Today is the annual celebration of Jackie Robinson, the Hall of Fame player who broke baseball's color barrier in 1947. As part of this tradition, the number 42, which was retired by all teams in 1997, can be worn by any player, coach, or manager at the major league level. Mariano Rivera remains the only player to still wear the number full-time.Last year the Dodgers celebrated the 60th anniversary of Robinson's debut by having the entire squad wear #42. This year they will be joined by the Angels, Mets, A's, Pirates, Rangers, Rays, Nationals, and Cardinals.
But not every player is happy about how baseball honors Robinson. Angels outfielder Torii Hunter feels that having so many players wearing #42 actually dilutes the significance of Robinson's achievement.
"When you have a team that doesn't have any African American players on the team, and then everybody on the team wears it, yes, it's watered down, because they don't have blacks to represent Jackie Robinson over there," Hunter said.Hunter also felt it was absurd for the Houston Astros, a team with no white players, to have the entire team wear 42. Hunter was ridiculously labeled a racist for those remarks, when his intentions were really to know why the Astros had no black players (this year's Colorado Rockies squad has no black players either).
"It's pretty weird. That's just my opinion."
We have mixed feelings on the subject. While it's a great tribute is there anything meaningful about a white player wearing #42? But we agree with LA Times columnist Bill Shaikin that commemorating the feat helps educate those who did not know much about Robinson or his legacy.Here's the complete list of those wearing 42 today.
Team | Player | ||
| Arizona Diamondbacks | Eric Byrnes | ||
| Orlando Hudson | |||
| Lee Tinsley | |||
| Justin Upton | |||
| Chris Young | |||
| Atlanta Braves | Mark Kotsay | ||
| Baltimore Orioles | Adam Jones | ||
| Boston Red Sox | Coco Crisp | ||
| DeMarlo Hale | |||
| David Ortiz | |||
| Chicago Cubs | Derrek Lee | ||
| Gerald Perry | |||
| Lester Strode | |||
| Daryle Ward | |||
| Chicago White Sox | Harold Baines | ||
| Jeff Cox | |||
| Jermaine Dye | |||
| Ozzie Guillen | |||
| Nick Swisher | |||
| Jim Thome | |||
| Cincinnati Reds | Dusty Baker | ||
| Ken Griffey Jr. | |||
| Cleveland Indians | C.C. Sabathia | ||
| Grady Sizemore | |||
| Colorado Rockies | Matt Herges | ||
| Willy Taveras | |||
| Yorvit Torrealba | |||
| Detroit Tigers | Curtis Granderson | ||
| Jacque Jones | |||
| Lloyd McClendon | |||
| Gary Sheffield | |||
| Dontrelle Willis | |||
| Florida Marlins | Bo Porter | ||
| Houston Astros | Michael Bourn | ||
| Cecil Cooper | |||
| Kansas City Royals | Joey Gathright | ||
| Jose Guillen | |||
| Trey Hillman | |||
| Luis Silverio | |||
| Los Angeles Angels | Entire team | ||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Entire team | ||
| Milwaukee Brewers | Prince Fielder | ||
| Minnesota Twins | Matt Guerrier | ||
| Livan Hernandez | |||
| Craig Monroe | |||
| Denard Span | |||
| Jerry White | |||
| Delmon Young | |||
| New York Mets | Entire team | ||
| New York Yankees | Robinson Cano | ||
| Joe Girardi | |||
| Derek Jeter | |||
| *Mariano Rivera | |||
| Oakland Athletics | Entire team | ||
| Philadelphia Phillies | Jimmy Rollins | ||
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Entire team | ||
| San Diego Padres | Tony Clark | ||
| Callix Crabbe | |||
| Scott Hairston | |||
| San Francisco Giants | Ray Durham | ||
| Seattle Mariners | Miguel Batista | ||
| Adrian Beltre | |||
| Yuniesky Betancourt | |||
| Mike Morse | |||
| St. Louis Cardinals | Entire team | ||
| Tampa Bay Rays | Entire team | ||
| Texas Rangers | Entire team | ||
| Toronto Blue Jays | Shannon Stewart | ||
| Frank Thomas | |||
| Vernon Wells | |||
| Washington Nationals | Entire team |
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