2 decades

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball said Friday the percentage of Black players on opening day rosters increased in consecutive years for the first time in at least two decades.

MLB said that 6.8% of players on opening day rosters, injured lists and the restricted list were Black, up from 6.2% at the start of the 2025 season and 6.0% at the beginning of 2024.

This year’s 0.6% increase was the most in a season since a 0.7% rise from 2017 to 2018.

The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida issued annual studies that showed the percentage was 18% when its reports started in 1991.

Twenty of the 64 Black players had been in programs such as the MLB Youth Academy, Breakthrough Series, DREAM Series, Nike RBI and the Hank Aaron Invitational.

MLB said the total includes 22 players 25 or younger and eight older than 32. The average age of Black players was 27.8 and the overall average 29.25.

In addition, 17 Black players assigned to the minor leagues were on opening day 40-man rosters, including seven from MLB development programs. That group included Milwaukee outfielder Blake Perkins, who was brought up to the Brewers on March 26.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz returns — with a broken jaw — a day after being hit by a foul ball

By The Associated Press
BALTIMORE (AP) — With a big bruise on the right side of his face and several fractures, Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz was back at the ballpark a day after being hit by a foul ball in the dugout. “I can't blow my nose for six weeks, because one of the fractures is kind of like where my orbital bone is,” he said before a 4-3 loss to Arizona. “If I blow my nose, it's going to go up into my eye.” Albernaz said he has more than a half-dozen fractures in his cheek area and a broken jaw, but he was relieved to avoid surgery and said he doesn't need his jaw wired. Albernaz joked that he might grab a Ravens helmet from his desk to wear in the dugout. Albernaz, in his first season as Baltimore's manager, was in the part of the dugout closest to the on-deck circle when Jeremiah Jackson's foul ball struck him in the fifth inning Monday night. He returned to the dugout an inning later when Jackson hit a grand slam, but he ultimately ended up listening to the game on the radio en route to a hospital, where he says he remained until about midnight.
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