42 Nobodies

Yesterday was the anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking into the major leagues. To honor this achievement, every player in the major leagues wore Robinson's uniform number 42. But the Giants and Dodgers played each other, so it was difficult for the fan watching. These two teams are among only a small handful of teams (Giants, Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox - did I miss any?) that don't have players' names on the back of their jerseys.

Every player on both teams was 42 with no name. "Scorecards! Get your scorecards. You can't tell the players without a scorecard!"

I Forgive You Jackie Robinson

In one of the greatest one-sided trades in history, the Brooklyn Dodgers traded Jackie Robinson to their hated cross-town rivals, the New York Giants. Robinson was traded for Dick Littlefield and $35,000 in cash. The deal was nullified only a few weeks later when Robinson retired. He coulda been a Giant.

Jackie Robinson and Civil Rights

Baseball is celebrating the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut in the major leagues as the first player to break the color barrier. Baseball is closely tying this to the concept of civil rights. Now, I'm not the world's foremost historian, even in the realm of baseball, but I can't help thinking that Robinson's introduction into the bigs was mostly a business decision by Branch Rickey. It had more to do with freedom of association than it did with government laws forcing people to do things against their will.

Either way, Jackie Robinson was a great player, and the decision to sign him paved the way for the great baseball we have today.