Today, more than 27% of professional baseball players in the major leagues are of Latin American descent (Armour and Levitt). While racism and discrimination continue to be issues, they are less pronounced than in the past. Major league baseball is taking a strong stance against discrimination, focusing on ability rather than race:
http://thecomeback.com/mlb/five-game-regular-season-suspension-yuli-gurriel-draws-criticism.html
Yuli Gurriel is a Latin American professional baseball player playing in the United States for the Houston Astros. Following a home run off of Yu Darvish, a pitcher of Japanese descent, Yuli made a "slant-eye gesture" in the dugout, which drew attention around the country.
The Major League Baseball Association took immediate action to show that it will not tolerate this type of racism. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred issued Gurriel a five-game suspension which started at the beginning of the 2018 regular season. Additionally, Yu Darvish tweeted about the situation, stating that "if we can take something from this, that is a giant step for mankind." Baseball is working to lessen racism and discrimination, which should make for better experiences for future players from Latin America and other foreign nations.
http://theweek.com/articles/448598/are-yasiel-puigs-critics-racist
Yasiel Puig, from Cuba, is one of the most talented baseball players in the United States, playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is described as being a very fun player to watch, "diving for every ball hit in his direction, and flipping his bat after every groundout."
However, he has many critics due to his mentality on the field. Baseball writer Jon Terbush believes that Puig's criticism isn't racist, rather "more of the same overblown hand-wringing from baseball purists who pine for the pastoral days of pantaloons and gloveless fielders." Terbush supports this point by referencing Bryce Harper, noting that he has received similar criticisms as Puig-making this less of a racial issue and more of an intangible issue.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/11/02/jose-altuves-world-series-triumph-gives-shattered-venezuela-something-to-celebrate/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.60b90baf0a29
Jose Altuve is great example of how Latin American players have thrived in the United States and are receiving better acceptance than their predecessors. A World Series champion and 2017 Most Valuable Player Award winner, Altuve serves as an excellent role model, specifically to Latin Americans, to show that he can achieve incredible things at the highest level of baseball, regardless of your race or ethnicity.