February is Black History Month.
On the sixth day of this historic month, MLB has chosen to look back at a few MLB legends and the six times two African-American players swept the MVP honors in both leagues.
Black History Month is an important month as we honor the journeys of so many influential people, not only in society, but sports as well.
It was Jackie Robinson that broke the color barrier in baseball back in 1947, which helped paved the way for other legends.
On Twitter, MLB posted a video featuring several African-American stars and their MVP seasons, including Rod Carew, George Foster, Barry Bonds, Barry Larkin, Frank Thomas, Mo Vaughn, Jim Rice, Dave Parker, Rickey Henderson, and Don Baylor.
On the 6th day of #BlackHistoryMonthwe look back at the six times a duo of Black players swept MVP honors. pic.twitter.com/ZFYKA0KFRG
—MLB (@MLB) February 6, 2023
These are some of the game’s most talented and influential players of all time.
Surprisingly, many of the players shown in the video are not in the Hall of Fame.
But the greatness of these players in undeniable and should not go unnoticed as we celebrate Black History Month and what these stars meant to the game of baseball in terms of their legendary careers, but also in terms of diversity and inclusion and the progress that has been made over the years.
Obviously, there is still work to be done, but these stars helped pave the way for other African-Americans to have the opportunity to play Major League Baseball.
Rice, Thomas, Larkin, Carew, and Henderson have all been enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
