from Yankees.com

Yankees bench coach Willie Randolph remembers being a young player, listening to stories of his veteran teammates, many of whom experienced tremendous racism earlier in their careers. Those stories made Randolph realize how lucky he was that pioneers such as Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby withstood so much, paving the way for African-Americans to make their living playing in the Major Leagues.

"Willie Stargell was one of my mentors, and we used to talk about what it was like for him when he came up," Randolph said. "He was a fun-loving guy, so he tried to make light of it, but I knew it was very serious.

"I heard stories about how they couldn't live in certain parts of town, had to go across the tracks, so to speak," he added. "How they had to have their white teammates bring them food back to the bus because they couldn't go into a diner."

Randolph himself never experienced that kind of racism in his playing days, though he says he encountered some unkind words and looks in certain areas.

"I know we were past it, but early in my career, in some towns I'd experience some of it," he said. "It was subtle -- nothing like what those guys went through."

Now, young players don't have any veteran teammates from whom to learn about the old days, so Randolph worries that the history may get lost among the new generation of black players.

"I think some of them know about it, but a majority of them don't," he said. "I'd like to think that we're aware of what went on, because if you don't remember or understand the history, you're not going to be prepared for what may happen in the future."

Randolph, who grew up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, N.Y., grew up as a Mets fan, admiring players such as Donn Clendenon, Cleon Jones and Tommie Agee. Randolph, a six-time All-Star who played 13 of his 18 seasons with the Yankees, began collecting Negro League memorabilia during his career, calling himself a Negro League historian of sorts.

"I have a nice library full of stuff about Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, all of the great Negro League players," he said. "I'd read the stories, but to hear it from the guys who experienced it, it was enlightening.

"Those were the pioneers, the guys who really suffered to pave the way for men like me. We just benefited from all of the progress that they made."

While Randolph wishes that more young African-American players would take the time to learn about the men who came before them, he is more concerned about the dwindling number of black players entering the league.

"I'm very concerned about that. Times change, with what kids are now into, basketball, football, it all works in cycles," he said. "Major League Baseball could do a better job of getting involved with the parks departments in communities, helping build facilities and getting coaches to help teach the game. It's great to have academies in Latin American countries, but why not have them here?"

Randolph, who played in several Puerto Rican Little Leagues as a kid, believes that there are plenty of young African-American kids who would be interested in playing baseball if the facilities were available.

"If kids don't have the facilities to go out and play the game, how will they get better at it?" asked Randolph. "I go back to my old neighborhood and see ballfields with whiskey bottles broken on the field, grass not manicured. There needs to be a conscious effort in the inner cities to help build facilities and ballparks to get the interest back in the black community.

"The athletes are there, but you need the facilities to work and to learn. It's easy to go shoot hoops, but you need the proper facilities to play baseball. If we don't, there aren't going to be too many of us around. You can see it already that the numbers are dwindling as we speak. There are a lot of excellent athletes out there who want to learn and play the game of baseball."

Mark Feinsand is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.