A Series that will look like them

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Jimmy Rollins played his high school games at Willie Stargell Field. The sign said so.

"I thought he was some guy that must have given a lot of money," Rollins said.

Stargell was one of the greatest players in baseball history, but Rollins grew up among a generation of African American youth that paid little attention to baseball.

For all the millions baseball has poured into reviving its sport in the inner cities of America, into trying to reclaim a place alongside football and basketball in popularity among young African Americans, the World Series has sent an entirely different message.

That changes tonight, when Rollins and the Philadelphia Phillies open the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

In the 2005 Series, the Houston Astros had no black players. The Colorado Rockies last year had one, an obscure relief pitcher.

But this year, the competing teams both feature African American stars, to the delight of the players involved and to the officials charged with luring black youth back to the baseball diamond.

"It's got to be huge, just to see these faces on TV," Tampa Bay pitcher David Price said, "so young African Americans can relate and see something to shoot for."

Blacks accounted for 8.2% of major league players last season, according to a diversity study by the University of Central Florida, the lowest annual percentage since the study began in 1990.

This series features such stars as Rollins, the most valuable player in the National League last season; the Phillies' Ryan Howard, the 2006 MVP and this year's major league home run leader; and the Rays' B.J. Upton, who needs one home run to tie the postseason record.

Price, the top pick in last year's baseball draft, secured the outs that clinched the Rays' spot in the World Series.

"You can't buy better exposure than that," said Darrell Miller, director of baseball's first urban youth academy, located at Compton College.

"We can say all we want about the great opportunity, but it speaks volumes when they can see young, vibrant superstars showing their successes and skills on prime-time TV, on the biggest stage baseball has to offer."

This is a new generation of players -- Rollins is 29, Howard 28, Upton 24, Price 23 -- to inspire a new generation of African American athletes to take up the sport.