Jackie Robinson Day

In this episode, Jackie Robinson Day . . .

What? You don't know what Jackie Robinson Day is? Well, pull up a seat and lend an ear.

Jackie Robinson Day is an event in Major League Baseball (MLB) that occurs annually on April 15, commemorating the day Jackie Robinson made his major league debut. This year, the destination is Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA. Friday, April 15, 2022, will host the 75th anniversary.

Jackie is celebrated and honored at all MLB ballparks. On that day, players, coaches, umpires, and managers on both teams, wear Robinson's uniform number, 42.

On April 15, 1947 (Opening Day), Robinson shattered baseball's color line during the Dodgers' 5-3 win over the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field. His debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers (today's Los Angeles Dodgers) ended over 80 years of baseball segregation. Robinson went 0-for-3 at the plate but handled 11 plays at his new first base position. By the season's end, Robinson had played in 151 games, scoring 125 runs, with a .297 batting average and a National League-best 29 stolen bases.

After the season, he won the first Rookie of the Year Award, given to just one player in baseball.

On April 15, 2004, MLB established the celebration in response to Robinson's memorable career, best known for becoming the first black major league baseball player of the modern era in 1947.

Baseball fans living in Southern California have many options to visit a Major League Park; Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres; Angel Stadium, Los Angeles Angels; and Dodger Stadium.

Dodger Stadium is currently the third-oldest ballpark after Fenway Park and, of course, Wrigley Field.

Robinson played 10 big league seasons, retiring after the 1956 campaign with a .311 career batting average, the 1949 National League Most Valuable Player Award, and six World Series appearances. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first appearance on the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot in 1962.

When you visit any major league ballpark, look around, Jackies' number 42 was retired in 1997 across all major league ballparks—the only player in history to receive such recognition.

No, you don't have to be a Dodgers fan to appreciate Jackie Robinsons' contribution to humanity. "In honoring him, we honor the dreams in all of us."

And if you're wondering - Yes, we have tickets to see the Cincinnati Reds vs. Dodgers on April 15 at Dodger Stadium to pay tribute to Jackie Robinson - Play Ball!

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening; see you in the next episode.

Comments

Back to School (Without the Triple Lindy)

I hadn’t set foot inside a public library in over thirty years. Last Saturday, when I walked through the sliding doors of the modern County of San Diego branch on Eucalyptus Avenue in Vista, my eyes instinctively scanned the floor for the familiar, comforting sight of varnished oak cabinets and brass pull-handles. Nothing . No card catalog. No little wooden drawers. No rows of index cards typed by someone who presumably had beautiful penmanship and a pension. I walked up to the front desk, looked the librarian dead in the eye, and asked with complete earnestness: "Where’s the card catalog?" She didn’t laugh, though she had every right to. Instead, she offered a warm, dry smile: "We magically had the computer digest it." And just like that, I was enrolled. Not the Rodney Dangerfield kind of back-to-school. No diving board, no loud blazer, no campus party, and thankfully, no need to convince anyone I belonged there. Just an overdue reminder that while I was busy with ...

Beyond Facts-The Deep Dive

✨ In this episode, Beyond Facts: Reimagining School–in the Age of AI . . . This week's podcast is a bit different; it's another example of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer tools to creatively enhance your analytical presentation of information. We took this week's blog and copied it into Gemini with the question, “If a story is to work, it must, on some level, create an illusion of escape and also achieve a goal simultaneously. Does this apply to my blog post that follows?” What's created is not just an analysis of the writing, but an AI-generated discussion produced “On the Fly” - Enjoy! Did you know that the word "school" comes from the ancient Greek word scholē , which originally meant "leisure"? Not a rigid schedule or droning lectures filled with "facts," but free time for thinking and conversation. To the Greeks, learning happened best when life slowed down—when you had room to reflect, to ask questions, and to wrestle ...

Doc Welch - The Country Doctor

In this episode, Doc Welch . . . Many authors have characterized life in rural Illinois over the years. Among the more notables are Edgar Lee Masters, who wrote Spoon River Anthology, Carl Sandburg for his poetry and biography of Abraham Lincoln, and little known to me until recently, my first doctor, whom everyone in town always called Doc Welch - James K. Welch, M.D. (Feb. 7, 1915, to May 5, 1998) While exploring the microfilm of the Cuba Journal (published from 1884 to 1992), I consistently kept running across articles entitled The Country Doctor. This intrigued me. Doc Welch was a third-generation practicing Country Doctor in Cuba for over 40 years. His father, James William Welch, M.D., practiced medicine in Cuba for more than five decades. His grandfather, James Knox Welch, M.D., settled in Cuba after the Civil War. Cuba, Illinois, is a small, rural farming community in west-central Illinois, where I grew up. Like many small towns, it boasts a central square with a ban...

The Rhythm of the Woodpecker

The morning in Vista often begins under a heavy, gray marine layer that rolls in from the coast, pressing a damp, muffled stillness over the neighborhood. At 4:30 a.m., the driveways are still full. The local commuters are either blissfully unconscious or stumbling blindly toward their showers, clinging desperately to their last shred of peace before the nine-to-five grind claims them for the day. I, on the other hand, am voluntarily wide awake in the dark. When your agenda consists of absolutely nothing, it is critical to get an early start. Inside the house, the quiet is profound, broken only by the sharp, mechanical click of the kettle as it reaches a rolling boil. I stand at the counter, watching the dark ground coffee bloom as hot water hits the French press's stainless steel. The smell is sudden and heavy—a deep, roasted-earth aroma that cuts through the morning fog. I push against the plunger’s gritty resistance, pouring a cup that radiates dark, stinging heat against my pal...

On The Fly

Search This Blog