Look, before we get into this, I want to make it clear that there is no MLB team with a better record on race and diversity than the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their resume starts with Jackie Robinson, and continues with trailblazers like Fernando Valenzuela, Glenn Burke, Hideo Nomo, and Chan Ho Park. I in no way intend to insinuate that the Dodgers are doing anything sinister or intentionally bigoted with their roster construction.
With that said: Have you noticed how white the Dodgers are?
The Dodgers have no Latino starters
On any given night the Dodgers play, fans are only likely to see one non-white Dodger (Mookie Betts) take the field. Only one Latino position player (Edwin Ríos) sees any regular playing time for the Dodgers, and he’s missed a large chunk of the season due to injury. Hanser Alberto and recent acquisition Eddy Álvarez mostly sit on the bench, though Alberto has so far gotten the most playing time of any of the bench players besides backup catcher Austin Barnes. The team’s ten other position players of note, including seven regular starters, are white.
As for the pitchers, the only Latinos of note are Julio Urías, Brudsar Graterol, and Alex Vesia, with the latter two coming out of the bullpen. Reyes Moronta and Yency Almonte also get their share of appearances, but just as it is with the position players, the overwhelming majority of work goes to white pitchers.
No team in MLB is this white
Brave fans whine about “Dodgers so white” just to turn around and do the Tomahawk Chop Lmao they don’t know what they want in life.
— Len (@JerrySnackhouse) June 25, 2022
It’s not just that the Dodgers are so white, it’s that they’re the only team in baseball that is this white. The only other MLB franchise that features one or fewer non-white players in their regular starting lineup is the Cincinnati Reds, who currently own the worst record in the National League. The only other MLB franchise that features one or fewer non-Latino position players and one or fewer non-Latino starting pitchers is…no one! The Dodgers are alone in that regard.
This isn’t a new phenomenon, either. The only Latino batters to get any significant playing time for the Dodgers in 2021 were Ríos and Albert Pujols. In 2020, it was just Ríos. You have to go back to 2019 to find more than one regular Latino position player to play for the Dodgers (Alex Verdugo and Kiké Hernández), and they were both traded to Boston in the offseason to acquire Mookie Betts.
The Dodgers have signed the biggest names on the market
So, what gives? Honestly, it’s probably nothing. Fast Company noticed this trend a few years ago and wrote a very smart piece tying the lack of diversity on the Dodgers to the lack of diversity in MLB as a whole. But a year after the piece came out, the Dodgers traded for Betts because he was the best player on the market. And then a year and a half later they traded for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, because they were the best pitcher and arguably the best position player available at the trade deadline.
And then a few months later they signed Freddie Freeman, because he was the best free agent available this past offseason. The Dodgers have demonstrated over the past couple of seasons that they have the money to sign the best players available, whether they be Black, Asian, white, or Latino. It just so happens this time around they weren’t Latino, which is a strange coincidence, but probably nothing more.
The team’s Latino fans don’t seem to care
Freddie Freeman showered with "Freddie! Freddie!" chants in his Dodger Stadium debut
He's home pic.twitter.com/XEKNnSLlmE
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHarrisTBLA) April 15, 2022
It is worth pointing out that the Dodgers have a fanbase that is almost certainly more than 50% Latino, and is likely the only franchise in MLB whose fanbase features a non-white majority. It’s also worth pointing out that not having a Latino star besides Urías since 2019 has not hurt the team’s popularity.
As they have for each of the past ten seasons (2020 excluded), the Dodgers currently lead all of baseball in attendance, and three Dodgers appeared on the list of most popular jerseys sold in 2021. In other words, Dodgers fans in general don’t seem to care that the team is so white, nor should they as long as the team keeps winning.
But still, it’s pretty weird, right??
FAQs
It's not just that the Dodgers are so white, it's that they're the only team in baseball that is this white. The only other MLB franchise that features one or fewer non-white players in their regular starting lineup is the Cincinnati Reds, who currently own the worst record in the National League.
What's the whitest team in baseball? ›
The Los Angeles Dodgers, the franchise that broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson in 1947 and has been a model for diversity in baseball for decades, will field a starting lineup this year that is nearly all white.
What is the racial makeup of the MLB? ›
According to Infogram | MLB Players % by Race:
White - 57.5% Hispanic - 31.9% Black - 7.7% Asian/Other - 2.9%
Who is the hated Dodgers player? ›
Jason Schmidt
He spent more time on the disabled list than on the mound and Dodger fans had every reason to hate him. Nearly $15 million per year and it got the team a pitcher who only won three games in two seasons and was on the decline after three All-Star teams.
What is the blackest MLB team? ›
On opening day 2020, the Seattle Mariners led the league with nine Black or African American players, representing 30% of the team's roster. The occurrence was so noteworthy fans immediately dubbed them “the Blackest team in baseball.”
Which Chicago baseball team is more popular? ›
Technically speaking, the Cubs fanbase is bigger than the White Sox due to the location of Wrigley Field and also the Cubs franchise being owned by the parent company of the Chicago Tribune.
What is the loneliest team in baseball? ›
The Oakland Athletics are the Loneliest Team in Baseball - The New York Times.
