TEMPE, Ariz. — Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, layered with modern beats, flowed from a loudspeaker as a group of young men, virtually all of them American-born Black baseball players, took batting practice at the annual Dream Series this past weekend.
Tony Reagins, the Major League Baseball executive behind the event, turned to a visitor and said, “When was the last time you heard a Dr. King speech during B.P.?”
Perhaps never, was the reply. The audio mix came from the phone of Jerry Manuel, a former manager of the Mets and the Chicago White Sox.