First off, let me just state that Jackie Robinson was a simply phenomenal player and outstanding person. I love reading stories about him this time of year.
But lately every year when "Jackie Robinson Day" rolls around, I feel a little annoyed. The players and press people gush about Jackie all day. Just about everything they say about him is true.
But not a single mention is made all year of some of the other guys that had it just as hard, or at least almost as hard, as Jackie. What about some of the great players that tried to make it into the big leagues but failed, simply because of racism?
We've created this myth that Jackie was a player so outstanding in talent and personality, he simply walked on water and as a result white baseball simply had to accept him. Well, Jackie was outstanding in talent, but so were many players before him that got screwed because of the racism of the time.
As a result, everybody knows Jackie broke the color barrier. They gush about Jackie all day every year on Jackie day. They interview his great grand-kids and second-cousins. But people hardly know anything about anyone else. The average fan doesn't know Rube Foster, Oscar Charleston, or the story behind "Chief Tokohama."
Who's this guy? Nobody seems interested.
What I would do, if I was commissioner, is keep "Jackie Robinson Day." But on every Jackie Day, I would select a player that would also be honored: a great player from the Negro leagues that never got the chance to play in the big leagues, or even some of the players that broke through around the same time as Jackie, like Satchell Paige and Larry Doby. I think Jackie would have wanted it this way.
Thoughts?