GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Delino DeShields wants to start a conversation, so he added a conversation piece.

The conversation: the lack of African-American players in the major leagues. The conversation piece: a series of tattoos curling up his right calf that depict the history of the black baseball experience.

There is, of course, the image of pioneer Jackie Robinson in his Brooklyn Dodgers uniform, but also images of Negro League stars such as Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson and Bob Thurman. There is an inked image of a Kansas City Monarchs team portrait and the logos of the Homestead Grays and the Atlanta Black Crackers.

Consider the conversation engaged.

"I knew if I did this, I'd get asked about it," DeShields said. "The African-American population in baseball has been going down a long time. I want young African-American kids to understand the importance of baseball and what it means to us. This has always resonated with me. I want to help the generation that comes after me as much as the generation that came before."

First know this: He's right. African-Americans represented just 7.8 percent of the players on opening day rosters a year ago. It has not been above 8 percent in a decade. This after a quarter of a century when African-Americans accounted for at least 15 percent of MLB opening day rosters.

Second, about that past generation, DeShields had a pretty good source from whom to learn. His father, also Delino (but with a different middle name), played 12 years in the majors and is in his first season as the Cincinnati Reds' first base coach. The two would have met for the first time as parts of major league rosters Saturday in the Rangers-Reds exhibition, but the son was given the day off.

They will have another chance for that reunion, though, Wednesday when the teams play in Surprise. And again in June when they meet for three games in Cincinnati.

The son got the idea for the tattoos from his father. Not that Delino the elder is a huge fan of ink or anything. But it was the father, who during his career often sported a leather jacket embroidered with the logos of Negro League teams, who put up a series of portraits of Negro League history in the room his son had as a child. It is those portraits the son had duplicated on his calf this winter.

The scene of a player sliding into home from a USPS stamp honoring the Negro Leauges is featured in new tattoos on the thigh of Texas Rangers outfielder Delino DeShields after a workout at the team's spring training facility at on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Surprise, Ariz.. During the offseason DeShields added tattoos to his right leg that are all dedicated to the Negro Leagues. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News) (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

"When I put those pictures up, I wanted him to be aware of not just who are, but where we came from," the father said.

"It's also bigger than just a conversation," the father added in a later conversation. "He doesn't have to be the spokesperson. It's bigger than one person. It's about action now."

Said the son: "I think we can have a stronger voice on it and not feel like I'm going to get ridiculed for it. It's part of my life. It's part of who I am. I want to be able to express it and talk about."

As a whole, MLB has taken a more proactive approach in recent years to getting African-American and underprivileged youths more involved in the sport. The proliferation of MLB Urban Youth Academies around the country, including one in West Dallas, are one example. The elder DeShields has been active with the Marquis Grissom Baseball Association and the Jerry Manuel Foundation, both of which are involved with promoting the sport in underserved areas.

This spring, the younger DeShields hosted a clinic and bought baseball equipment for kids in an event near the Rangers' spring training facility at a local Dick's Sporting Goods. The father joined in.

If he simply wanted to send messages, he's had that opportunity. It's just not DeShields' style. Two years ago, at the height of the controversy over kneeling during the national anthem, then-Oakland catcher Bruce Maxwell told DeShields before a game at the Oakland Coliseum that he planned to kneel during the anthem. DeShields declined.

"I don't feel like I'm disrespecting anybody by doing this," DeShields said. "The [kneeling] was a public display. This is personal to me. If people want to talk about it, then I want to talk about it."

His father said, "When I hear him talk about things now, it's clear he was listening as a little kid. Sometimes as a parent you aren't so sure in that moment. That's been rewarding."

It's been rewarding for the father to watch the son grow into a man with many of the same characteristics and ideals. It will be even more rewarding for two to meet as peers during the regular season. And about that meeting: It comes on Father's Day. Fortuitous timing, for sure.

"It's going to be a good day," the father said. "It's something we've dreamed about and talked about for a long time. It's going to be a very good day. That's going to mean even more."

Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant