Main League Baseball Unveil Black Historical past Month Initiatives

[ad_1] by Mary Spiller February 1, 2026

Seattle Mariners are honoring Negro Leagues’ 1946 Steelheads by carrying duplicate uniforms on Sundays.

Main League Baseball organizations in Kansas Metropolis and Seattle are spotlighting the legacy of the Negro Leagues by expanded entry, historic tributes and new neighborhood investments tied to Black Historical past Month.

In Kansas Metropolis, the Royals Basis will once more cowl admission prices to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) for all the month of February. This system marks the fifth straight 12 months the muse has sponsored free entry, an effort initially launched to honor Black Historical past Month and improve public engagement with the museum.

The NLBM, based in 1990, is the nation’s solely museum devoted solely to preserving and celebrating the historical past of African-American baseball and its broader affect on American society. Positioned in Kansas Metropolis’s historic 18th and Vine Jazz District, the museum sits simply blocks from the Paseo YMCA, the place Andrew “Rube” Foster shaped the Negro Nationwide League in 1920.

“We are able to’t thank the Kansas Metropolis Royals and The Royals Basis sufficient for as soon as once more opening the doorways of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum freed from cost for all the month of February and we look ahead to seeing the turnstiles spinning,” mentioned NLBM president Bob Kendrick. He famous that the initiative makes the museum extra accessible, particularly for college students from underserved communities, whereas encouraging guests to study from athletes who overcame “super social adversity to play the sport they liked.”

For the reason that program started in 2022, greater than 50,000 folks have visited the museum throughout Free February, in response to the Royals. The muse’s whole contribution tied to the initiative now exceeds $435,000.

Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman known as the hassle a pure match for the group. “That establishment – we predict it’s an vital story that must be informed, far and vast,” Sherman mentioned. “It’s a fairly easy factor for us to do.” He added that the Royals’ broader investments within the surrounding neighborhood and help for the museum’s enlargement made driving attendance “the proper factor to do.”

The museum will lengthen its hours all through February, opening every day with earlier and weekend entry to accommodate elevated attendance.

On the West Coast, the Seattle Mariners introduced a separate however complementary tribute. Starting within the 2026 season, the membership will put on duplicate uniforms honoring the 1946 Seattle Steelheads for Sunday residence video games. The change replaces the cream-colored Sunday uniforms the group has worn since 2015 and makes Seattle the primary MLB franchise to include a Negro Leagues uniform into its common rotation.

The Mariners are additionally launching the Steelheads Neighborhood Fund, committing $500,000 to help Black-led baseball and softball packages and associated neighborhood initiatives.

“We're proud to honor our recreation’s historical past and put money into the way forward for our neighborhood with Steelheads Sundays at T-Cell Park,” mentioned Kevin Martinez, the Mariners’ president of enterprise operations. “Via the Steelheads Neighborhood Fund, we are going to have a good time the legacy of the Steelheads, whereas persevering with our long-standing effort to advance entry to baseball and softball and well-being for underserved communities in our area.”