A Historic Day

While at the Harrison softball game this afternoon I saw their catcher on the fence and thought about what her number meant. On this day in 1947 Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. I have always thought that even though it was a player playing a game it meant much more than that. After the war America was ready for some change. That first part of the change was Jackie taking the field. I don’t know if Ava picked her number because of Jackie or if it was for another reason. No matter what though it is good to see his legacy still out there on the field.

On A More Personal Note

I can’t pretend to even know what Jackie went through. I can’t speak to what people of color go through. On a very superficial level I can talk about what Jackie meant for me. Growing up I heard all about my dads favorite player Minnie Minoso. Without Jackie coming along when he did Minnie may not have played for the White Sox. Growing up my White Sox had some great players of color that I would never have seen had it not been for Jackie. My childhood was spent rooting for players like Baines, Law, Calderon, and Guillen to name a few. How weird would those Sox teams have been without those players? I can’t imagine telling someone that they can’t play the game because they don’t look like you. I love that this game today really does showcase the best of the best and not just the best of a race.