ORLANDO, Fla. — A new report shows Major League Baseball equaled its best grades for racial and gender diversity hiring, even as the percentage of black players dropped again last year.

MLB received an A for race and a B for gender hiring in the annual study Wednesday by the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports. Baseball received the same grades in last year's report.

Among major leaguers, though, the number of black players dropped from 10.2 percent to 9 percent last season. The sport had made a small stride since reaching a low of 8.2 percent in 2007, but the latest data indicates a steady rise among black players might be years away.

Information in the report is based on the 2009 work force data provided by MLB.