I haven't read this thread. Doing so would probably take a couple hours. I have a pretty good idea of what opinions are likely expressed, so I will offer my opinion without reading this thread.
I felt similar to the OP when I was in my 20's. Jackie Robinson is only in the HOF because he is the first black ballplayer. I thought that was ridiculous.
In the last 30 years I have learned a lot and completely changed my opinion. He put up huge HOF worthy numbers in the short period of time he was allowed to play. The intangibles like the way he must have gotten into a pitchers head any time he was on base are immeasurable. I can't imagine any other person would have been able to endure the stuff he had to put up with.
I have learned a lot about base ball history and life in the last 30 years. Jackie Robinson is number 3 on my short list of human beings I admire most. I suspect if the OP continues to be a student of the game's history, in 20 years or so he will rank Jackie Robinson as a top-tier HOFer.
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