Jackie’s Canadian roots run deep
Plenty of work to be done decades after Robinson and Doby broke MLB colour barrier Modern ballplayers sport respect for the late great Jackie Robinson, while Bartolo Colon’s legend grows.
The Blue Jays returned home Monday for a brief three-game homestand following consecutive rainouts in Cleveland. The Progressive Field postponements included a washout of Sunday’s MLB-wide Jackie Robinson Day, the 71st anniversary celebration of Robinson, the iconic baseball and civil rights figure’s debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.
The Jays will instead celebrate Tuesday, with all players wearing Robinson’s retired No. 42; the game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off for charity online. (The Royals’ home game Sunday vs. the Angels that was to feature the game’s future, Shohei Ohtani, was also rained out. The Royals will honour Robinson when their game with the Angels is made up in June.)
There are deep connections between the two cities playing at the Rogers Centre and the reintegration of baseball with Robinson in 1947.
Jays outfielder Curtis Granderson will be wearing a special pair of spikes for the occasion. One shoe features an image of Robinson with his Dodger colours while the other shows a rendering of oft-overlooked Indians outfielder Larry Doby, who followed just three months later in July 1947, becoming the first African-American to play in the AL in the 20th century.
What’s compelling about the connections stemming from the revised matchup? The Blue Jays represent Canada coastto-coast and Canada, of course, played a huge part in Dodgers president Branch Rickey’s well-designed plan to end an unofficial, but very real, 20thcentury MLB colour barrier. Rickey assigned Robinson to the Triple-A Montreal affiliate in 1946 because of a perceived racial tolerance in Canada that would help ease his way to the majors.
The Dodgers’ farm team in Montreal was, of course, the Royals. That nickname was Montreal’s first choice for the Expos in 1968 as a tribute to the city’s baseball roots, except that ownership had a confused first few months getting things organized as an expansion franchise. By the time they got around to a name, their firstyear expansion cousins in K.C. had already chosen the Royals.
Robinson was signed to his first contract by the Dodgers after one season with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues.
A further Canadian connection to 1947: Doby’s first postcareer role was as a scout for the Expos in 1969, followed by a stint as batting coach under Gene Mauch from 1971-73.
Many people forget, but I recall my first road trip with the Expos to Chicago in September 1973. My seatmate on the bus from Jarry Park to the airport was Doby. In quiet conversation, it was clear he was a man still affected and worn down by the bumpy experience of being a pioneer for racial equality. Doby went on to become MLB’s second Black manager, with the White Sox in 1978.
Hall of famer Frank Robinson was the first manager, with Cleveland in 1975 some three years after Jackie had expressed his disappointment prior to the ’72 World Series in Cincinnati at the lack of progress in that area of racial equality. Robinson was very ill, but had been invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch and expressed his disappointment to writers. He passed away three weeks later at the age of 53.
Society would not be where it is today without the contributions of Robinson and Doby, but there’s clearly still much work to be done. Consider by August of ’47, Brooklyn had two Black players. Today, 71 years later, the Dodgers have just one African-American: outfielder Matt Kemp. BRINGING SEXY BACK: In the sixth inning of what was at that stage a perfect game against the Astros on Sunday night, Bartolo Colon of the Rangers was captured by cameras animatedly chatting with teammates at the Gatorade cooler in the dugout, high-fiving and laughing easily, tossing a ball off the dugout ceiling and catching it, seeming totally relaxed. What happened to the superstition of leaving a pitcher alone in moments like that? Colon is an original, a survivor. He is the last remaining active Expos player. He is the Big Sexy. Sure, he was only pitching because Doug Fister was placed on the DL. He worked seven perfect innings before a walk and a Josh Reddick double ended the no-hitter. Disappointed? Maybe, but he applauded himself on the mound after the hit, and when he walked off the field in the eighth after being relieved he chatted easily with Reddick, gestured and smiled without breaking stride. The fivefoot-11, 285-pound native of the Dominican Republic has pitched for 11 major league teams. He has been a free agent 12 times and traded twice since signing with Cleveland as an amateur free gent in 1993. He is a blue-collar pitcher in a whitecollar sport. He is every man’s dream of what might have been. REMEMBERING DOC: On the occasion of the Phillies’ home opener last week, the NL club invited head coach Doug Pederson of the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. While Phillies rookie manager Gabe Kapler was booed during player introductions, Pederson was cheered enthusiastically. The classy Eagles coach waved to the crowd as he headed to the mound wearing Roy Halladay’s No. 34 Phillies jersey, then threw a perfect strike to honour the two-time Cy Young winner who died in a November plane crash. The gesture did not go unnoticed, with the video tweeted out by Roy’s son Braden.