Has Baseball Betrayed Jackie Robinson?

[mac]

By MIKE FITZPATRICK, AP Baseball Writer

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Rachel Robinson still has vivid memories of April 15, 1947, when her husband changed America forever...

"It was an exciting, exhilarating time — but it also was a stressful time," Rachel Robinson said.

Reform is rarely a breeze. Sustaining a legacy can be even more difficult.

As Major League Baseball prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Robinson's landmark achievement on Sunday, there are growing concerns about the sport's racial makeup.

Only 8.4 percent of big league players last season were black — the lowest number in at least two decades. In 1995, 19 percent of major leaguers were black, according to Richard Lapchick, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports.

"Obviously, he would not be satisfied with where we are now," Rachel Robinson said, referring to the man she still calls Jack. "He would be disappointed, because he felt we were on the way toward some lasting change."

Has baseball betrayed Jackie Robinson?

"That's what it seems like to me — that all the work he's done is almost for nothing," Minnesota Twins center fielder Torii Hunter said. "Because look where we are. We should be progressing. We're regressing."

Rachel Robinson, who must be very elderly by now, gets a pass. Mike Fitzpatrick and Torii Hunter Hunter don't. They are idiots who have completely missed the point. Jackie Robinson paved the way for blacks to play Major League baseball if they wanted to. It wasn't about getting a large number of blacks into MLB. It was about all people having the oportunity to play there, if they had the desire and the necessary skills.


Has Baseball Betrayed Jackie Robinson?

[DiamondDave]

I think Robinson paved the way for MINORITIES to play the game, not just blacks... and with the multiculturalism that is prevalent within baseball now, I think Robinson would be proud...

[bedir than average]

Moving this thread, it is about BASEBALL

[TheAJx]

Yup. Not just blacks. EVERYONE. Ichiros and Beltrans too.

[mac]

Moving this thread, it is about BASEBALL

It's more about current events and politics. Move it back please.

[bedir than average]

Yes, because what Major League Baseball is celebrating isn't baseball, and it isn't about a Hall of Fame baseball player and it isn't about the actions of dozens of baseball players. All sports are current events, but this current event is about sports.

Jackie Robinson is one of the five most significant people in the history of race relations does not change the vehicle that he used was a game, a beautiful game played on green grass under the open sky, a game that is now played in dozens of nations around the globe by people of every race, ethnicity and religion whose sole desire to is to play under the lights and done a cap with a logo of man holding a bat and the letters M L B.

This does not diminish Jackie, or baseball, but shows just how much this mere game has connected to our nation's soul.

[bedir than average]

Numbers too large for Jackie Robinson tribute? - USATODAY.com

"This is supposed to be an honor," Hunter said, "and just a handful of guys wearing the number. Now you've got entire teams doing it. I think we're killing the meaning.

"It should be special wearing Jackie's number, not just because it looks cool."

I think Torii is right. Either have EVERY SINGLE player in the league wear the number and then auction every jersey to go to the MLB inner city baseball program. Or just let one player per team, voted on by their peers, the player that best represents the ideals and values of Robinson.

But the three here, the 25 there, only one on another team doesn't make this seem organized or nearly as special.

[Goose]

Yeah. I agree with the entire Dodger team wearing the number, because Robinson was a Dodger his whole career. But come on, there are no reasons for teams like the Astros or the Cardinals to do so as well. Like Hunter said, they're killing the meaning.

1 on each team(if they choose to do so) and the whole Dodger squad. That's it.

As far as the subject matter goes. It's not baseball's fault that most blacks prefer to play basketball. I don't hear people griping about the NBA betraying the white man. It's just not a big deal. If they don't want to play baseball, then it's their loss.

Dave's right. Jackie would be proud that they have the choice. That's the whole point.

Also please tell me I'm not the only one who thought of this when I heard Garret Anderson doesn't want to wear #42.



WHO DOESN'T WANT TO WEAR THE RIBBON?!

[ctjayfan]

Good ballplayer, but a better MAN...

[Nimajneb]

I made the point in the Civil Rights Game thread that this is, if anything, a question of outreach. Baseball has to prove itself an attractive pursuit early on for someone of any ethnicity to take it on as a career, and this requires the infrastructure of school teams, quality coaches, youth baseball leagues... There are many things baseball can do to broaden the pool of potential recruits by investing in the community.


