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KC Royals Negro Leagues tribute loses major element this year

By Jacob Milham |
/ Jamie Squire/GettyImages
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When the boys are winning, that fixes almost everything. But, the KC Royals annual annual Salute to the Negro Leagues game on Sunday, July 28, will bother me no matter the result on the field. It sounds ridiculous, but it is the truth.

The KC Royals Negro Leagues recognition is something, but not enough

Let's discuss the plans of the Royals to honor the Negro Leagues and raise money for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Both teams will wear special hats for the game, with each hat having a connection to Kansas City. The Royals will wear 1924 Kansas City Monarchs hats with a 100th Anniversary Negro League World Series patch, while the Cubs' hats will feature a Buck O'Neil 1962 autograph patch.

Royals fans are familiar with O'Neil's impact in Kansas City, but it was in 1962 with the Cubs that he became the first Black coach in American or National League history. The annual event happening between the Cubs and Royals is even more special. Plus, following the game, the game-used hats will be up for auction with proceeds benefitting the museum.

In recent years, the Royals and their opponents have worn the full kit to honor a Negro League team. The Kansas City Monarchs have a deep connection with the Royals, and it’s always special to see that connection come to life for one game each year. Now, the connection is limited to a patch on a cap. This feels off-putting as if MLB is drawing back on a special moment after bringing Negro Leagues further into the MLB fold earlier this year. The change stems from "changes in league uniform regulations," according to a Royals statement.

Major League Baseball has been a long-time supporter to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and we have been impressed by the numerous ways the league has celebrated the Negro Leagues this season. Our friend Bob Kendrick will speak to our players in the clubhouse, and to our fans on the broadcasts. We have promised Bob that the Royals will support the Museum will be supported as usual this year, financially and otherwise, and encourage everyone to visit one of Kansas City's treasures.
Kansas City Royals, July 26, 2024

What is the harm in having teams pay homage once a year? This is the same season where MLB sent two teams to historic Rickwood Field for a game, with the San Francisco Giants wearing San Francisco Sea Lions uniforms and the St. Louis Cardinals donning the St. Louis Stars uniforms. Why, in the same year of that massive step forward in recognizing the Negro Leagues, not allow teams the same privilege?

The game at Rickwood Field was very important, not only for honoring the past but also for starting and informing difficult conversations. Reggie Jackson, who was drafted second overall by the Kansas City Athletics in 1966, shared some words before the game that highlighted the fact that institutionalized racial injustice is not just a distant memory.

Reminding more people of the Negro Leagues, their history, and why they matter, is important. Teams wearing full uniforms honoring a former franchise get knowledgeable fans talking and curious fans asking questions. I feel passionate about this because not long ago, I was a curious fan,

How MiLB ignited my passion for remembering the Negro Leagues

If you didn't know, I do not live in Kansas or Missouri but rather in Hampton, Virginia. My local minor-league team is the Norfolk Tides, the Triple-A affiliate for the Baltimore Orioles. That stacked farm system makes going out to Harbor Park a treat, watching MLB's future square off each night.

The Tides held their first Negro League Tribute Night on June 30, 2023, remembering the Norfolk Red Stockings. That team existed from 1878 to the early 1900s, making it one of the oldest teams in the region. I had surprisingly never heard of them, but loved the uniform and thought the Tides did right by the Red Stockings.

My curiosity came to fruition in the fourth inning, when I started chatting with an elderly Black gentleman attending the game. Let's just call him Charles. Charles had grown quite a gaggle of listeners around him by this point, with him sitting in a wheelchair and fans young and old listening from a standing bar. I joined the group and loved listening to Charles, speaking energetically with a drawl.

Charles had started talking about Black-only baseball in the region, focusing on teams in Norfolk and neighboring Portsmouth. He recalled attending games on Sunday afternoons, with people attending directly after church and filling up the stands. Charles is the one who educated me on the ties Satchel Paige, Johnny Bench, and Sam Allen had to Hampton Roads.

Yet, sometime after the stretch, the conversation shifted away from baseball and towards Charles' life in Hampton Roads. He recounted the area's segregation and the normalization of that segregation that still existed in 2023. I at some point told him I lived in Hampton, but wasn't from there originally. He took the opportunity to talk about how Black families were pushed from Norfolk to the surrounding cities, Hampton included. That history, insight, and genuine conversation brought a group of baseball fans into an unexpected history lesson.

I doubt Charles feels empowered to talk about his younger days without the Tides representing the Red Stockings. I doubt he talks about race relations today without talking about his younger days. I doubt I learn that history if Charles doesn't talk that day.

All because of a different uniform.

The league's new restrictions on special uniforms, including Negro Leagues uniforms, are unfortunate. When my colleague Jeremy Greco pointed out the Detroit Tigers had a similar change last month, I hoped it was a misunderstanding. I hoped that the Royals would still trot out Sunday in full Monarchs regalia, for just one game.

But nay, just a patch on a cap.

The Negro Leagues deserve more. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum deserves more. Baseball fans deserve more.

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