Jackie Robinson/Willie Mays

[Volod]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

I've thought about this quite often. And Doby was in the AL, playing in parks and cities that Jackie never visited. So even though he was three months later, he still was plowing ground that Jackie had never seen. Not meant at all to diminish what Jackie did, but Larry was right there beside him.

The same could be said for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Neil happened to be the first one down the ladder (and not by happenstance), and those couple of minutes made all the difference in their legacies.

Take a poll and ask who was the second black player in the Majors, or who was the second man on the moon, and most folks won't have a clue.

Being first matters.

I've also thought about it quite often, and the one factor that always stumps me is the NY aspect of it. Of course, it's entirely conjecture, but does anyone imagine that if Bill Veeck had brought Larry up at the same time Rickey elevated Jackie, their historical significance - not to mention their card values - would be equal today? Or do you think that if the Indians opened their season on a Tuesday and the Dodgers opened on the next day, it would be different today?

[JollyElm]

It certainly doesn't have the magnitude of the Jackie Robinson/Larry Doby story, but along with Armstrong/Aldrin, it reminds me of Ron Blomberg becoming the first designated hitter in MLB history (and his bat sent to Cooperstown). It was supposed to be Orlando Cepeda, but his game was rained out (I believe?), and the honor became Boomer's alone, making him the answer to a trivia question forevermore.

[Cliff Bowman]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

It certainly doesn't have the magnitude of the Jackie Robinson/Larry Doby story, but along with Armstrong/Aldrin, it reminds me of Ron Blomberg becoming the first designated hitter in MLB history (and his bat sent to Cooperstown). It was supposed to be Orlando Cepeda, but his game was rained out (I believe?), and the honor became Boomer's alone, making him the answer to a trivia question forevermore.

The Yankees played at the Red Sox that day, Blomberg was batting sixth for the Yankees and Cepeda was batting fifth for the Red Sox. The Yankees scored three runs in the top of the first inning so Blomberg was able to bat before Cepeda, who didn't come up until the bottom of the second.

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by Cliff Bowman

The Yankees played at the Red Sox that day, Blomberg was batting sixth for the Yankees and Cepeda was batting fifth for the Red Sox. The Yankees scored three runs in the top of the first inning so Blomberg was able to bat before Cepeda, who didn't come up until the bottom of the second.

Thanks for the clarification. I knew it was some sort of a fluke occurrence (those 3 runs in the top of the first), but couldn't quite remember what it was. Awesome.