Old baseball observation.

[Raynine]

I'm watching an old Red sox game from 1988. 1988 does not seem like that long ago but one thing I notice is that all the players are Americans. The teams are composed of mostly white and black players who are from America. No translaters needed or anything. Not like that today is it? How is it decided what national persuasions will end up on a baseball team? If you were a white kid or black kid in America and dreamed of playing on a pro baseball team how would you feel about this?
Just an observation.

What percentage of the Boston Rad Sox are born Americans?

The current roster of the Boston Red Sox is fairly international. Looking at the active roster and 40-man roster for 2026, approximately 60-65% of the players were born in the United States, with the remainder born in countries such as the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and elsewhere.

For example, U.S.-born players on the roster include Trevor Story, Garrett Crochet, Triston Casas, and Sonny Gray, while foreign-born players include Brayan Bello (Dominican Republic), Wilyer Abreu (Venezuela), and Aroldis Chapman (Cuba).

If you are asking specifically about the 26-man active roster rather than the full 40-man roster, the percentage fluctuates during the season as players are called up and sent down, but it is usually in roughly the same range.


What percentage of the Boston Rex Sox were born Americans in 1988?

The 1988 Boston Red Sox were overwhelmingly American-born by today's standards. Of the players who appeared for the team during the 1988 season, approximately 90-95% were born in the United States. Most of the roster—including players such as Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, and Dwight Evans—were U.S.-born.

Among the notable exceptions were players such as Carlos Quintana, who was born in Venezuela, and Ed Romero, who was born in Puerto Rico. Depending on whether Puerto Rico is counted separately or as part of the United States, the percentage changes slightly.

A reasonable estimate is that about 92% of the 1988 Red Sox players were born in the United States. The team reflected an era when Major League Baseball rosters were much less international than they are today.

 

[Mikeoxenormous]

I'm watching an old Red sox game from 1988. 1988 does not seem like that long ago but one thing I notice is that all the players are Americans. The teams are composed of mostly white and black players who are from America. No translaters needed or anything. Not like that today is it? How is it decided what national persuasions will end up on a baseball team? If you were a white kid or black kid in America and dreamed of playing on a pro baseball team how would you feel about this?
Just an observation.

The Cincinnati Reds had David Conception, and Tony Perez, both from Puerto Rico, but since they were MLB champions it wasnt the color of their skin but how well they played.

Today the MLB can pound sand, because like the Pittsburg Kneelers, once you get political then you drive much of your base away along with their dollars.