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Article: Part 5: On diamonds, the nearly invisible man: Sixty years after Jackie Robinson's debut, the pool of African American players has evaporated to a puddle.
- Article from:
- The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA)
- Article date:
- April 12, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 The Philadelphia Inquirer. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: David Aldridge
Apr. 12--When Dontrelle Willis pitches for the Florida Marlins, he's balancing a heavy load.
"Every time I go up on the mound, I take my race and my family out there," the all-star hurler said last week.
"I go out there and I play as hard as I can," he said, "because in the end, you can say whatever you want about my numbers, but you can never say my effort level wasn't there, as far as going out there and taking pride on my shoulders and saying, 'Work hard and try to open the door like they opened the door for me.' "
But if recent trends continue, Willis won't have many people to whom he can pass the torch.
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