FanHouse JackieRobinson

On April 16th, 1916, Ray Shook suited up for the Chicago White Sox ... or so they say. I invite you to take a look at his career statistics. If the statistics are to be believed, Ray Shook played one career game, but made zero plate appearances. To boot, he did not pitch, and he did not field. Perhaps he was brought in as a pinch runner at some point, or perhaps he never played at all.

Ray Shook is quite possibly the least consequential baseball player of all time, trumping even Moonlight Graham. April 16th was his day. He was celebrated. Then some jerk named Jackie Robinson got famous and had April 15th named after him. Shook was forgotten. To my knowledge, the only picture of him on the Internet is the one to the right, which I just drew in Microsoft Paint.

I hereby commence belated celebration for Ray Shook Day, and I encourage you to do the same by ... not playing baseball, I suppose. Today's Dugout is after the jump.

NEW YORK -- Why? Why should we continue to celebrate Jackie Robinson all these years later? Why did every major league player, coach and manager have to wear Robinson's No. 42 Wednesday, confusing casual fans and serious scorekeepers who prefer baseball be guided by actual uniform numbers and not some artificial commemoration?

Jerry Manuel, manager of the New York Mets, could have pointed out a perfectly sensible answer as we walked down the Citi Field tunnel late Wednesday afternoon. We passed by a broom closet, the kind where black players like Robinson once had to dress, and a water fountain, which would either have to be sanitized after a player like Robinson sipped from it or, more likely, moved to a separate area so the white players wouldn't be contaminated.

I don't know this for a fact, but I think that golf writer Dan O'Neill (if that is your real name, Wanny) has probably written his last column for NBC. Why do I think that?

Well, Dan, in an attempt to discuss Sergio Garcia's on-course struggles kind of glanced at the proverbial line, started running, jumped over it and landed about 100 yards past said stripe.

See, O'Neil was attempting to draw a parallel between Garcia and Phil Mickelson. Lefty needed 42 majors played before he won one. Sergio just choked his way through played in number 41. And, well, let's let O'Neill take it from there (emphasis mine, and a tip of the cap to Mrs. Stradley for the find):

You remember the No. 42. That was the number of majors Phil Mickelson played in before he won the 2004 Masters. That's the amount of frustration, heartbreak and second-guessing "Lefty" endured before he got that Jackie Robinson off his back.

Now, technically, Jackie Robinson is a number 42. However, when you're discussing someone's inability to achieve something, you don't say, "Man, glad to finally get that 42 off my back!" You say "Whew! Glad that monkey is finally off my back."

And welcome to the least juicy chunk of celebrity meets sports news you will hear all year long. The Dodgers, as in the entire Los Angeles history of the team, is having a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame dedicated to them.

The Hollywood Historic Trust and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce this Friday, June 20 at 11 am in celebration of the organization's 50th anniversary in Los Angeles. An Award of Excellence star and commemorative plaque will be presented to the Dodgers in recognition of their significant contributions to the community of Los Angeles and world culture and entertainment. The Dodgers will be the first sports franchise ever to receive such an honor.

There will be all sorts of crazy celebs there, including Frank McCourt, Joe Torre, Russell Martin, Charley Steiner, Eric Karros, and, well, Vin Scully actually is a celeb in my book. Although from what I understand, he already has a star on the WoF with his own name on it.

The press release makes some good points though -- the Dodgers, like most Los Angeles teams, have been celebrity infused since the beginning. Additionally, they have five World Series titles and made huge civil rights strides by bringing Jackie Robinson into baseball. No word on whether Andruw Jones was invited or not.

That's what Sons of Steve Garvey are asking today, given the news that Major League Baseball is donating $1.2 million to the Jackie Robinson Foundation to fund scholarships over the next four years (at 300k per annum).

The Sons make a pretty valid point that maybe the sum is greater than the whole, if that little redundancy can make any sense. See, that 1.2? It's over four years. Still a big chunk of change, no doubt. But it's a little bet less grand when you really break it down.

Okay, so $1.2 million over four years means $300,000 per year. Divided by 30 MLB teams, each scholarship is worth $10,000 per year per team. So counting the 25 people on each team's active roster, MLB is generously donating $400 per player. $400. That's not enough to park 27 cars at Dodger Stadium, nor is it enough to drink 50 beers.

