The influence of Latinos on America's pastime has increased significantly in the past two decades—they now account for more than a quarter of all players in baseball’s major leagues—and their early struggles and emergence parallel the integration of American society as a whole. The Kansas City Royals, whose current roster features 11 players from Venezuela, Brazil, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, epitomize their current prominence.

Adrian Burgos Jr., professor of history, African American studies, and Latina/Latino studies at the University of Illinois and author of Playing America’s Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color Line, and Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Vice President Raymond Doswell discuss this growing Latino imprint as part of the Latinos in America: 500 Years of History series in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council, under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association.