The good news is that Major League Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson Day. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, thus shattering it in every other major North American sport 67 years ago today. The occasion is reflected upon at every major league ballpark. Among the festivities, every player wears Robinson's jersey number, 42, today.
Number 42 was permanently retired from MLB in 1997, with players wearing #42 at the time grandfathered in an exception to the rule. With future Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera's retirement following the 2013 season, there are no players remaining that don Robinson's number, except for on Jackie Robinson Day.
Today's retweet was something I simply found interesting. I don't know if this is any more than an anecdotal story, if it really happened, or if it is a bit of a tall tale. I don't remember the suggested controversy back in 1997, but that was 17 years ago. Even a sports junkie like myself can forget a few things that made everyone go, "hmm," at the time. The most interesting thing about today's retweet, from Paul R. Bear (@The_Paularbear): a reminder of who John Q. Fan thinks of as a good guy and a bad guy in the lexicon on baseball.
"Just so every1 knows, Ken Griffey Jr was the 1st to suggest everyone wear 42 on Jackie Robinson Day & Barry Bonds thought it was a bad idea."
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| Thank you for your courage, Jackie. |
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