Regardless of the sport or field of expertise that anyone decides to pursue, in order to advance and thrive in that said field, must first be recognized for their talents by those who make executive decisions before any sort level up can occur. In any professional level sport, getting seen by scouts and coaches while among the amateur ranks seems likes a million to one shot, especially for Black baseball players. Black players make up less than 10% on the baseball diamond on the professional level, while their basketball and football counterparts are an overwhelming 80% of professional rosters.
Enter into the world of Minority Baseball Prospects’ Creative Director and VP Tyrone Wyche. The Atlanta native started the mission of magnifying a focus on Black and Brown baseball players along with his brother Alex during the pandemic, when national baseball showcases broadcasted white players while all but shunning minority players who boasted better stats in tougher leagues. There is no doubt that Black players have made unprecedented history in baseball, but with baseball being predominately white since its inception in 1890, back when Black players were totally excluded from competing on a professional level, Black baseball players’ opportunities to gain national exposure are not even comparable to their white counterparts. Also, the racism faced by Black players in the early 20th century that forced them to create the Negro Leagues are the same hurdles that have now forced people like Wyche into a niche to properly expose Black baseball prospects.
Minority Baseball Prospects and its sister organization, Minority Softball Prospects, have literally spread over half of the country and have produced unparalleled results. MBP is currently facilitating events and showcases in 26 states, have showcased 565 collegiate signees including 2024 NCAA D1 Collegiate Champions Tennessee Vols’ Christian Moore, Kavares Tears and Ariel Antigua, 47 MLB Draft Picks including Pittsburgh Pirates’ Temarr Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks Druw Jones, Reds’ 2022 1st Round Draft Pick Cam Collier, Padres’ 2023 1st Round Draft Pick Dillon Head, Yankees 2023 1st Round Draft Pick George Lombard Jr., Rangers’ 2022 5th Round Draft Pick Chandler Pollard and hundreds of HBCU All-American and All-American Game Black players.
In this exclusive interview with TheSource.com, this Black baseball executive speaks about the importance of having showcases and tournaments exclusively for Black and Brown baseball players and his plans to expand the Minority Prospects umbrella into other sports.
Wyche stated his purpose for establishing MBP: “At the end of the day, me and my brother felt like this void needed to be filled…it’s never been talked about. So for us, it just felt like the right timing. It showed us that it really needed to be done because it happened so fast…we did it for the passion. We didn’t do it for the money. We did it for the representation.”
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