Now, first of all, there is nothing "shortchanged" about 1.2 million dollars. That is a ton of money, and I think it is fantastic that Bud Selig has helped to raise that much from the 30 teams in Major League Baseball for donation to the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

On the other hand, it is somewhat contrite to announce a $1.2 million donation when it's really a $300,000.00 donation that will be milked for the next four years. So I agree on SoSG on that notion. At the same time though, it is pretty unfair to pinpoint the monetary breakdown to individual players, considering that these individuals are not responsible for the donations themselves. Rather, it is the teams that are doing the donating.

In that sense, I agree with wanting to see more money coughed up for the Robinson Foundation. Jackie Robinson was one of the most well respected athletes and human beings in the history of our country and discounting anything -- especially a fraction of the dollars being made by MLB teams -- at the expense of honoring a great bastion of civil rights seems a bit trite. On the other hand, forcing someone to donate something is an ethical paradox in the first place, so I say good job on the initial work by Selig and crew, and hopefully more teams and/or individuals will follow suit with separate donations.

Thanks to this year being the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's destruction of the color barrier, there has been a great deal of discussion about the lack of black players in the professional game today. We've talked about the reasons for this before. Among them are: black players don't get the youth opportunities thanks to location; there's a cultural deficit of interest in the game; and the international spread of recruiting has had a disproportionate effect on the black high school player.

All of these reasons ring true, which means it's time to think about solutions. The New York Times' William C. Rhoden did exactly that in yesterday's edition (Times Select), calling for help from MLB and for youth players to be able to play in less restricted local Little Leagues:

My idea is that for the next five years, residency requirements, which are at the heart of Little League Baseball, should be suspended. But suspend the rule only for ages 5 through 8, the crucial ages when kids learn the fundamentals of the game and learn to love the game. There is no competitive advantage at these ages; everyone is simply learning the game.

For ages 9 to 12, the various local leagues - like Harlem Little League; Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities, know as the R.B.I. program; and the Little League Urban Initiative - can fill in the gaps.

Earlier this season when Major League Baseball was honoring the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color line, the question was posed in Cleveland about honoring Larry Doby.

Doby, of course, was the first African-American player to suit up in the American League in 1947 for the Cleveland Indians. Well, the Indians have received permission from MLB to honor Doby, and will do so on Friday August 10th against the Yankees.

The entire team will wear Doby's number 14 to honor him.

Larry Doby Jr. will throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game. Each jersey worn that evening by Indians players and coaches will be signed and auctioned off by Cleveland Indians Charities to benefit the Larry Doby RBI Program and the Larry Doby Cleveland State University Baseball Scholarship Fund. Both programs were established in Larry's honor in 1994 when the Indians retired his number. There will also be a video tribute to Larry Doby on the Jacobs Field scoreboard prior to the game.

The Larry Doby #14 tribute is one many highlights to Hall of Fame/Heritage weekend, August 10-12 vs. the New York Yankees. Prior to the game of Saturday, August 11 four more members will be added to the Indians Hall of Fame: Andre Thornton Jr, Charles Nagy, Jim Bagby Sr, and Mike Garcia.

Frankly had MLB denied his request, I don't know what I'd think. It's important that the Indians get to honor Doby because it seems that outside of Cleveland, nobody really knows who Larry Doby is. Since he wasn't the first African-American to break the color line he gets lost in the shuffle, but you have to realize that back in the late 40's, American League fans never saw the Dodgers. So Doby was the first black player most of them had seen on the field, and he had to undergo a lot of the same crap that Robinson did.

And any time you get to be honored on the same weekend as a guy like Charles Nagy, well, that's just something special right there.

Previously at the Fanhouse:
The Indians Are Looking To Honor Larry Doby

Two in a row? Break em' up! The Washington Nationals have all of a sudden become spunky and plucky and any other adjective that you can come up with that sounds vaguely similar.

