The general manager of the Jumbo Shrimp said Monday diversity efforts might look different for the minor leagues than the major leagues.
Newly appointed to a diversity and equity committee for the minor leagues, General Manager Harold Craw said the first order of business is to learn from other teams about how they approach inclusion.
“Obviously we’ll probably have to identify things that we think are of interest to us that are probably different from Major League Baseball,” Craw said. “And then we can put some rubber to the road and move down it.”
Craw said the Shrimp’s work has included celebrating the history of African Americans in baseball during Black History Month, and working with minority high school students who are interested in learning sports management.
“I know that there are other teams that are doing different types of things, and it’s just a great opportunity that we can take form another club that’s doing that and be able to adapt it here, or there might be one or two club’s activities that come together and become minor league-wide.”
Craw said the team’s advancing to Triple-A wouldn’t change the atmosphere of “affordable family fun,” but it could draw more attention to the Jacksonville team as a feeder for the Miami Marlins.
The Jumbo Shrimp are scheduled to start their season on May 4 at home against the Norfolk Tides. The season was originally scheduled to start April 6, but was pushed back due to the pandemic.
The 2020 minor league season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Craw said the team will follow Major League Baseball’s rules for health and safety, including asking guests to wear masks at their seats unless they are eating or drinking.
Contact Sydney Boles at sboles@wjct.org, or on Twitter at @sydneyboles.
