Jackie Robinson Day

Like I wrote earlier this week I'm going to write about my opinions about race relations in the United States. Today makes perfect sense to do it, it is the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut in Major League Baseball. I'm still going to write my opinions on it just not yet, I'll summarize real quick though. I think it is incredibly naive to think there isn't still race issues in the US. I think those relations are even worse when it comes to American sports and sports fans. I do believe however most things that are viewed as race issues are actually economic issues. Like I said I will write more on it later.

Back to Jackie Robinson Day. I think it is great that Major League Baseball was way ahead of the rest of country in allowing a black player to do something equal to a white player. My biggest thing about Jackie Robinson personally, yes I have a Jackie Robinson story. My grandfather, the only man long term in my life, was a huge mentor for me. He knew baseball better than anyone I've ever known and was far and away the biggest baseball fan there was. I don't hold it against him that he was a Phillies fan but still a huge fan. My grandfather however didn't hold people who weren't white protestants in high regard. He kept it away from me until I was in my teens. I do not share his opinions and I really think they are out of place. However when I was in my teens I felt it wasn't my place as a 14 year old to tell someone in their late 60s, who had raise three daughters, been with their wife for 45 years, lived through World War 2, how to think. If he wants to think that way it is his right. Actually 15 some years later I still believe that. I think everyone is allowed their opinion and to think what they want.

I came down to visit him when I was 18 or 19 for a week or so. We went to a few spring training games. One of the games he made sure we went to was the game with the Expos. He knew I was a Braves fan so we went to a few of those games. But we went to see the Expos play and I wondered why and he asked him. He said he wanted to make sure to see some kid play, someone who was going to be a huge star, someone in his words he was going to love watching play. My grandfather was excited to see a player he was going to look forward to watching play for years in the bigs. He comes up to bat and I was pleasantly shocked, it was Vladimir Guerrero. If you follow baseball you know how correct my grandfather was, Vlad has been incredible. During the game he was 3 for 4 with a homer and a triple, the triple was just nuts watching him move around the bases. I just really wasn't expecting a non-white player.

Later that week I asked him who the greatest player he'd ever seen play was. This was 50 years of baseball players, maybe Ted Williams, maybe Mike Schmidt, even Pete Rose, or Steve Carlton, lots of different options. My grandfather doesn't even hesitate and the words that come out of his mouth, "Jackie Robinson. His career numbers don't match up but that is because MLB took too long to allow blacks to play." He went about the time he'd seen him play, how good he actually was, how good he could have been. My grandfather, a man I love, a man I respect but with this personality issue I can't stand, him disliking everyone who isn't white. The sport he loves as much as anything in the world (except probably his family) and he thinks Jackie Robinson was the best player he'd ever seen. He spent 20 minutes talking about Jackie Robinson, it wasn't just respect, he really liked watching him play. He even went on to say that Baseball was dumb in not letting him play. He even added that players like Satchel Paige or Josh Gibson would have really put up incredible numbers if they were allowed to play in the bigs.

So that to me is one of the great things about sports, the great gift that Jackie Robinson gave to the United States. He gave us as a country the gift of being color blind. We don't care if the person is Japanese or black or Jewish or even orange, if they are good and help our chosen team win then more power to them. Sure when they act the fool off the field we destroy them but on the field there is no color. You root for your team, if your a Braves fan than everyone is red, white, and blue, if your a Yankees fan then everyone has pinstripes. You don't care about the person in the uniform as long as he is in your uniform and he performs and helps your team. I've seen lifelong racists root for Michael Jordan or Emmit Smith, color doesn't matter in sports, at least on the field.

That is what I remember about Jackie Robinson and I really must say thank you. The country has a long way to go but at least for the most part sports shows us what it is like when we get there.