Also, of course, I second (third? fourth?) the sentiment that baseball hasn't been failing to encourage ethnic diversity.

[BMW]

By making a point to say that Baseball has failed the Blacks is going against everything that Jackie Robinson stood for, or what he should have stood for, what Martin Luther King later fought for. Baseball was a white person's game, and they didn't allow anyone else in. Jackie Robinson changed that, and Baseball became a game for everyone to play together. I think this is a classic case of reverse racism by people to point at the other minorities that aren't African American and say them playing the game isn't what Jackie playing was about. To think that Jackie's effort has been wasted is saying that Jackie Robinson didn't want equality for all men, he wanted equality for all African Americans. The game is more diverse today than it has ever been in history and everyone can thank Jackie for being the first one through the door. Personally I couldn't imagine what baseball would have been like if I never would have gotten to see Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Randy Johnson lead the Mariners in the mid-90s. What about today's Yankees with Jeter, ARod, Posada, Matsui, Igawa, Rivera, Abreu, Cano...the list is ridiculous. The Mets, man EVERY team, it's unreal to think of what we would be missing out on right now...anyone that thinks this is an issue in baseball is lost in a bunch of trees wondering why they can't find the forest.

And Torii Hunter couldn't be farther from right. If we are only going to allow certain players to wear the number, who choses that? I believe Ken Griffey Jr was the first to request to wear it a couple of years ago, so no one else should be allowed to do it in remembrance. I mean we don't want to overcelebrate someone, that would be a disgrace? Or if we decide that one guy from every team can wear it, who decides which guy gets it? I think it is absurd to tell ANYONE that they aren't allowed to wear the number 42 in celebration of a great man because there are already too many people also celebrating it. If Torii Hunter doesn't like that so many people are wearing the number, maybe he shouldn't wear it, you know so we don't overcelebrate. In fact on July 4th this year, when we celebrate America's freedom, maybe less people should put their flags out, or less people should wear red, white and blue. It's like everyone is doing it to be cool, when it's supposed to be about a tribute to the work our fore fathers brought upon us, and it loses it's meaning if everyone does it.

[mac]

What a shame that the Jackie Robinson Organization, which provides college scholarships to needy students, is racially exclusive. What a shame that MLB would support a racially exclusive organization.

What are the requirements for being a Jackie Robinson Scholar?
Be a high school senior, accepted to a four-year accredited college or university.
Be a minority student and a citizen of the United States.
Have demonstrated high academic achievement and financial need.
Show evidence of leadership potential and interest in their communities

So if you are poor and white, forget about it. And there doesn't appear to be many Hispanic or Asian names on the list of recent scholarship students either.

[John F]

Last time I checked, Jackie Robinson didn't break the poverty barrier in MLB. He broke the race barrier. He was a symbol that led to civil rights for minorities -- which are still trampled on today by certain powers that be.

There are also umpteen scholarships out there for all sorts of classes SPECIFICALLY. If the Robinson Organization is to be condemned for being "racially exclusive" then I got news for you... A lot of scholarship opportunities are exclusive.

[mac]

He broke the race barrier

Exactly. Which makes it rather ironic that the organization bearing his name has its own race barrier.

So you have no problem with racially exclusive philanthropy? I suppose you would also support a "Ty Cobb Organization," which hands out scholarships only to white people?

[John F]

Originally Posted by mac195

Exactly. Which makes it rather ironic that the organization bearing his name has its own race barrier.

So you have no problem with racially exclusive philanthropy? I suppose you would also support a "Ty Cobb Organization," which hands out scholarships only to white people?

Do I support the Thomas Edison scholarship for the deaf? Yeah. That's disability exclusive, shouldn't they include EVERY PERSON who hears just for the sake of postierity?

Do I think the Sons of Athena scholarship for Greek Students should remain for Greek students and Greek Students alone? Sure... Or are you trying to imply that those who RESPECT Greek culture at all should be eligible?

Mac, you don't know jack about Scholarships, it would seem. If you want to imply hypocrisy and reverse racism about everything, I will simply assume you're a very bitter individual who feels left out and wants to blame a boogie man of society. In this case you've staked those African-Americans. "Look what we did for THEM and look what they are doing to US!"