Why are the Mets in the Civil Rights Game?

On March 23, 2008 by narmer

Why are the Mets in the Civil Rights Game? The Mets have the honor of playing the Chicago White Sox in the 2008 Civil Rights Game on March 29th. My question is simple: Why the Mets?

“The intent of the game is to embrace baseball’s history of African-American players, as well as to generate interest for future black players,” says its Wikipedia page. On MLB.com, the game is said to represent “a symbolic eternal torch commemorating the struggle for racial harmony near where the most painful obstacle had been thrown in its path.”

So, in a nutshell, it’s supposed to showcase and embrace the African-American community in baseball and attempt to raise awareness supporting baseball in those communities.

So who was the genius who chose the Mets?

On the 40-man roster, the Mets only have two African-American players. On the coaching staff, they also have two men from African-American descent. Damion Easley and Marlon Anderson on the field, Willie Randolph and Jerry Manuel on the coaching staff.

Read the whole article here:  The ‘Ropolitans

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