Of course, you can credit Dmitri Young who went three for four with two doubles and two RBI's ... and had a new uniform number for a night, and some divine intervention on his side:

The Washington Nationals' first baseman was scheduled to wear Robinson's No. 42 Sunday along with most of Major League Baseball to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Robinson's debut. But a storm that struck the east coast and postponed the Nationals' game at New York forced Young to reschedule his tribute. "That was an out-of-body experience. Jackie Robinson was in my soul tonight and he was the one that played," said Young, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored in Nationals' victory over Atlanta at RFK Stadium.

Heartwarming as a figurative feeling ... but if Young had stolen a base on Monday, I would have believed more of a paranormal Ghostbusters kind of scenario where Jackie Robinson would have really thrust his soul into Dmitri Young.

While Major League Baseball honored the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson playing his first game in the Majors yesterday, the Cleveland Indians are currently looking into doing something similiar for the American League's Jackie Robinson: Larry Doby.

Doby made his debut with the Indians on July 5th, 1947, less than three months after Robinson played his first game for the Dodgers. The Indians would like to have all of their players wear Doby's #14 in their July 5th game in Detroit against the Tigers.

Doby's number was retired by the Cleveland Indians in 1994.

C. C. Sabathia was one of three Indians to wear #42 for the Indians yesterday, and would really love the chance to honor Doby. If for nothing else, just to teach people about the oft overlooked man.

"I don't think a lot of people know who Larry Doby is," Sabathia said. "I watched a documentary on him about a month ago and found out who he was. Hopefully the league will let us do it because he's someone who needs to be honored. Not a lot of people know that he was the first player in the American League. As a kid, I never heard his name. Coming here and getting a chance to know what he represented and what he went through is definitely an honor for me."

I'd be shocked if MLB didn't let the Indians do this, and I have to say it's a very good idea. I knew who Larry Doby was before this, but I didn't really know anything about him. The way he's overshadowed by Robinson you'd kind of think he was just an average player, but he wasn't. In 1950, Doby led the AL with 32 home runs and 126 RBI. In his 13-year Hall-of Fame career Doby hit .283 with 253 home runs, 1,515 hits, and 970 RBI.

In front of a capacity crowd at Dodger Stadium, Major League Baseball proved they still had the goods, bringing out all the stops in a full-on celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball. First, Marlon Wayans gave a speech about Jackie's accomplishments, saying that Jackie's role as a second baseman and baseball player was secondary to everything else he did for society. There was a Gospel choir that chanted a song specially written to commemorate the day, with the chorus being about "Jackie's Day." Long time Dodgers Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully gave a speech about Jackie and introduced Robinson's wife, Rachel. This is not the sort of thing Scully often does -- anyone watching could've told you how uncomfortable he was to receive such a long-standing ovation. Then came Commissioner Bud Selig who presented Rachel Robinson with the Commissioner's Historic Award. Selig used the speech to put Jackie's accomplishments in historical context and explain how Rachel properly carried on the legacy of Jackie.

Rachel Robinson then spoke on behalf of the Robinson family and Jackie Robinson Foundation, and expressed a great deal of gratitude for all the support. Academy Award winner and American Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson followed up Rachel's speech by singing the Star Spangled Banner. After Hudson finished singing, Hall of Famer and the first black manager in MLB, Frank Robinson, threw out the first pitch to Dodger center fielder Juan Pierre, alongside all-time HR king Hank Aaron, who threw out the first pitch to Padres center fielder Mike Cameron.

It was a proud day for Major League Baseball, as they did an excellent job of properly honoring Jackie and Rachel Robinson. And it was quite a juxtaposition to what we may be expecting out of MLB when Barry Bonds gets closer to breaking Hank Aaron's HR record. Selig has already stated he's unsure if he'll be on-hand for Bonds, while Aaron has already said he won't be in attendance. But this day was about Jackie Robinson, and Major League Baseball truly stepped up its game to honor the man who (according to broadcaster Jon Miller) Padres pitcher Chris Young called the most influential figure of the 20th century.

Previously at FanHouse:
Jackie Robinson Honored On 60th Anniversary
Dodgers Will Honor Jackie Robinson, Confuse Scorekeeper
Bud Selig Listens to Ken Griffey, Jr.
Barry's World: Is He Wrong to Honor Jackie Robinson
Ichiro Wants to Honor Jackie Robinson Privately
Are Too Many Players Wearing Jackie Robinson's Number?