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MLB reacts to Jackie Robinson Day

By Evan F. Moore

Jackie Robinson was a four-sport star at UCLA before he became a national icon. (This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of 17 U.S.C. § 105.)
Jackie Robinson was a four-sport star at UCLA before he became a national icon. (This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of 17 U.S.C. § 105.) /
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Major League Baseball pays homage to Jackie Robinson, one of its most transcendent players

Major League Baseball will celebrate “Jackie Robinson Day” Wednesday during all the scheduled games.

The Civil Rights game, baseball’s annual celebration of the people who helped usher in a new era of social progress in this country, will pit the Dodgers against the Seattle Mariners.

Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier on April 15, 1947, was posthumously honored by MLB as the only player whose number is retired throughout the league. Nobody can wear No. 42 anymore, except Wednesday, when all on-field personnel will wear Robinson’s No. 42.

Also, there will also be a roundtable discussion about baseball and the civil rights movement  moderated by Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree. Sharon Robinson, Jackie’s daughter, is scheduled to attend according to MLB.com.

Even though Robinson is widely regarded as the first black man to break baseball’s color barrier, that distinct ought to go to Moses Fleetwood Walker. Walker played in the American Association back in 1884.

Robinson’s legacy in Major League Baseball is robust. If it wasn’t for his courage he displayed, their wouldn’t have been a Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, a Ken Griffey Jr, Andrew McCutchen or a Yasiel Puig.

On Opening Day active rosters this season, the percentage of total Major Leaguers who are black, African-American or African-Canadian was 8.26 percent. One of those players, Taijuan Walker of the Mariners, will pitch in tonight’s game. He tweeted out what that means to him.

Walker’s manager, Lloyd McClendon, MLB’s only black manager, echoed Walker sentiments to Yahoo Sports:

“Obviously being a young man that had an opportunity to play Little League and fell in love with the game who aspired to one day be Jackie Robinson on the playing field—I came up a little short—but in some ways I hope I’m making him proud. It’s certainly an honor to be here and be able to wear No. 42. Hopefully I’ll do him proud tomorrow.”

More from MLB

MLB Commisoner Rob Manfred told USA TODAY that he believes that baseball is doing everything it can to improve the participation of African Americans in the game”

“We see really, really encouraging signs that we’re turning this around. You don’t have something that’s developed over decades and turn it around overnight. You’ve got to go through a couple of (draft) cycles until you see any improvement. It took us awhile to get to where we find ourselves. And quite frankly, it might have come faster than we had hoped.”

When I became a journalist, I had a put away many of the sports jerseys I own. The one I didn’t put away that I still wear from time to time is my #42 Jackie Robinson Brooklyn Dodgers jersey.

As an African-American male who writes for a living, Jackie Robinson is the ultimate role model. If it wasn’t for the mental fortitude Robinson exhibited decades earlier, I probably wouldn’t be here writing the post for Fansided.

Thanks Jackie.

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