Steve Webb
KANSAS CITY, MO — It’s been a bit since the Dodgers have been to Kansas City. They were scheduled to play the Royals in 2020, but the pandemic put the kibosh on those plans, so it’s been five years since the last visit. So, it only makes sense that the team take in some of the sights while they’re here. Chief among them for baseball fans has got to be the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Prior to Saturday evening’s game, a delegation from the team headed to this shrine to the game, about ten minutes from Kaufman Stadium.
Leading the tour was one of the great ambassadors for the game, the NLBM president Bob Kendrick. He regaled the Dodgers with stories of the colorful characters that made the Negro Leagues such a vital part of American life prior to Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier in 1947. In fact, Jackie Robinson himself started his pro career not far from this site, playing for the now legendary Kansas City Monarchs.
“As we look at our game today,” Kendrick said to a crowd of Dodger players, “there are so many ethnicities that make up a major-league roster on any given day. At the heart of it were the Negro Leagues. They helped make the game the global game it is today.”
For some of the Dodgers’ group, like manager Dave Roberts, it was the first visit. For others, like veteran pitcher David Price, it’s become more of a regular pilgrimage. Saturday marked the tenth time that Price has been to the museum, dating back to his college days at Vanderbilt. But for all, it was a chance to learn about this often-neglected part of baseball history.
“That’s why we go,” Price told the Athletic, “so we can expand our minds and just learn a little bit about the past of what the Negro League guys went through.”
No doubt it is Price’s knowledge of the the history of the Black ballplayer that in part inspired him to be a founding member of the Players’ Alliance, a group of former and current big leaguers who are dedicated to bringing the game to underrepresented communities.
Doc was equally impressed. “It is mind-blowing to put it in perspective as far as recency and just thinking that those guys had opportunities in the middle of their careers … there were so many players of that caliber that didn’t have the opportunity to play in the major leagues,” Roberts said. “To see a picture of a 17-year-old Hank Aaron, with a ham sandwich and two pairs of clothes to change in and $1.50 in his bag, it’s crazy. It’s a history lesson that we all needed.”
Pitcher Evan Phillips had head a presentation from Kendrick before, but being at the museum brought it all to life for him. “To get that full experience … that was really cool,” Phillips said.
Even SNLA on-field reporter Kirstin Watson had a connection to the museum. While walking through the exhibits, she was able to find a picture of her great-grandfather Frank Miller, smiling as part of a team portrait for the Cuban Giants in 1888.
To cap off the special visit, on Saturday evening, the Dodgers wore throwback uniforms to the 1955 Dodgers, the only World Series winner that Jackie Robinson was able to play on. And in turn, the Royals wore the striking red and white uniforms of the 1947 Kansas City Monarchs. It was a just part of a day meant to give these special players a larger place in the national narrative that is baseball. Bob Kendrick summed it up best.
“They dared to dream of playing baseball,” Kendrick said. “They had no idea that they were making history.”
