NationStates Jolt Archive

Sixty years ago today, Jackie Robinson became the first African American player in MLB history. I figure a thread should be made to remember what Jackie did.

To remember Jackie, the entire Dodgers team will take the field wearing #42 today. The number has been retired across MLB.

They're taking over! :eek:

Sixty years ago today, Jackie Robinson became the first African American player in MLB history.

What is an African American?

yeah i saw on tv this morning that every team is going to have at least one player wearing #42. thats a nice tribute

i was also surprised to find out that the percentage of african american players has fallen below 10%.

What is an African American?
Psst, they're the brown people who live in boxes outside your gated compound.

What is an African American?

One who writes color and not colour?

From what I've read of Robinson, he wouldn't have called himself African American; he'd've said BLACK, and I don't see anything wrong with that.

Here's to Jackie Robinson: a fine man who did something great.

One who writes color and not colour?

Black people can't use the letter 'u'? :confused:

From what I've read of Robinson, he wouldn't have called himself African American; he'd've said BLACK, and I don't see anything wrong with that.

Here's to Jackie Robinson: a fine man who did something great.

do you think so? in 1947 he might have use colored or negro.

do you think so? in 1947 he might have use colored or negro.

Possibly. But I understand he threw his (not inconsiderable) political support behind the "Black is Beautiful" campaigns of the '60s and '70s, and I remember seeing an interview where he said "I am a black man, and I am proud of that." Given his tenedency to be outspoken, I think he wouldn't have much use for euphemisms.

Jackie Chan? Never though he was this old.

Possibly. But I understand he threw his (not inconsiderable) political support behind the "Black is Beautiful" campaigns of the '60s and '70s, and I remember seeing an interview where he said "I am a black man, and I am proud of that." Given his tenedency to be outspoken, I think he wouldn't have much use for euphemisms.

ahhh different time eh? he was so much more than just a baseball player.

Black people can't use the letter 'u'? :confused:

ORLY!? I defy you! See? U UUU


UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

U!

ORLY!? I defy you! See? U UUU


UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

U!

pfffft:rolleyes:

That just proves your not african american!



(joking)

ORLY!? I defy you! See? U UUU


UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

U!

But you live in Europe.. :p

yeah i saw on tv this morning that every team is going to have at least one player wearing #42. thats a nice tribute

i was also surprised to find out that the percentage of african american players has fallen below 10%.

That's no surprise. Baseball is still without a doubt the most diverse sport in the US. I'd be willing to bet most of the players in the big leagues are born outside of the US.

Just look at all of the players from Latin America and Asia. If you were to take the numbers of players born in the US, you would find that African American players are present in larger numbers.

You can't compare the percentage of blacks in MLB to their representation in the US population when MLB is becoming more and more of a US based league with international playrers.

Black people can't use the letter 'u'? :confused:

Nope. If they do then they melt away.[/teh truth]

That's no surprise. Baseball is still without a doubt the most diverse sport in the US. I'd be willing to bet most of the players in the big leagues are born outside of the US.

Just look at all of the players from Latin America and Asia. If you were to take the numbers of players born in the US, you would find that African American players are present in larger numbers.

You can't compare the percentage of blacks in MLB to their representation in the US population when MLB is becoming more and more of a US based league with international playrers.

There is a movement away from young black people in most urban areas to play baseball. There are only two (I think) african american starters in MLB right now. It's not as popular in the urban black community as it once was.

That's no surprise. Baseball is still without a doubt the most diverse sport in the US. I'd be willing to bet most of the players in the big leagues are born outside of the US.

Just look at all of the players from Latin America and Asia. If you were to take the numbers of players born in the US, you would find that African American players are present in larger numbers.

You can't compare the percentage of blacks in MLB to their representation in the US population when MLB is becoming more and more of a US based league with international playrers.

good point

too bad the TV guy wasnt as good an analyst.

The Phillies would have worn 42 today but they rained out.

Ironic, giving they were the last organization with a black player and had openly racist management for many years.

There is a movement away from young black people in most urban areas to play baseball. There are only two (I think) african american starters in MLB right now. It's not as popular in the urban black community as it once was.

There are more than two black starters in MLB. I can think of at least three on the Twins alone.

They actually have done studies and they found that most kids in urban areas find baseball to be boring. As a result, they take up basketball or football. Basketball is prevalent because it has tied itself with the hip hop culture. As a result, they attract young fans.

I have heard the argument that it cost too much money to play baseball. That argument falls flat because the kids who play it in the Dominican Republic or Venezuela sure don't have the money. They use makeshift balls and use sticks as bats. It doesn't harm their development as players. I think Johan Santana, David Ortiz, etc prove that one.

good point

too bad the TV guy wasnt as good an analyst.

The sports broadcasters know this. They just choose to ignore it because they like to use alarmist tones in reporting.

Sixty years ago today, Jackie Robinson became the first African American player in MLB history. I figure a thread should be made to remember what Jackie did.

I suggest you go back and look at MLB history. Robinson was NOT the first black person to play in the Major Leagues.

From wikipedia:

Moses Fleetwood Walker and his brother Welday Walker were unceremoniously dropped from major and minor-league rosters in the 1880s, as were other African-Americans in baseball. An unknown number of African-Americans played in the major leagues as Indians, or South or Central Americans

I suggest you go back and look at MLB history. Robinson was NOT the first black person to play in the Major Leagues.

From wikipedia:

well, if that is true (and im seriously doubting it), than you should go to the MLB organization, the schools, hell, EVERYONE and tell them, cause Jackie Robinson has always been the celebrated man who did this.

I suggest you go back and look at MLB history. Robinson was NOT the first black person to play in the Major Leagues.

From wikipedia:
Moses Fleetwood Walker and his brother Welday Walker were unceremoniously dropped from major and minor-league rosters in the 1880s, as were other African-Americans in baseball. An unknown number of African-Americans played in the major leagues as Indians, or South or Central Americans



Check your own source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_baseball_in_the_United_States). The MLB didn't exist in the 1880's.

It doesn't really matter if he was the first black MLB player or not, but your source isn't really definitive on the point.

Regardless, Jackie Robinson is the player who broke the color barrier in baseball. In doing so, he helped breakdown the overall color barriers in our society. Your nit-picking doesn't change that.

Eh it's baseball, it's barely a sport.

ORLY!? I defy you! See? U UUU


UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

U!

You see it was a question rather than a statement of fact.

As indicated by the question mark........and the confused smiley.

*wonders away muttering something about kids these days*

You see it was a question rather than a statement of fact.

As indicated by the question mark........and the confused smiley.

*wonders away muttering something about kids these days*

NO U! *points*

Sixty years ago today, Jackie Robinson became the first African American player in MLB history. I figure a thread should be made to remember what Jackie did.

To remember Jackie, the entire Dodgers team will take the field wearing #42 today. The number has been retired across MLB.



The only players that can still wear the number 42 are the players that already had it when it was retired. IIRC, the only player that still has #42 is Mariano Rivera.

well, if that is true (and im seriously doubting it), than you should go to the MLB organization, the schools, hell, EVERYONE and tell them, cause Jackie Robinson has always been the celebrated man who did this.

In truth, they are right for the modern age. However, Blacks had played Major League Baseball (and I"m not talking about the Current MLB) BEFORE Robinson set foot on the field for the Dodgers.

Check your own source. The MLB didn't exist in the 1880's.

It doesn't really matter if he was the first black MLB player or not, but your source isn't really definitive on the point.

Regardless, Jackie Robinson is the player who broke the color barrier in baseball. In doing so, he helped breakdown the overall color barriers in our society. Your nit-picking doesn't change that.

When one looks at the History of Major League Baseball, one must include the precursor to today's organization. The fact that it was not called MLB back then DOES NOT mean it was not Professional Baseball. You of all people should have realized that.

It is the same with the old AFL and NFL teams. They were two totally separate professional football leagues that merge into today's NFL. Should we exclude the precedents set in those leagues when they merged? No we shouldn't so why should we set it aside for this? To set it aside for this, ignores the history of the past.

So no. I do not recognize Jackie Robinson as the first Black Major League player. I consider him the first black in the modern age of baseball. Two separate things.

