Let’s Give It Up For Jackie Robinson, the Most Important Ballplayer in Baseball History

Uncategorized TheBigLead April 15th. 2007, 4:34am

Sunday’s a big day in baseball. It involves Jackie Robinson. Surely you’re familiar with the story, so there’s no need for us to go into great detail here. We’ll have blogger reaction Monday; for now, kindly settle for these two pieces, which we thought were extremely impressive.

Cause & effect: Robinson forever changed his sport (Detroit News)
Honor, and new pain, in wearing No. 42 (Miami Herald)

5 Responses to “Let’s Give It Up For Jackie Robinson, the Most Important Ballplayer in Baseball History”

1
tecmo_bowl_bo_jackson Says:
April 15th, 2007 at 5:59 PM
its gonna be a little weird hearing “playing infield for the dodgers, wearing number 42, its…jeff kent!”
2
fuginator Says:
April 15th, 2007 at 10:58 PM
most important player in history?
get a grip.
if he was so important, young blacks would honor his legacy by trying to EMULATE him and continue his ideals, his morals, and his image…not just wear his number once.
3
the occasional joo Says:
April 16th, 2007 at 1:00 AM
Agree with Tecmo Bowl… if it wasn’t for rain we’d be hearing things in Philly like number 42, Chase Utley steps up to the plate. No problem with the tribute, but having everyone on a team wear it, especially a team like the Phillies with no real connection to Jackie is just overkill.
4
Jarrett Says:
April 16th, 2007 at 2:42 AM
^ 1. He was the catalyst for change not only in professional sports across the board, but American race relations.
2. He was a pretty good player, and considering he played at an elite level in spite of _________, __________, and _________, it certainly separates him from scores of other great players.
3. Blacks not playing in baseball doesn’t diminish any of the qualities you mentioned, it just means very few blacks are playing baseball. He didn’t play for the league to be 50 percent black, but for the league to afford the opportunity to be 50 percent black.
5
JayTee Says:
April 16th, 2007 at 3:25 AM
Possibly the most important ATHLETE in American history…