Skip to main content

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

Most Popular of All Time

Chasing the Magic

In this episode, Chasing the Magic: How the Summer of ’98 Inspired the 'Ball Boys' . . .  Do you remember that feeling? The late-summer air was thick with humidity, radios crackling on porches, the smell of fresh-cut grass and barbecue smoke in the backyard. Every evening carried a new kind of suspense—the country holding its collective breath after every pitch. “Did he hit one today?” became more than a question; it sparked a nationwide conversation.   For me, and millions of others, the summer of 1998 wasn’t just another baseball season. It was theater, a movement, a time when the game recaptured something sacred. As sportswriter Mike Lupica said so perfectly,   “No matter how old you are or how much you’ve seen, sports is still about memory and imagination. Never more than during the summer of ’98, when baseball made everyone feel like a kid again, when it felt important again.”    Just four years earlier, the 1994 players’ strike had left the sport bruised...

Beyond Facts

✨ 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 scholÄ“ , 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 ...

Retirement Talk

In this episode, Patrick & Huck: Retirement Talk . . .   We all get caught daydreaming sometimes, don’t we? Just like Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn might’ve done, lazyin’ by the river with a fishing pole in hand and the BIG wide world spinn’ in their heads. This morning, with coffee steaming and plans bubbling, I found myself driftin’ into a chat with none other than my imaginary friend–Huck Finn himself. Patrick: “Mornin’, Huck. Say, I’m mighty curious what you’d make of this retirement business.” Huck: “Well now, sit tight, ‘cause I’ve been thinkin’ on that too. Only thirty-one days 'til you're sixty-nine — whew! You're talkin’ ‘bout quittin’, hangin’ up your spurs, Givin’ the workin’ life its final good slurs. Ain’t got no debts, no mortgage, no fuss, Just clean livin’ and freedom waitin’ on the bus. Most folks’d throw hats in the air, cheerin’ loud and proud, But you? You’re starin’ out yonder, lost in some cloud. You're dreamin’ of cyclin' and books and guitar...

The Sights of Summer

In this episode, The Sights of Summer: Chasing Miles & Unexpected Smiles . . . For Lori and me, the perfect summer morning isn't something you find marked on a calendar; it's a feeling . It's the refreshing crispness of the air on our faces, the gentle warmth of the sun on our skin, and the exciting anticipation of discovering new miles and uncovering the hidden "sights of summer" along our journey. A glorious California day returns with our weekly ride. We begin with a warm-up cruise around our neighborhood under a wide, cloudless, azure sky. With a smile, I’m thinking, " You know it’s going to be a great ride when even furry co-pilots are excited!"  We chuckled as a neighbor drove past, two white, fluffy dogs with their tongues flapping in the breeze and ears flopping wildly out the truck window. Pure canine bliss—an ideal sign for a fun day on two wheels. “Did you see those pups? They looked like they were smiling.” Traffic was blissfully light, ...