Central Plains FFA Chapter

07/16 12:46 CDT Jordan Walker won the Home Run Derby. He wants to lead the next wave of Black athletes into baseball Jordan Walker won the Home Run Derby. He wants to lead the next wave of Black athletes into baseball By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) --- Jordan Walker rooted for Chipper Jones as a young Braves fan raised in suburban Atlanta and used to beg his family to take him to baseball games at Turner Field. Walker's parents -- "Jordan's Dad" and "Jordan's Mom," as known by their customized jerseys this week at the Home Run Derby --- often obliged. Derek Walker and his 7 year old son were out in left field seats for an April series in 2010 when Braves slugger and future Gold Glove winner Jason Heyward made his debut. Oh, for sure the younger Walker still cheered for Jones. But to see a young Black star such as Heyward command the outfield the way Walker wanted to play, a new favorite player was born. "As soon as Jayson Heyward debuted," Walker said. "I was like, oh yeah, that's the guy. That's who I want to be like." The significance of representation in the Black community was never lost on Walker. So when Walker, a former St. Louis Cardinals' first-round pick once on the cusp of bust territory after several demotions over the last few seasons, had his breathtaking, breakthrough moment with a six-swing, six-homer rally past Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber to win the Derby, he hoped his star-making turn would inspire more young Black athletes to follow in his footsteps and choose baseball. Just as he was inspired by Heyward. "For Black kids, I want to kind of be a role model for them," Walker said, "like he was for me." With each prodigious blast off his customized Iron Man bat, the 24-year-old Walker silenced the Philly boo birds clamoring for a home team Schwarber victory and shined in his coming-out party beyond the St. Louis bubble and to the entire baseball world. He flashed the kind of swag that appealed to a younger generation much in the way Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. did in his heyday. Walker wore his Cardinals hat backward, chewed a big wad of bubble gum and reveled afterward in flashing his imitation Liberty Bell bling, the champions' chain presented by Ryan Howard. None other than career home run leader Barry Bonds gave Walker his stamp of approval --- "you got my trophy, too" --- for winning the greatest Derby he's ever seen. "That means the world to me," Walker said. Walker is among the scores of All-Star talents leading a modest uptick of Black baseball players in the major leagues. When Houston and Philadelphia played the 2022 World Series that featured no U.S-born Black players, Astros manager Dusty Baker noted, "It looks bad. But there is help on the way." They're here --- with Walker as the All-Star weekend centerpiece. "I think once kids see more people to look up to," All-Star Nationals outfielder James Wood said, "the more kids will get back into baseball."

Baseball has seen modest gains with Black baseball players Take a look around the All-Star clubhouses and it was clear --- while not at the pace perhaps MLB would like --- Walker helped represent a new wave of emerging Black talent. Three-time AL MVP and Yankees slugger Aaron Judge sat out with an injury, but Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams and outfielder James Wood, Cincinnati Reds ace Chase Burns and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin ushered in the next, young group of future Black stars. The game also featured Minnesota Twins veteran Byron Buxton. "I feel like there's been like a little surge in getting more Black players in the game," Wood said. "We've got four on our team right now. Last year at one point, we had five. I think you're seeing it come back." MLB said that 6.8% of players on opening day rosters, injured lists and the restricted list were Black, up from 6.2% at the start of the 2025 season and 6.0% at the beginning of 2024. This year's 0.6% increase was the most in a season since a 0.7% rise from 2017 to 2018. Twenty of the 64 Black players had been in MLB-sponsored programs such as the MLB Youth Academy, Breakthrough Series, DREAM Series, Nike RBI and the Hank Aaron Invitational. MLB said the total included 22 players 25 or younger and eight older than 32. The average age of Black players was 27.8 and the overall average 29.25. The 23-year-old Burns, 11-1 with a 2.54 ERA with the Reds, was proud to hear Walker champion a Black youth movement at the Derby. "You don't see a lot of Black athletes in baseball," Burns said. "I don't know why that it is. I think it's great for guys like me and him to strive to get Black athletes into the game of baseball, whether it's talking about it or doing stuff in the community. I think it's great he pointed it out."

Walker hopes he can keep leading the way The best chance, naturally, for Walker to serve as a role model for the next generation is to make sure he's not just a one-Derby wonder. Walker has 22 home runs, leads baseball with 74 RBIs and is a solid 13th with an .886 OPS --- Wood is second at .985 --- for a Cardinals team in the NL wild-card hunt. The Cardinals are finally getting the production expected out of the right fielder they drafted with their first-round pick in 2020. Walker, who signed out of high school after he had committed to Duke, skipped Triple-A and made the opening day roster as the youngest player in baseball in 2023 and tied Eddie Murray's under 21-rookie record with a 13-game hitting streak. He was sent down later that season; was the 2024 opening day right fielder and demoted again with a .155 batting average. Walker suffered a variety of injuries in 2025 and played in just 111 games that suddenly put his future as a key Cardinals' contributor very much in doubt. Leaning on the same convictions that made him believe he could overtake the mighty Schwarber in the Derby championship round, Walker said a day after his win he never wavered in his belief that he would blossom into an everyday player and All-Star with the Cardinals. He tinkered with his swing during an extend rehab assignment last season and the results were on full display in Philadelphia with 12 home runs in the final round. "When my swing's fluid and easy, that's when it's at it's best," Walker said. "That's really what it is." Walker, who struck out in his lone at bat in the All-Star Game, earned a $1 million prize for winning the Derby, which is more than his 2026 salary of $799,400. (Here's a fun fact: Walker has 49 career homers off 49 different pitchers.) As for the backward hat, "I call it the Griffey because no one did it better than him." No one did it better than Walker at the Derby. He just hopes his win can be a launching pad for a next generation of Black athletes into the big leagues. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb