Chris Rock rants about the lack of African-Americans in baseball

African-American participation in baseball is on the decline. This isn't a new development. Over the past couple years, a number of black athletes have addressed the issue.

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This isn't just an issue for other black players, it's becoming an issue for black fans, according to comedian Chris Rock. Rock gave his take on the alarmingly low rates of blacks in baseball for HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumble." (WARNING: NSFW Language).

Rock's rant is humorous, obviously, but it also points out some discouraging facts about why fewer black people are playing, and watching, the game. The fact that Howard, a prominent all-black college, doesn't even have a baseball team should give some idea of how troubling this situation has become.

While many will take issue with some of the points made during the video, Rock is absolutely right about at least one thing. Baseball is rooted in the past. No other sport is as nostalgic about the "good ol' days" than baseball.

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Near the end of the video, Rock highlights how the issue isn't just about African-Americans. Sure, revenues are up, but Little League participation is down. The average age of baseball viewers is 53, and that's problematic.

African-Americans aren't playing baseball, and it sounds like they aren't watching it either. Rock lays out plenty of reasons why that's the case during his rant.

Since he's taken over, commissioner Rob Manfred has vowed to find a way to get young people back into the game. Baseball is clearly aware of the issues with their demographics. Whether Manfred can fix that may be the biggest issue he'll face during his tenure.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik