Orioles return as MLB honors Robinson
“None of this happens without what Jackie did.”
Orioles reliever Mychal Givens views Major League Baseball’s yearly honoring of Jackie Robinson as an opportunity for education. This year’s celebration comes at a valuable time for that effort.
Friday, every in-uniform member of each team will wear No. 42, the number Robinson wore when he broke the league’s color barrier in 1947, with the Orioles doing so for Friday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Buffalo. It
— Anthony Sanders, Orioles first-base coach
comes a day after the Orioles elected to not play against the Tampa Bay Rays, one of seven MLB matchups that was postponed Thursday.
It was part of an effort to bring attention to systemic issues of racial injustice and police brutality in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-yearold Black man, in Wisconsin. Games in the NBA, NHL and WNBA were postponed as well, while some NFL teams canceled their practices.
Givens said t he t i ming shouldn’t make the league’s recognition of Robinson any more important than another year, if only because he believes it should be just as important year-round.
“It should be [meaningful] every day, the supporting of Jackie Robinson and what he’s done for us and what he put himself through to give us an opportunity
to play baseball,” Givens said. “For all African Americans and little kids, it’s just an opportunity to always support and bring back history of what he’s done.”
Givens delivered those words on a Zoom call while standing between firstbase coach Anthony Sanders, the Orioles’ only Black coach, and outfielder Mason Williams, who like Givens is one of four African Americans on the Orioles’ active roster. Sanders spoke briefly of his path to his first major-league coaching job, going from his time as a player to now watching the young people in his life play travel and college ball while getting to see how inexperienced Orioles are handling their first tastes of the majors.
“The young African American presence that we have on this team, seeing these kids get to the big leagues for the first time and go through some of the stuff, none of this happens without what Jackie did,” Sanders said. “So for me, just a big thank you to the family and everybody else during that time who paved the pathway for all of us to get here.”
Baseball’s annual honoring of Robinson traditionally takes place April 15, the anniversary of his 1947 debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, but with the season delayed and shortened because of the coronavirus pandemic, the league instead recognized Robinson on Friday, the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington, which Robinson, his wife and children attended, and the 75th anniversary of Robinson meeting with Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey to discuss joining the organization.
“It’s wonderful just to put that uniform on every year,” Givens said. “I love the fact that even though we’re having a shorter season, we’re still supporting Jackie Robinson, and today is a great opportunity to wear that jersey in respect of the things he’s gone through. It teaches a lot of kids.
“When we get to [wear] it, they get to ask questions and learn [about] Jackie Robinson, who he is, what he’s done for us, and to support his family.”
Both Givens and Williams reiterated that Thursday’s decision not to play was one the Orioles made as a team.
“We’re just proud of the fact that we’re educating ourselves and understanding what’s going on in the world,” Givens said. “As far as playing last night, we did it as a team. We’re brothers. We’re doing it as far as just having each other’s backs.
“It was not focused on baseball, and basically just the fact that we all stuck together and decided as a whole and didn’t take any grief of how we did it, we think as a whole what we did was best.”
Added Williams: “It’s a lot of heavy hearts in the clubhouse and in the world right now. I think there’s an opportunity here that we all can grasp and obviously just understand that we need to do better as a whole.”
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, who is white, left the decision to play Thursday to his players and was supportive when they decided not to play. He said he’s leaned on Sanders, the Orioles’ Black players and other members of the club’s traveling party.
“I just learned from listening to their experiences and their stories, and it’s very, very impactful,” Hyde said. “Everyone has a different story and a different way that they were brought up. Their life experiences, listening to that, that’s why it’s emotional because the beauty of sports and beauty of a clubhouse is that there’s 50 people here and everybody’s from a different area, and we get to experience that. We get to live with people that are from everywhere, all walks of life, different countries, different backgrounds, and you become close with them.
“I’ve spent the last 20 years in professional baseball, being with different people from all over the world. I feel really privileged and lucky to have these experiences.”
Sanders praised Hyde for his handling of the situation.
“None of us have all the answers to this,” Sanders said. “Hats off to our skipper, Brandon. He’s gone above and beyond, putting himself in uncomfortable situations and communicating and listening, and it just trickles down to this clubhouse.
“I’ve seen kids from Opening Day to last night almost change overnight, and you can tell they’re paying attention. They want to learn. It takes time, and I think we’re going in the right direction.”