Young, Gifted And Black

It is easy to look at the evidence, from Little League to the majors, and deduce that African-American kids everywhere have forsaken baseball for football and basketball. But in Tampa the case is more nuanced. The talent level there, while not what it used to be, is striking nonetheless. Despite the dearth of teams, sponsors and trophies in Belmont Heights, you can still bet a box of Now and Laters that this area will crank out a couple of the best African-American baseball prospects every year.

Belmont Heights Little League feeds into two predominantly African-American high schools, Hillsborough and Middleton, located a mile apart. The team at Hillsborough, the alma mater of Sheffield, Gooden, Everett and Dukes, may no longer look like a major league All-Star squad, but last year the Nationals took Hillsborough outfielder Michael Burgess with the 49th pick in the draft. Next year Terriers' coach Kenny White expects outfielder Dave Richardson and catcher Marlon Mitchell to both be early draft choices. Middleton High, meanwhile, had pitcher Nevin Griffith drafted by the White Sox with the 89th pick last year, and this year third baseman Corey Thomas was drafted in the 13th round by the Orioles and first baseman Jamie Mallard was taken in the 17th round by the Angels.

"I hear a lot about how African-American kids don't play baseball anymore," says White. "But in Tampa they are still playing. I think kids here look at all the African-American players who have come out of this city—and now all the African-American players who are being taken by the Rays—and they see that it's still attainable, that baseball is still an option."

WHEN TEAM president Matt Silverman and executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman took over the Rays in 2005, one of their first moves was to fund the renovation of the Little League fields at Campbell Park in St. Petersburg. Since then, they have also helped restore the fields of the West Tampa Bay Little League and made plans to renovate fields for the Azalea Little League and South Brandon Little League. They understand the area's rich baseball tradition, but at the same time they are not trying to make any grand social statements with their recent draft picks.

"Ultimately, talent is king," says Friedman. "Picking as high as we did in the draft the last two years, I'm not sure that there are many teams who wouldn't have done the same thing we did. But it works out well because there is a great heritage of baseball in this area generally, but especially in the African-American community. More than anything, it's just a great coincidence."

African-American players have heard the opposite for years, that it is just a coincidence when the same teams come out of spring training every season with one or no black players. "I grew up in Houston, and I don't remember the Astros having any African-American players besides Derek Bell," says Crawford, a second-round pick of the Rays in 1999. "I didn't really mind because I loved the Astros no matter what. But a lot of my friends, who were really good players, would complain. They would be like, 'Why should I care about that team? Why should I care about baseball?' And they stopped playing. It matters where you live. You have to be able to turn on the TV and see players who look like you."

Three miles down 22nd Street from Belmont Heights Little League is another inner-city complex, North Seminole Little League, where frequent late-day thundershowers turn the infield dirt to mud. On a steaming Saturday morning in late July, 32 teens—27 of them African-American—gathered at North Seminole for a scrimmage. One of them, 18-year-old Jayson Williams, was throwing fastballs at 90 miles per hour, and when he really felt good about one, he chirped "Good night!" as it crossed home plate. Williams is a born pitcher, his frame long and wiry, his first cousin none other than Dwight Gooden. He has worked out for the Orioles and plans to play for Hillsborough Community College in the fall. Problem is, while Williams likes pitching just fine, he loves the outfield. "It's because of Carl Crawford," Williams says. "He's got the Rays about to make the playoffs. He's my inspiration."

Fortunately Williams has a coach to make sure he gets on the mound, where he belongs. Kenny Norman played nine years of professional baseball, advancing as far as Double A with the Minnesota Twins. Now 38, Norman believes he knows why African-American players have fallen behind in recent years. "In a city like Tampa, with all the great baseball tradition, it's not that the kids don't have the desire," Norman says. "It's just that they don't have the opportunity."

So last year Norman founded his own AAU program, Team Xtreme. Dues are $375 for six months, and if somebody is short, Norman usually makes up the difference. On some nights Norman and his wife, Beth, have as many as five players sleeping on floors and couches in their three-bedroom apartment. Norman goes to work from 1 a.m. to 11 a.m. as a Coca-Cola inventory clerk, then heads to the Seminole Little League Field and rakes the mud.

His pitchers include Demetrius Morrow, Jamarcus Gray and Kenny (Wood) George, all of whom are of high school age, all of whom are already throwing in the mid- to high 80s. As the pitchers take turns debating what constitutes a balk, the fathers huddle behind home plate discussing another young African-American hurler, who could be both a role model for their sons and a difference-maker in the AL East race. "David Price!" shouts one of the fathers. "Get ready for the AL surprise!"