Chris Rock’s Take on Blacks in Baseball: Real Sports (HBO)

I like baseball but, I only watch the playoffs.

Can you imagine Tom Hanks sitting on a stool complaining about Basketball being too black? Me neither.

White people invented Baseball, Basketball and Football. Does every sport have to be dominated by hip hop culture? Baseball is American.

No one is stopping anyone from playing anything. Blacks don't want to play baseball cuz there's not enough ghetto rap? Ok. Then play basketball.

It's my favorite sport to watch, regardless of who decides to play. Don't like it or don't think it's cool enough?….don't watch. Nobody cares. If you won't watch something, because young black people don't like it…. that says something about you, not baseball. American or not, there are a LOT of black people in MLB, and it's not going anywhere. Baseball is global now. Try watching the World Baseball Classic next time, and check out the roster for Team USA. You'll find a few black people, if that's what makes you happy.

Chris R & his tribe including Gumbel are still slaves, only now their bondage is self-imposed…., how sad..,

Stop saying everything is White, Rock you piece of shit. There are tons of Hispanic players and even some Asians. This is just race baiting

Boring ass sport. Let it die.

My god, is there anything people can talk about besides race?

White Southerners don't watch Baseball much either. Except for Florida, and Texas. There's a reason the Braves cover a like a six state market. It's fucking boring. It's golf meets tag…

I'd rather see baseball die a slow death than see players dancing at home plate after a home run. Keep your hip blackness, Chris. We're white. We can't miss what we never had.

Why don't the "Ten Percenters" just die! Always causing trouble, on government assistance and not contributing anything positive to this country. We can kill cockroaches but this race gets a pass??

Hire Nyjer Morgan as a manager!

the number of black players have gone down, but they have been replaced with dominicans, venezuelans, puerto ricans, japanese, etc so no big deal

Blacks don't like baseball because there isn't a thug rap culture to it like the NFL and NBA.

Baseball is too slow for a lot of people of all races. But as black out of wedlock birth rates have gone up, the number of baseball prospects from that community goes down. Applies to all races. Studies have showed this. Baseball is a sport you usually learn from your dad.

I like the NBA even though I'm half white, half Asian. Do I give a flying expletive at the race of the athletes? No.

Baseball is too long and slow for many. It's also not ingrained in many people's cultures. Baseball doesn't want to change, not cause they hate minorities, but because it's always been one way, and they want to keep it as close as they can to that.

this is why fucks wit Chris rock…

Whether or not you are black or not you have to admit baseball needs to be more diverse……black players made baseball just as much as the white players. Jackie Robinson and others are turning in their graves over baseball being 6-8%.

At 5 min CR said he cares about this as a fan not a black man yet spends the whole segment taking about race. It was more like a civil rights speech than a take on baseball.

What a bunch of racial horseshit! The reason there aren't more black players in professional baseball is simple–although many people don't want to accept it, and insist on putting a racial spin on it. Hitting a baseball with a bat is something that a white guy ( or a Hispanic) can do just as well as a black guy. Pitching a baseball 90 miles an hour for 60-70 times a game is also something that a white guy can do just as well as a black guy. Running faster or leaping harder and farther doesn't give anyone an advantage in baseball. And if blacks are indeed a minority in the country (15 percent ?) naturally there are going to be fewer black players. As far as the fans are concerned, black fans have historically followed sports in which black players excel–which is what accounts for the falling black baseball fan.

Or Japan, less of a carnival and more of the choreographed cheering among spectators and bands.

I just lost so much respect for Chris Rock. Not as a person just on the subject. Black kids don't want to play baseball they choose basketball and football and yes I did say choose. He made some good points about the young demographic and how baseball does a terrible job at being "hip" but ratings are actually up while the super bowl and regular season football ratings dropped almost 10%last year

Rock's take annoys the hell out of me. Treat people as individuals. Individual people enjoy different activities and some of those individuals are dark skinned and some of those activities involve baseball. Shame on you if you let your skin color dictate your thoughts

The reason why my people don't fuck with baseball because it's "boring"and it's not physical enough.

"What the fuck's a Met?"

I'm glad that black people in New York are unaware of the Mets…or else there would probably be mass suicides all over Queens

So, despite being within the 8-10% demographic that blacks are in the general population….somehow baseball is racist. A sport with 40% Latinos is racist. Nice logic….

This video is for baseball normies

The Royals have like 20 black dudes tho

Baseball's been the national pastime no matter who played it. The game does need to be sped up though. Golf and tennis were just fine before Tiger/Serena too and will be just fine when they finally fucking retire. Hockey is at it's most popular. Football has peaked and will be on the decline in the coming decades most likely, but will still exist and be just fine. I like Chris Rock, but this piece was just off base (pun intended). The NBA is unwatchable.

Still waiting for Adam Sandler to tell me why whites don't play basketball anymore.

He makes valid points… baseball should try and be a litter hipper. Not to only attract blacks but to attract young americans. Key thing = Little league participation is dwindling. I'd hate to see baseball turn into a league dominated by non americans. Young Americans are not that into baseball. Players should be allowed to bat flip on homers and/or take a celebratory walking pace halfway to first and upon approaching home plate. Any pitcher that tries to beam them for celebrating should be suspended and that batter should be allowed to take home if it can be determined that he was beamed for celebrating. Everything else should stay. Organ music and all.

black "culture" is cancer.

Baseball attendance goes up every year, the game is making more money then ever

Excellent job Chris, now let's address the diversity problems in the NBA….Wait….that's not a concern for anyone, ever?

This man is HILARIOUS

yeah cause they hate white people

What the fuck is black colleges doing giving scholarships to white men to play baseball at their university. HBCU need to cut all of their baseball programs immediately.

I feel the same way about Basketball, it's too black.

bring back the Negro Leagues or make it into a carnival like in the caribbean .

Your penalized by coaches if your mom and your spouse ain't white. Even if you play the "white" way correctly. Ask Horace Clarke.

Sandoval was black and was on the Giants that year when they won.

Another reason for people my age (22) is that we loved Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa during the steroid era. Then they took our heroes and strung them up like common trash during the BALCO scandal and it turned us off completely.

great piece. this is why representation is so important. celebrate different types of people so we can all benefit

Bad argument. If it's so old fashioned, then that would drive away players of all races. Not just blacks

gotta agree with him. the game is boring now… far too old fashioned now

The only reason why football is so popular is because anyone can pretend to be a fan one day a week for 17 weeks, even though flags and reviews take the life out of the game. And NFL games are statistically longer, so don't come at me with the length of baseball games. Also, the NFL is the real no fun league, the only team that has an issue with bat flips are the bitch ass Cardinals

Baseball is the most boring thing on Earth. I went to a Phillies game back in September, and I wouldn't be able to tell you what went on. I didn't even know the game was over until everyone started leaving