 Waits believes it's a trickle-down problem. I think the big thing is that we need to continue to grow our game, especially at the youth level. But getting more black kids to play baseball can be a problem. The Aspen Institute and others say basketball and soccer have more appeal for youngsters than baseball. Even so, Major League Baseball has created urban youth academies in several Major League cities and taken other steps to draw more African Americans to the game.