I have heard the argument that it cost too much money to play baseball. That argument falls flat because the kids who play it in the Dominican Republic or Venezuela sure don't have the money. They use makeshift balls and use sticks as bats. It doesn't harm their development as players. I think Johan Santana, David Ortiz, etc prove that one.

Example, from here in Venezuela, where baseball is the national sport.

Kids here who doesn't have the money even to go with makeshift balls and bats play "Chapita". If you want to know why Venezuela produces quality baseball players, you need to know about "Chapita". And that is why most extremely talented venezuelan ball players come from low income, poor families and areas.

Chapita is played using bottle caps and a broom stick. Basically, you only have a pitcher and a batter. The pitcher throws the bottle caps at the batter, who can only swing three times before he strikes out. I have never played it, given my gender (I played kickingball, a variant of baseball mixed with football very pupolar amongst girls around here), but my brothers used to do it when they were young. Each time you hit the cap, you score one. The one that scores more in a row, wins.

It is easy to see how hitting a bottle cap (not only because of size, but also the form and speed) with a broom stick (less thick than a baseball bat) is like 50 times more difficult than to hit a baseball with a bat, given the dimensions. Throwing a bottle cap with accuracy is also like 15 times more difficult than just throwing a baseball. When you turn to be good in chapita, baseball with those huge balls and bats looks like a vacation trip, like hitting basketballs with a large plank in comparison.

"Pelotica e' Goma" is another baseball-related game most boys play around here. It involves a rubber ball, smaller than a baseball, that costs less than 0,25 dollars, and can lasts years. The game is just a bunch of boys throwing the ball at a point painted in a wall, so it bounces towards them again, the next in line must catch it, and throw it again and so forth. If you drop the ball, you are eliminated instantly. Of course, you try to force the elimination of other players giving them more difficult shots to catch. This practice involves a lot of rollings, so our country produces lots and lots of high quality short stops, like Luis Aparicio, Oswaldo Ozzie Guillén, Alfonso Carrasquel, and Omar Vizquel. You don't have a glove, thus it makes it difficult to catch the ball. That is why the "bare hand" manouver is so popular amongst venezuelan infielders, they used it for years during childhood.

But well, right now, Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordoñez and Johan Santana (Who is a phenomenon because he comes from the only in zone in Venezuela where soccer is more popular than baseball) for the win!

PS: On a side note, Did you know that Miguel Cabrera is able to knock down soda cans over a barn as a target practice batting balls towards them, as cowboys used to do with guns?, and that Magglio Ordoñez can play tennis with a bat instead of a racket? A publicitary campaign with TV ads was launched on those facts, and it was impressive to see how they were able to pull those stunts.

Most excellent, most excellent indeed. I commend the courage of Jackie Robinson in challenging the status quo in MLB, his contributions helped to make baseball far better than it would have been otherwise. Robinson put up a with a lot of shit, but he played the game, and he played superbly.

-snip-

Which is part of the reason why I fully advocate the integration of all of the national baseball leagues around the world. Not only would it give the title "World Series" far more legitimacy, but it would also allow us to see some superb players that we wouldn't otherwise see, because they play in Japan, the ROK, or the Dominican Republic or wherever. It would be a boon for the sport, and its international image.

Which is part of the reason why I fully advocate the integration of all of the national baseball leagues around the world. Not only would it give the title "World Series" far more legitimacy, but it would also allow us to see some superb players that we wouldn't otherwise see, because they play in Japan, the ROK, or the Dominican Republic or wherever. It would be a boon for the sport, and its international image.

In that, we entirely agree. Baseball needs something alike to the FIFA, (without all those mistakes), so all countries in the world can integrate their legues. Perhaps it is starting, with the World Classic.

In that, we entirely agree. Baseball needs something alike to the FIFA, (without all those mistakes), so all countries in the world can integrate their legues. Perhaps it is starting, with the World Classic.

I would definitely love to see an international baseball league. It would do so much for the sport.

I would definitely love to see an international baseball league. It would do so much for the sport.

It would even produce more money...I can't see what the problem is?, Do you believe it is nationalism?, Even with all those foreigners in the american competition?