HOPING FOR A REBIRTH, BASEBALL LOOKS TO COMPTON GOAL OF NEW ACADEMY IS TO ATTRACT MORE BLACK YOUTHS TO GAME.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

Jimmie Lee Solomon stands along the first-base line at the sprawling new baseball field at the Urban Youth Baseball Academy in Compton and breathes in the unmistakable scent of freshly cut grass.

Solomon, an executive vice president for Major League Baseball, studies the facility with the affection of a father looking at his newborn. In reality, the analogy isn't far off.

It was Solomon who urged baseball to invest more than $10 million into the 10-acre project in Compton, part of a dream to reconnect baseball to the inner cities of America.

``There's only one thing missing,'' Solomon says, breaking a long silence. ``I still don't see the kids out there. Until I do, this field will look naked to me.''

The kids are expected to show up today when the academy officially opens. Over the next year, the facility is expected to draw more than 2,500 players to camps, clinics and showcase events run by former big league stars.

That's welcome news to baseball, which is at a crossroads when it comes to attracting young black athletes from cities like Compton.

In 1970, blacks represented one out of every four players in Major League Baseball. Today, that figure is less than one out of 10. At every level, from little league to college and from the inner cities to the suburbs, blacks are playing baseball at an all-time record low.

And the number of black fans watching from the stands or on TV isn't that much better.

That's part of the reason Solomon persuaded baseball commissioner Bud Selig to fund the Compton academy.

The goal is to tap into the area's potential and develop future college and professional prospects. The ones who don't make it beyond the youth level can also pursue careers as umpires and front office personnel with the help of the academy's internship programs and college preparation classes.

If the early response from the community is an indication, the academy will have no shortage of players to groom.

``It's unbelievable how many kids are showing interest already,'' said Darrell Miller, the academy's executive director and a former catcher and executive with the Angels. ``We've got coaches and players calling like crazy.''

At the very least, baseball is hoping to develop a fan base that has been overlooked for years.

``I think baseball was a little arrogant in that regard,'' Solomon said. ``We thought we could just open our doors and everybody would keep walking in. That's not the way it is anymore, and we need to address that problem. This is a start.''

When Miller worked in the Angels' minor league operations department, he focused his scouting efforts on three areas: Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Detroit. When John Young was a scout for the Texas Rangers, he scouted similar areas.

It wasn't so long ago that those areas offered deep talent pools of black baseball players. Los Angeles alone turned out stars like Jackie Robinson, Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith, Eric Davis and Darryl Strawberry.

But as Miller and Young made their rounds though the 1980s and 1990s, they detected a disturbing trend.

``Blacks weren't playing baseball as much as they used to,'' said Young, the head of MLB-sponsored Revitalizing Baseball in the Inner City. ``It just seemed like more and more, black kids were flowing to basketball and football.''

The reasons for the falloff of the number of blacks in baseball are as abundant as they are far-reaching.

The deterioration of the inner city, including poor funding for parks and recreation departments, the rising cost of personal coaches and travel and club teams and the popularity of basketball and football have all played critical roles in the decrease of blacks in baseball.

UCLA basketball star Jordan Farmar was the product of a baseball family. His father played professionally and his godfather, Eric Davis, was a longtime major league star. But by the time Farmar reached Taft High of Woodland Hills, he had abandoned baseball for basketball.

Taft baseball coach Greg Vengar would watch Farmar soar through the air for a dunk and envision him making a leaping catch in center field.

``He was probably the best baseball prospect on campus,'' Vengar said of Farmar.

Farmar never budged, especially after accepting a basketball scholarship to UCLA before his senior year.

``Part of it was just wanting to do something different from my dad,'' Farmar said, ``and part of it was just the immediate satisfaction you get in basketball or the fact that you're noticed and recognized more by average sports fans.

``Baseball just didn't do it for me the way basketball did.''

Farmar's comments echo the thoughts of many young athletes today.

``The tragedy is we're losing almost an entire generation of players as a result,'' said former Dodgers general manager Dan Evans, now a scout for the Seattle Mariners. ``These are players who could be stars in our game. But for whatever reason - and there are plenty of reasons - they just aren't playing baseball like they used to.''

Finding a solution is not easy.

The RBI program, which started in South Central Los Angeles in 1989, now stretches across 180 cities in America.

More than 10 current Major League Baseball players came through the RBI program, including Boston Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp (Pierce College) and Florida Marlins pitcher Dontrelle Willis. Last year, 35 RBI graduates were picked in the annual MLB draft - five in the first round - and two years ago Justin Upton was the top pick overall.

Ironically, the number of blacks in Major League Baseball has actually decreased since RBI's inception.

``I'm not sure we'll ever see that number reach the level it once was,'' said Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. ``But then, with all the choices we have on TV, I don't think we'll ever see people watching certain TV shows as much as they used to, either.

``Kids today have so many more choices. When I was a kid, baseball was the thing. But basketball and football have done a good job, too, and they offer kids a chance to make money and have a career, too.''

Miller offers another reason. When he ran the Angels' minor-league department, he remembers going into to many inner cities and seeing countless Little League fields littered with debris and overflowing with weeds.

``How's a kid going to play on a field like that?'' Miller said. ``Think about the fact that probably 64 percent of the kids that come through here don't have dads at home. Now think about how many moms and dads it takes to run a Little League, (and) if dad's not around, who's coaching all those teams or taking care of the fields or umpiring the games? You think about that and you start to realize why so many kids in the inner city stopped playing baseball at an early age.''

Miller thinks the Compton complex, and others like it, can help fill that void. And eventually he thinks more black baseball stars will emerge.

``If I didn't think it was possible, I wouldn't be a part of it,'' Miller said. ``Granted, it's going to take a Herculean effort, but just take a look around this field and tell me what's not possible when people put their money and their effort toward something. And this is just the beginning.''

Vincent Bonsignore, [phone]

vincent.bonsignore(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Jimmie Lee Solomon (left) and Darrell Miller at Urban Youth Baseball Academy in Compton.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer