Astros To Continue Advocating For Justice With Opening Day Demonstrations

(SportsRadio 610) -- Dusty Baker listened to Bob Marley and Van Morrison sing about equal rights, justice and healing time before the Astros' first pitch against the Seattle Mariners on Opening Day. 

The Astros have been discussing how to handle demonstrations advocating for social justice and condemning racism since their trip to Kansas City earlier this week. 

Major League Baseball is stenciling "Black Lives Matter" across the pitcher's mounds at all of its ballparks for Opening Day. 

The league will also allow players to wear a patch with their choice of social messaging -- phrases such as "United for Change" and "BLM."

All of this is spurred by the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Houston-native George Floyd. 

The #Astros haven't planned any demonstrations for Opening Day, but manager Dusty Baker said they are having conversations."Everybody has their different views. And I respect everybody's opinion and everybody's difference of opinion." pic.twitter.com/ti3Uj6bjJk

There is no choreographed, uniformed demonstration planned by the team. But certainly individuals like Baker and star third baseman Alex Bregman plan to use the moment to express themselves. 

"We're not healed yet, but we're on the way," Baker said, donning a Black Lives Matter t-shirt while speaking with reporters before Friday's game. 

The 71-year-old baseball lifer is proud of the way Major League Baseball has supported players' and coaches' decision to demonstrate, and was even surprised to see so much unity. 

"If you expect everybody to think and feel the same way, then we're living in a dream world," Baker said. "But these guys have stuck together remarkably well throughout the league and I've got to commend the young people. We've still got a long way to go on some things."

Bregman said he expects a lot of players to stand up for what they believe in, and that it's important to stand for something. 

The American League MVP runner-up also wore a Black Lives Matter t-shirt while speaking with reporters. He said love, empathy, and more listening than talking is what's been key to having productive conversations in the locker room. 

"We're brothers. We're family in there," Bregman said. "We love one another and we all want everyone to be equal and be treated as such."

Pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. said teammates are going to support each other no matter how they choose to demonstrate. 

"We need people being able to express themselves and other people being able to be open-minded and supportive through difficult times," McCullers said. "In conversations we've had, we've decided everyone is going to be able to express themselves how they feel necessary and they will have 100 percent support of every one of the other guys in that locker room.

"All we can do is understand that we have a platform, as a team, as a league, as people who are in the public eye. All we can do is hope that by our actions, that we can make a difference. Even if it's one person that sees and begins to understand."

McCullers noted this is not the Astros taking a political stance, rather calling for equality, justice and standing together as one league.

I asked Astros pitcher Josh James about baseball's role in speaking to the social issues spurring these demonstrations.Here's what he had to say. pic.twitter.com/x8AWRV0dcy