Bob Kendrick laments lack of throwbacks in Royals’ Salute to the Negro Leagues
Royals players and coaches had a special visitor in their locker room ahead of Saturday’s game against the Dodgers.
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick spoke with them about the rich history of the Negro Leagues and the Kansas City Monarchs.
The Royals’ annual Salute to the Negro Leagues celebration will be Sunday when they finish a three-game series with the Dodgers. Both teams will wear throwback caps, but in Kendrick’s mind, something is missing from the game.
Up until last year, the Royals and their opponent wore full Negro Leagues uniforms on that special day, and the jerseys were auctioned off after the game.
“The last two years they haven’t worn the uniforms,” Kendrick said. “I think it was a highly anticipated part of this celebration. The fans enjoy seeing the teams wear those uniforms. The players enjoyed wearing those uniforms. And of course, we know those game-worm uniforms would be auctioned with the proceeds coming back to benefit the museum. So in lieu of wearing the uniforms, both teams over the last couple of years have won commemorative caps.
“And they’ll auction those off and raise money for the museum as well. But it’s not quite the same. It’s not the pageantry, nor does it generate the same level of support that the uniforms would.”
Kendrick wasn’t sure why the decision was made to quit the tradition, but he said it wasn’t the Royals’ call. Other MLB teams have also stopped wearing the Negro Leagues uniforms for special days.
The Royals said ahead of last year’s Salute to the Negro Leagues they wouldn’t be wearing throwbacks because of a change in Major League Baseball’s uniform regulations, which also applies to other special event uniforms.
“Now to the Royals’ credit, they stepped in last year to make up for the lost revenue, which is a tremendous gesture on behalf of the team,” he said. “They shouldn’t have to do it. I appreciate the generosity that the club has bestowed to do that. I am still hopeful that we’ll get back to where those uniforms are worn.”
To an outsider, it may seem that Kendrick’s motivation to see the Royals play in Negro Leagues uniforms once a year is strictly a financial one.
Kendrick acknowledges that is part of the equation, but the educational aspect of MLB players in Negro Leagues uniforms is equally important.
“Beyond the revenue generation considerations for the uniforms, for me, it is the profile that is created around this game, and not just here in Kansas City, but around baseball — where you had those cities that had a rich Negro League history, they want to wear those uniforms,” Kendrick said. “And it just raises the profile of the Negro Leagues, which heightens the interest and the subject matter, which naturally turns people toward the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
“So there’s a rhyme and reason for all of this that goes beyond just that day and the financial considerations, which are tremendous in terms of how significant it is when they wear those uniforms. And I think baseball fans really do enjoy seeing that nod to the Negro Leagues and that the young athletes embrace the significance of the Negro Leagues.”
Jackie vs. Jackie
Sunday isn’t Jackie Robinson Day, but his legacy will be a big part of the game.
Robinson in 1947 broke the color barrier as the first Black player in Major League Baseball when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Brooklyn had signed Robinson after he was with the Kansas City Monarchs.
“So it’s Jackie vs. Jackie,” Kendrick said with a smile. “The Royals are wearing the 1945 Monarch cap, which is the year that Jackie was with the Monarchs. And the Dodgers are wearing a version of a Brooklyn Dodgers cap that also translates to a period when Jackie was there.
“When you think about the star power that you have with the Dodgers, you can only imagine what those uniforms would have fetched. Shohei (Ohtani), Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, you know, those uniforms would raise a pretty penny with the proceeds coming back to the museum. But it also would have meant a lot to have Shohei Ohtani doing something in tribute to the Negro Leagues, particularly when you learn that it was the Negro Leagues that introduced the American brand of professional baseball to the Japanese (in 1927).”
Alas, maybe next year the Royals will be able to wear Negro Leagues uniforms once again.
