The Atlantic

Major League Baseball's Educational Safety Net

The league recently partnered with Northeastern University to provide players with access to advanced coursework.
Source: Joe Camporeale / Reuters

Monday night’s Home Run Derby proved to be a short contest for Charlie Blackmon. Despite swatting an impressive 14 bombs in a heart-pounding first round of the jovial tournament, the Colorado Rockies’ bearded leadoff hitter was eliminated early by Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Blackmon’s 20 home runs and .319 average at the All Star break suggest he has a promising future in baseball. But even if professional sports don’t work out for him, he has some impressive credentials to fall back on: The outfielder earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Georgia Tech University in 2011.

Not all of Blackmon’s teammates are similarly educated, though, and Major League Baseball is working to change that. Last month, the league announced a partnership with Northeastern University in Boston to provide players with access to

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic5 min read
The Strangest Job in the World
This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here. The role of first lady couldn’t be stranger. You attain the position almost by accident, simply by virtue of being married to the president
The Atlantic5 min readAmerican Government
What Nikki Haley Is Trying to Prove
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Nikki Haley faces terrible odds in her home state of
The Atlantic3 min read
The Coen Brothers’ Split Is Working Out Fine
It’s still a mystery why the Coen brothers stopped working together. The pair made 18 movies as a duo, from 1984’s Blood Simple to 2018’s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, setting a new standard for black comedy in American cinema. None of those movies w

Related Books & Audiobooks