Ken Griffey Jr. and T-Mobile Go to Bat for Black Ballplayers

What value does Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week hold if future generations don’t see themselves among the sport’s elite… or even on its field?

When Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. was in the early days of his career with the Seattle Mariners in 1991, Black players made up 18% of baseball’s rosters. As the All-Star Game returns to Seattle for the first time since 2001, The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES) noted that Black players make up just 6.2% of baseball rosters. 

“Over the years, we have seen the decline of African-American players not because they don’t want to play, but rather because they haven’t been seen,” Griffey said.

Coming back to Seattle for All-Star Week, Griffey is teaming with his partners at MLB and its players association—as well as brands like T-Mobile, Nike, Chevrolet and concessionaire Sodexo—to address baseball’s culture and bring Black players back into the game.

As an ambassador for MLB and MLBPA’s Youth Development Foundation—which promotes and sponsors amateur baseball and softball—Griffey is using his own brand to kick off All-Star Week with the first HBCU Swingman Classic on Friday night at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. 

Over the years, we have seen the decline of African-American players, not because they don’t want to play but rather because they haven’t been seen.

Ken Griffey Jr.

The event brings in players and alumni coaches from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for an exhibition game, but also tries to forge connections that have been lost to Major League Baseball for generations. As the league experiments with events like the Hank Aaron Invitational—which reaches out to high school players of diverse backgrounds—both the game and its sponsors have realized that changing a culture requires full-time commitment.

“Highlighting the talent at HBCU baseball programs is an important part of how we connect with college baseball while also improving African-American representation at all levels of our game,” said MLB chief baseball development officer Tony Reagins.

Cooking up connections

Kevin Fletcher grew up considering Ken Griffey Jr. the greatest baseball player of all time. When Fletcher was really drawn to baseball—during the Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa home run chase of 1998—he watched Griffey win the All-Star Week Home Run Derby at Coors Field in Denver with his hat on backward, then again at Boston’s Fenway Park in 1999.

“I played baseball for one year, found out I was terrible, and my mom said never again,” he said. “But I play MLB The Show every day. I’ve got a great franchise going, it’s been six years and two World Series.”

When Fletcher turned 25, he left his career as a DJ to use the cooking talents he’d acquired from his grandmother and pursue a career as a chef, which led him to Sodexo, where he answered a listing from Howard University seeking an executive chef to change the culture and content of the school’s dining program.

During the Swingman Classic in Seattle, Fletcher is representing both Howard and T-Mobile Park concessionaire Sodexo Live by preparing menus alongside executive chefs from other Sodexo-served HBCUs.

“I wear a chef’s coat with Howard University on my chest every day and was just like, ‘I’m just going to work to make a difference in these kids’ lives,’ and they’re like, ‘No, this is something bigger than you,’” he said. “Now I’m starting to understand that and always challenge myself to think bigger and broader, because it’s more than just a dining hall—this is history. There are so many people that are connected to this university, so I’ve got to make sure that I’m on my A game at all times.”

Building beyond baseball

Griffey and his counterparts at MLB have reached out to HBCU contacts and ensured that all details are covered. Members of the Negro Leagues Family Alliance will be recognized prior to the first pitch, when Griffey will join HBCU notables including Hall of Famer Andre Dawson, College Baseball Hall of Fame coach Roger Cador, College Baseball Hall of Famer Rickie Weeks and former Atlanta Braves All-Star Ralph Garr.

Grammy-nominated gospel artist (and former minor leaguer) Todd Dulaney, with Seattle church choir all-stars Songs of Black Folk Celebration Chorus, will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” 

Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball announcer Marque Denmon fills in for the Mariners’ Tom Hutyler, while the Dolls & Gents Drumline and Drill Team of HBCU alumni will perform during player introductions and two-inning breaks. The game starts at 7:42 p.m. in honor of Griffey (No. 7) and Jackie Robinson (whose No. 42 is retired leaguewide). 

Even the sponsors took extra steps beyond simply slapping their logo on the event. Presenting sponsor T-Mobile is presenting its T-Mobile Impact Award to a participating athlete for their leadership and community commitment. In early 2024, T-Mobile will host an HBCU Athlete Summit for student-athletes who participated in the Swingman Classic. The event will feature panel discussions, roundtable talks and networking opportunities with T-Mobile HBCU alumni, executive leaders and former student-athletes. They will get to look behind the scenes at T-Mobile corporate facilities and consider careers with the company.

“As a company with a longstanding commitment to [diversity, equity and inclusion] and a longtime partnership with MLB, we’re proud to support this event and MLB’s goal of promoting greater diversity in baseball,” said Mike Katz, president of marketing, innovation and experience at T-Mobile. “Representation matters, and in baseball it’s important to give players a platform to demonstrate their talent on a significant stage like what this event provides.”

Chevrolet is bringing its “Discover the Unexpected” (DTU) partnership with the National Newspaper Publishers Association to the Swingman Classic and giving marketing and journalism fellows from HBCUs a chance to cover the event and interview players. Getty Images, meanwhile, has invited two members of its HBCU photographer mentorship program and one HBCU student photographer to photograph the Classic and other All-Star events for an exhibit showcasing HBCU sports culture. 

Griffey, the YDF and the United Negro College Fund of Seattle are prefacing Swingman with an HBCU fair at T-Mobile park featuring recruiters and alumni groups from nine HBCUs and seven Divine Nine fraternities and sororities. While there will be donations to the United Negro College Fund, the Black Play-by-Play Grant and Scholarship Fund, and space for Black-owned vendors, Swingman’s greatest potential lies in its ability to draw attention on the MLB Network and SiriusXM and, eventually, increased funding for HBCU baseball programs from MLB and its partners. 

“I am excited to help these kids get the national attention that they don’t receive compared to other college baseball programs,” Griffey said. “College scholarships for baseball are not comparative to other sports, and a lot of families cannot afford to pay the difference. So, this effort is the industry coming together to give these kids an opportunity to play the game they love on the national stage.”