Player Spotlight - Joe Thurston

Joe Thurston is the lone African American player on the 25 man roster for the Cardinals as they begin the 2009 season. Thurston is 29 years old and the Cardinals are the 4th major league team he has seen action for at the major league level. He has also been a member of the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals but hasn't played on the field for those teams at the majors.

At 29, Thurston, has played in a total of 59 major league games. He is now a utility player that can play 3rd, 2nd, or the outfield. Should he be able to produce he has a chance to be used like Aaron Miles, who starred in a similar role for the last two seasons for the Cardinals.

When people speak to the lack of African American ballplayers on today’s teams many hint that there is a lack of opportunities for today’s African American ballplayers. In truth, there are just more opportunities for today’s African American athletes in other sports. Thurston at 5’ 11” and 190 pounds might not be ideal size for professional basketball but the relative cost of playing basketball as a kid is considerably lower than playing baseball.

The baseball glove is roughly the same price as a basketball. The only difference is that you need 9 gloves per team and only one basketball per team. In addition, the footwear for baseball is specialized but basketball sneakers are frequently everyday wear. The field for baseball can house up to 5 or 6 basketball courts and basketball is generally easier to referee on your own. Outside of the lower west and east coast and some southern states, baseball can’t be practiced year round but basketball can.

In addition, at a high school level, baseball is not glorified on the same level as football and basketball are in most areas. Basketball and football players are local legends but only those really into baseball can name one or two players on the local high school team.

Thurston being the lone African American player on the 25 man roster is not so much a statement on the difficulty of African Americans making a baseball team but on the contrary it is a statement on the wealth of opportunities available for African Americans in other sporting venues. Although baseball is a game that I love, it is not necessary that African Americans participate in high numbers for me to enjoy the game.

While the game is great at teaching teamwork, communication, and hard work paying dividends to young people it is not the sole source of these goals. Baseball remains an important part of African American achievements in this country and I am sure that African Americans will continue to turn out star players but just not in the numbers when baseball was the jewel of American sports.