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I'm 73 and kind of worn out about hearing of Jackie Robinson. Hey, we get it, we get it already.
Shucks, I thrilled to his performance in the 50s like when he stole home against Yogi in the World Series and of the deeds of his followers like Mays, Aaron, F. Robinson, Newcombe, and the cast of thousands that followed but it got old long ago.
To me, the hoopla feels like overkill in MLB trying to distance itself from all those decades of plain old racism. We laud Jackie Robinson for breaking the color line without stopping to remember who put the color line there to begin with.
Get a load of where Yogi Berra is standing in photo 21....
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Last edited by Mike from back east; 01-31-2019 at 10:41 AM..
To me, the hoopla feels like overkill in MLB trying to distance itself from all those decades of plain old racism. We laud Jackie Robinson for breaking the color line without stopping to remember who put the color line there to begin with.
While I agree that Jackie Robinson deserves to be remembered, I also agree that MLB seems to have gone overboard with the tributes, they have all but canonized him. I also wonder why when Jackie Robinson is being honored, we seldom hear anything at all about Branch Rickey, the man who decided to stand up to the other owners and take the first step.
While I agree that Jackie Robinson deserves to be remembered, I also agree that MLB seems to have gone overboard with the tributes, they have all but canonized him. I also wonder why when Jackie Robinson is being honored, we seldom hear anything at all about Branch Rickey, the man who decided to stand up to the other owners and take the first step.
And that was pointed out in the movie too, particularly the conversation that Rickey, portrayed by Harrison Ford, had with the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. When the vote came down regarding the inclusion of black players into MLB, Rickey knew he was going to be the only one to vote yes. But he had one guy on his side, and that was MLB's new commissioner, "Happy" Chandler. I don't need to get into his predecessor's views on the issue (Judge Landis.) as most everyone knew how HE felt about it.
Rickey was a solid judge of talent as he made the St. Louis Cardinals into IMO the best club of the National League. He was with the club for nearly a quarter century until he left in 1942 and also pretty much inventing the farm club system. He was on top of everything-player trades, scouting, and day to day business operations, not only player related but money related.
He left the Dodgers and went to work with the Pittsburgh Pirates, a club that needed a LOT of help. Take a look at their won/loss record starting around 1940. Even in Rickey's years with the Pirates the club had some horrible years, one of them being 1952 where they won 42 and lost 112. It took them a while to rebuild everything, but rebuild they did. They won the World Series in 1960, then again in 1971 and 1979. Rickey had passed years before but take a look at the Pirates won/loss record in the 1970's, then look at where they were in the 1950's. Like he showed MLB clubs Jackie Robinson, he showed them Roberto Clemente.
And that was pointed out in the movie too, particularly the conversation that Rickey, portrayed by Harrison Ford, had with the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. When the vote came down regarding the inclusion of black players into MLB, Rickey knew he was going to be the only one to vote yes. But he had one guy on his side, and that was MLB's new commissioner, "Happy" Chandler. I don't need to get into his predecessor's views on the issue (Judge Landis.) as most everyone knew how HE felt about it.
Rickey was a solid judge of talent as he made the St. Louis Cardinals into IMO the best club of the National League. He was with the club for nearly a quarter century until he left in 1942 and also pretty much inventing the farm club system. He was on top of everything-player trades, scouting, and day to day business operations, not only player related but money related.
He left the Dodgers and went to work with the Pittsburgh Pirates, a club that needed a LOT of help. Take a look at their won/loss record starting around 1940. Even in Rickey's years with the Pirates the club had some horrible years, one of them being 1952 where they won 42 and lost 112. It took them a while to rebuild everything, but rebuild they did. They won the World Series in 1960, then again in 1971 and 1979. Rickey had passed years before but take a look at the Pirates won/loss record in the 1970's, then look at where they were in the 1950's. Like he showed MLB clubs Jackie Robinson, he showed them Roberto Clemente.
Branch Rickey was also a pioneer of metrics, compiling and keeping his own stats apart from those presented to the public. He hired statistician Allan Roth as a full time front office man, charged with compiling data. From that data, Rickey created platoon arrangements and gained an understanding of the value of on base averages over simple batting averages. He also developed the concept of isolated slugging. Rickey had a strategic advantage over his opponents....he understood the true odds.
Another Rickey idea was that it was always better to get rid of a ballplayer a year too early than a year too late. Rickey wasn't much for sentiment when it came to aging stars, he understood how they were hurting his clubs even if they were still fan favorites.
To me, the hoopla feels like overkill in MLB trying to distance itself from all those decades of plain old racism. We laud Jackie Robinson for breaking the color line without stopping to remember who put the color line there to begin with.
I hate to say this, but America put the color line in place.
Many hotels would not host Dodgers with Robinson. The Green book existed to inform black people which hotels would accept their business. Millions of fans booed Robinson with the Dodgers, solely due to the color of his skin. We still had sundown towns!
Rickey was not just fighting the good fight vs MLB. He was fighting against bad segments of America. America, at that time, NORTH and SOUTH, was still a much more racist place than 2018. The boos Robinson endured, check the standings, MLB was outside of St. Louis, north of the Mason-Dixon line. 6 of the other 7 NL 1947 teams! 85.7% above Mason Dixon, but the Robinson treatment would have made Byron De La Beckwith proud. Rickey was brave enough to fight that. Like Robinson, he got death threats. He never wavered. Pee Wee we applaud for coming around, but that year, Rickey never had to convert his mindset. It started and stayed 100% behind this long overdue cause.
To me, the hoopla feels like overkill in MLB trying to distance itself from all those decades of plain old racism. We laud Jackie Robinson for breaking the color line without stopping to remember who put the color line there to begin with.
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