JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — From the dugout, Walk Off Charities shortstop Miles Franklin gives out the scouting report.
“You have my boy Jordan, he goes to Wolfson, he’s a dog," Franklin said.
While Jordan Smith works on his patience at the plate, Carl Kohn rushes to strap on his catcher's gear.
“Catcher, you have to be the leader of the team because you see where everything is at," Kohn said.
Franklin and Kohn both play for the charity's new all-minority travel baseball team. Walk Off provides inner city kids with an opportunity to play baseball.
“Just a lot of opportunities to get looks and see better baseball outside Jacksonville, Florida,” Kohn said.
“I don’t have to worry about no discrimination, or you know people treating each other differently because of my skin tone," Franklin said.
Black representation in baseball is low.
A University of Central Florida study shows black players represent just 6.2% of players on MLB opening day rosters this year. The lowest since the study started in 1991.
“I don’t think anyone’s done something quite like this,” charity founder, Frank Frangie, said.
“Walk Off funds everything and baseball’s expensive man it’s an expensive sport and that was the whole goal is let’s fund it and give these kids a chance."
While the kids play their parents watch from the stands.
“Yea he’s pretty fast,” Corker Wimberly said about his son, Corey, who plays second base.
Next to Corey, is Miles Franklin at shortstop.
Franklin's dad, Michael, laughed and smiled as Corey and his son turned a double play.
"Go Myles," Franklin said with a smile.
On the other side of the stands, Memsani Kohn watched her son, Carl, behind the plate.
“One thing he promised, and he said if you do anything mom, please I don’t want to hear you I want to hear one voice and that’s the coach," Kohn said with a smile.
Last year's World Series featured zero US born black players for the first time since 1950.
Three years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.
“My role model for baseball is Jackie Robinson. I look up to him a lot because he was fast, he didn’t care about everybody else how they were treating them he just went out there and balled," Franklin said.
If all goes well, maybe kids will look up to Franklin, Kohn, and Wimberly.
“My dream is to play professional baseball and give back to my mom my dad. Allow them to be able to live their life that they didn’t get to live because they poured into me," Wimberly said.