Baseball in D.C.: Pitching to Black Fans

The Washington Nationals try to win back a demographic that has largely turned away from baseball

When the Washington Nationals play their home opener at R.F.K. Stadium this week, it will be the first regular-season major league game in the nation's capital since 1971. It also will be the first at-bat for a team trying to score with a demographic that has largely turned away from baseball. Just 8.7% of baseball fans nationwide last year, as measured by Simmons Market Research Bureau, were black--which mirrors the sport's racial makeup: 9% of last season's major leaguers were black, the fewest in 20 years, according to a University of Central Florida study. Baseball's back in D.C., but to endure...

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