A class of predominantly white retired baseball players failed to smack one out of the park May 9. The 9th Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for the defendant Major League Baseball in a Title VII discrimination claim brought by the former players.

At issue was the MLB's policy of granting former players in the Negro League, some of whom played short stints in the MLB, medical and supplemental income plans. The white players behind the suit were not given such benefits despite their brief careers in the MLB. They originally filed suit against the MLB's commissioner and every professional club October 2003 claiming that the, “MLB had arbitrarily, intentionally and unlawfully excluded them from the Negro League Plans on the basis of their race.”

The 9th Circuit affirmed the district court's decision on the basis that there was no cognizable injury because benefits related only to the Negro League and not employment with the MLB. In addition, the plaintiffs were not similarly situated to the African-American players because, being white, they obviously did not play in the Negro League. Furthermore, the court stated that the MLB, “acted honorably and decently,” in granting Negro League players benefits, an act the court saw as an appropriate attempt to remedy past discriminatory conduct.