MLB Tributes Lead To Look At Jackie Robinson’s Legacy

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig will “accept any request” from players to wear Jackie Robinson’s retired No. 42 on Sunday in tribute to the 60th anniversary of Robinson breaking MLB’s color barrier, according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY. Selig said that he “understands the concern raised by several prominent African-American players ... that the homage could be diminished with almost one-third of baseball planning to wear No. 42.” But Selig said, “With all due respect to what’s being said out there, let those who wear it want to wear it.” MLB officials said that the uniforms worn in Robinson’s honor “will be autographed by the players and donated to the Jackie Robinson Foundation” (USA TODAY, 4/13). In N.Y., Bill Pennington notes “no player on any team wearing a No. 42 will have a name on the jersey above the number.” The Dodgers, Cardinals, Pirates, Phillies, Brewers and Astros “plan to have everyone in uniform wearing No. 42.” Phillies equipment manager Frank Coppenbarger: “[MLB] said it was possible, and when it came up, our players’ vote on it was unanimous” (N.Y. TIMES, 4/13). Denver Post columnist Woody Paige said, “Every ballpark that you walk into in (MLB) has retired Jackie Robinson’s number. It’s up on the outfield wall. We’re reminded of his presence in baseball and his meaning every time we go to a baseball game. We don’t need the players to wear the No. 42.” But ESPN’s Michael Smith said that he does not think “enough people are wearing” the number (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 4/12). ESPN’s Michael Wilbon said, “You can’t have too many players wearing 42.” ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser: “I fear that if only black players wear it, white players and Latin players might feel ostracized to some degree” (“PTI,” ESPN, 4/12).

ROBINSON’S LEGACY: In a front-page Cover Story, USA TODAY’s Mike Dodd writes Sunday’s tributes to Robinson “will put a spotlight on an uncomfortable question for baseball: Is Robinson’s legacy within the game fading?” In a ceremony ten years ago when MLB retired Robinson’s number league-wide, Selig “emphasized baseball’s push to hire more minorities.” However, the percentage of African-American MLBers “has dropped sharply during the last decade and is now the lowest it has been since the 1960s” at 8.3%, while the percentage of blacks in “key front-office, managing and coaching positions hasn’t increased during the last decade.” MLB Exec VP/Baseball Operations Jimmie Lee Solomon, an African American, said, “Are we where we should be? No. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Are we working on it? Yeah, we’re working hard on it” (USA TODAY, 4/13). But in S.F., Scott Ostler writes, “Robinson’s legacy lives on. The big leagues are a rainbow coalition of whites, blacks, Latin Americans and Asians” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/13). ESPN’s Joe Morgan, a member of the Jackie Robinson Foundation BOD, said, “I’m not trying to criticize today’s players, but they are so far removed from what happened 60 years ago, it’s hard for them to have any sort of understanding of what occurred.” Morgan, who will call the Padres-Dodgers game Sunday night that is the centerpiece of the net’s coverage around Robinson, added of the weekend festivities, “By bringing it all together, it’ll help everyone understand how all these things happened, and why we still need to work on making racial issues better” (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 4/13).

Rollins Could Become Point Man In MLB’s Efforts To Market To African Americans

INCREASING BLACK PARTICIPATION: In Philadelphia, David Aldridge wrote a “charismatic African American superstar could accelerate the process” of increasing participation in baseball. Solomon: “Derek Jeter is probably our most marketable African American player, but he’s not as out there. We’ve got to figure out what we’re going to do in light of that to try and make baseball cool to young people.” Solomon indicated that MLB is “in discussions with [BET] to try to develop a reality show” featuring Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins. Solomon: “The tremendous wit and humor that Jimmy Rollins has, that [Phillies 1B] Ryan Howard has, that would be great, especially if we could get it into a marketplace that’s viewed by African Americans like BET” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 4/12). Dodgers Dir of Player Development De Jon Watson said, “I don’t think we market our product like the NFL or NBA market theirs. We live in an MTV, VH1, music, hip-hop era. Kids today aren’t watching regular television. If you’re not trying to market to them, you’re missing an audience you need to reach” (ESPN.com, 4/12). ESPN’s Eric Young: “If you can even just show presence as an industry with (MLB) to the inner city, I guarantee you there’ll be some kids that want to play (MLB). ... The baseball industry needs to do something to address this problem” (“SportsCenter Special: Jackie Robinson,” ESPN, 4/12).

COST AT GRASSROOTS LEVEL: The SPORTING NEWS’ Stan McNeal writes while MLB “could do better ... in marketing its African American players,” youth baseball “has become so organized (translation: expensive) that kids from poor families have little chance of keeping up with players on traveling teams that participate in 80 games a summer across various states” (SPORTING NEWS, 4/16 issue). Twins CF Torii Hunter said of the decreasing percentage of African-American players, “I don’t think it has a lot do with (MLB) at all. It’s our community. There’s a lot of single parents in my community ... and baseball is pretty expensive.” Hunter added, “The marketing side of it is something that’s really big, too, because LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and all those basketball players, when you see that, that’s cool. It’s hip-hop” (“PTI,” ESPN, 4/12).

Mets’ Minaya Lone Latino GM In MLB

OTHER MINORITY GROUPS: USA TODAY’s Jorge Ortiz notes the last decade has seen a “noticeable increase in opportunities for Latinos and women” in MLB. There are three Latino managers this season, up from one in ’97. Mets GM Omar Minaya five years ago became MLB’s first Latino GM with the Expos. On the field, 24% of players are Latino, up from 16% ten years ago. Dodgers Assistant GM Kim Ng in ’05 interviewed for the team’s GM position, becoming the first woman to do so, and Dodgers Vice Chair & President Jamie McCourt became the highest-ranking female exec in baseball when she and her husband bought the team in ’04. The Yankees’ Jean Afterman is MLB’s only other female Assistant GM. Minaya: “There is progress, but it’s fair to say we’re still a ways away from this being an issue we shouldn’t even be talking about” (USA TODAY, 4/13). In Denver, Tracy Ringolsby notes there were a record 246 players, or 29% of all MLBers, on Opening Day rosters born outside the U.S., and writes a “sizeable share of Latin players owe their opportunity to Robinson” (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 4/13).

REMEMBER THE NAME: MLB runs a full-page ad in USA Today featuring an image of Robinson and the Jackie Robinson Day logo, with the text, “He was a soldier, a writer, an activist, a politician, a voice, a leader, a father, a husband and a friend. Being a Hall of Fame second baseman was the easy part” (THE DAILY). ESPN has been running 30-second and 15-second versions of an ad with the same theme across its networks. In the TV version, a voiceover describes Robinson in the same terms (“soldier,” “father,” “friend,” etc.) against a backdrop of footage of Robinson. The spot concludes with a plug for ESPN’s coverage of Padres-Dodgers Sunday at 8:00pm ET (THE DAILY).