Jerry Manuel had dreamed of a moment like this. Last month, for the first time in MLB history, he watched four Black players go in the first five picks of the MLB draft: Druw Jones, Kumar Rocker, Termarr Johnson and Elijah Green. It felt like a monumental step after years of hard work by Manuel and plenty of others to grow the game and change the sport's culture.
Throughout his playing and coaching career in major league baseball -- which included winning a Manager of the Year award with the Chicago White Sox in 2000 -- Manuel had watched the number of Black players decline, from the youth levels up to the big leagues.