NEW YORK — The percentage of black players in Major League Baseball dropped again on opening day this year even as the league again received a top overall grade for racial diversity.
MLB’s grade for gender hiring declined slightly, according to the annual study released.

MLB received an A for racial diversity, the same grade as last year, and a B-minus for gender, down from a B. Its overall grade remained a B-plus.

The percentage of Black players dropped to 8.5 percent on opening day this year, down from 10 percent at the start of last season and its lowest level since 2007. The percentage of Latino players dropped from 28.4 percent to 27 percent — MLB’s lowest since 1999’s 26 percent.