A Series that will look like them

Trayce Thompson committed last month to play baseball for UCLA, quite the thrill for Miller.

"If I had a nickel for every baseball guy we lost to basketball, I'd be rich," Miller said.

Major league officials next plan to roll out academies in Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Oakland and Philadelphia.

For all that baseball might do to lure African American youth, the black players in this World Series say they have to take responsibility as well.

"The more you go out and mingle with the kids, and they can see your face," Crawford said, "the more they want to do it."

Said Floyd: "This is a first step. Young African Americans can see baseball is a great sport.

"My idol was Harold Baines. He was busy. He didn't come out to Markham, Ill., to see Cliff Floyd. But that's what we need to do -- get out there, and let the kids know we care, get them off the streets and doing something constructive."

And then they might grab a bat and pursue a dream, to grow up to be just like Rollins, or Howard, or Torii Hunter of the Angels, or James Loney of the Dodgers.

The Angels and Dodgers each qualified for the playoffs this season, the Angels with six black players, the Dodgers with five.

"They see you have success," Rollins said. "They see you look like them, and you came from a place similar to them. And they say, 'He made it. Why can't I at least give it a shot?' "

Rollins came from the Bay Area, from Encinal High School. So did Stargell, four decades earlier. That explains his name on the high school field.

That Rollins did not recognize his name is a symptom of the decline in African American interest and participation in baseball. Selig said this World Series represents an opportunity, not a cure.

"This is a long-term effort," he said. "We lost a generation."

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bill.shaikin@latimes.com