Warren Wheeler scooped baseballs off small cones, gazed in the direction of his camp instructor, took a few steps, then let them fly.
“Last one!” yelled Donnie Brooks, the former University of Akron baseball player leading the throwing drill at an airport baseball field.
“There you go. There you go.”
In the infield, Jonathon Myles, a former baseball player at Buchtel and Central-Hower high schools, worked with younger kids, including Wisdom Edgerson, 4, to swing at a ball resting on a batting tee.
“Eye on the ball,” he told her. “Bend your knees. Alright.
“You got it. Nice little swing.”
She made contact.
“Good job! High five!”
Back in the outfield, Wheeler, 12, threw with intent, zipping the baseballs through the August heat. The muscle memory wasn’t there, but the athleticism was.
If Wheeler invests time into the sport…
Behind him on this early Saturday afternoon stood nine other Black boys, most of them middle-school age. Brooks, 32, hopes they’re young enough to still be enthralled by the purpose, the pacing, the passion of baseball.
Baseball analysts and historians have long concluded while hundreds of thousands of Black boys across America dream of winning Super Bowls and NBA championships, baseball is, at best, an afterthought. Reasons vary from the rising cost of travel baseball and a lack of well-maintained baseball fields to the increased popularity of other U.S. sports.
Years of declining enrollment on all levels has led to dismal statistics: On Opening Day in 2024, only 57 African Americans comprised Major League Baseball rosters — 6%, a dismal number when compared to a generation ago, when one out of five big leaguers were Black.
Players such as Ozzie Smith, Tony Gwynn, Barry Bonds, Kirby Puckett, Ken Griffey Jr., Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Andre Dawson, Eddie Murray, Tim Raines, Kenny Lofton, CC Sabathia and others inspired Brooks to take a swing.
That’s why he spent Saturday hoping to inspire nearly 50 kids participating in Akron Baseball Project Inc’s back-to-school camp.
The jewel of Akron is its people. They’re vibrant and resilient. Flawed, yet thoughtful and nurturing. And all of them come with compelling stories. That’s why we launched “Akron in 330.” This series offers a glimpse into everyday folks’ journeys across our many neighborhoods — 330 words at a time. Know someone we should consider? Tell us here.