How many black players do the Dodgers have? ›
Dodgers' absence of African American players underscores an ongoing MLB issue. For the first time since 1946, the Dodgers didn't have a single African American player on their roster in 2019. The stars at this year's Dodgers alumni game spanned decades.
What percent of MLB fans are white? ›
Level of interest in MLB in the United States as of March 2023, by ethnicity
| Characteristic | Avid fan | Casual fan |
|---|
| White | 24% | 37% |
| Hispanic | 36% | 31% |
| Black | 15% | 35% |
| Other | 16% | 36% |
Apr 27, 2023
The most common ethnicity among baseball players is White, which makes up 72.8% of all baseball players.
As such, player representation by birth spans to 25 countries as of the 2022 MLB season, with the United States topping the list at 1,057 players called up to 26-man rosters. The most represented overseas country is the Dominican Republic, with 171 players called up to 26-man rosters.
Why are there less Black baseball players? ›
Baseball also lost Black talent because America's structural inequalities had taken their toll on the inner city game. In the late 1970s, youth coaches noted that while the sport was doing fine in the mostly White suburbs, inner cities struggled to field teams from the Little League to high school levels.
What celebrity is a huge Dodgers fan? ›
Mila Kunis. Not only is the Hollywood actress a huge Los Angeles Dodgers fan. She can also throw a great first pitch!
Who are the Dodgers biggest rivalry? ›
The Dodgers–Giants rivalry is a rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB).
What is the bad name for the Dodgers? ›
Los Angeles Dodgers
Dem Bums - From the Brooklyn years. Reference from the team's problems during the era getting a world championship.
Who broke the MLB color barrier? ›
Jackie Robinson broke through the color barrier in Major League Baseball, becoming the first Black player in the 20th century. Born in Cairo, Georgia, Robinson lettered in four sports at UCLA – football, basketball, baseball and track.
What percent of NBA is white? ›
According to racial equality activist Richard Lapchick, the NBA in 2021 was composed of 73.2 percent black players, 16.8 percent white players, 3.1 percent Latino players of any race, and 0.4 percent Asian players. Additionally, 6.6 percent of the players were classified as either multiracial or "other" races.
What percent of NFL is Black? ›
Players in the NFL in 2022, by ethnicity
In 2022, the greatest share of players by ethnic group in the National Football League (NFL) were black or African American athletes, constituting just over 56 percent of players within the NFL.
Which states is baseball the most popular? ›
Nine states have MLB as their favorite sport to watch: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming. MLB also tops the list of popular sports for residents of the District of Columbia.
Which MLB team has the largest fan base? ›
1. New York Yankees. The New York Yankees are the most popular MLB team, and one of the most popular sporting teams in the world. With an astonishing 27 World Series championships, the Yankees have built a history of success, and a culture of winning that dates back to 1903.
Most of the games took place in the New York metropolitan area, where it's even still popular. Since it has had such a long time to gain popularity, it's not surprising that it's now one of the most beloved sports in the USA. Actually, baseball is not only popular in the USA.
Is baseball becoming unpopular? ›
The NFL led, of course, with 44% of respondents saying they were fans of the NFL. In second place: baseball, with 31%, followed by college football at 29%, the NBA at 24%, and college basketball at 23%. Baseball dropped in popularity from the 55-and-over age group (38%) to the 18-34 age group (23%).
What MLB game had the lowest fan attendance? ›
Least attended game in history
The least attended game does not include games where stadiums were closed by governmental authority. The record was set on September 28, 1882, in game between the Troy Trojans and the Worcesters in Worcester, Massachusetts, which some reports had only six spectators attend.
What baseball team does Adam Sandler like? ›
On several occasions, he was seen with his wife at Yankee Stadium supporting his favorite team. Sandler is not only a baseball fan, he also played basketball growing up, so he loves to watch NBA games as well.
Who was the famous black dodger? ›
The Dodgers signing Robinson heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
How many African Americans play MLB? ›
42 in honor of Robinson, a historic low number of players on the field will actually be Black. Only 6.1% players on this year's opening-day rosters are Black, 58 of the 945 players on the active, injured and restricted lists, the smallest percentage since 1955, according to a study by USA TODAY Sports.
Is baseball a white mans sport? ›
There's a lot to celebrate about baseball's history, including desegregation and the many nonwhite stars the sports has produced. This is what a generic Major League team's demographics look like now: But only looking at who's on the field misses something very important: Baseball is still very white.
Which sport has the largest minority fan base? ›
The NBA has by far the most racially diverse and left-leaning U.S. fan base of the four top team sports, according to the Brand Intelligence data: 54 percent of fans of the average NBA team are nonwhite and 42 percent identify as Democratic.
Is baseball the most racially diverse sport? ›
Major League Baseball
With people of color making up 42.5 percent of MLB players, the league has one of the best diversity scores among the four major sports.
What percent of MLB is white? ›
Baseball Player Statistics By Race
The most common ethnicity among baseball players is White, which makes up 72.8% of all baseball players. Comparatively, there are 8.9% of the Black or African American ethnicity and 7.5% of the Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.
42 in honor of Robinson, a historic low number of players on the field will actually be Black. Only 6.1% players on this year's opening-day rosters are Black, 58 of the 945 players on the active, injured and restricted lists, the smallest percentage since 1955, according to a study by USA TODAY Sports.
