MLB honors Jackie Robinson’s legacy, 79th anniversary of his debut

LOS ANGELES — Major League Baseball honored Jackie Robinson on Wednesday, with every player, manager and umpire wearing his number 42 to mark the 79th birthday of the infielder who broke the sport’s color barrier.

Robinson debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. He went on to earn Rookie of the Year honors and become a six-time All-Star and 1949 National League MVP. He appeared in six World Series and won his only championship in 1955 with the Dodgers.

“Every player of color who now loves our great game owes it to this man,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

Robinson made his professional debut with the Negro Leagues’ Kansas City Monarchs in 1945. He was there five months before Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey interviewed him for a possible selection to the Brooklyn International League farm club. Rickey wanted to ensure that Robinson could resist racial antagonism without reacting with anger.

“What he did was incredibly difficult under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable,” Kendrick said. “He had to go out there and deal with not only racial hatred, but he was carrying 21 million black people on his back when he crossed those lines. If he had failed, an entire race of people would have failed. That’s a tremendous amount of pressure. The way he did it with such grace and class and dignity is absolutely incredible. And no, we should never forget Jackie Robinson.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets gathered around the center field statue of Robinson flying home at Dodger Stadium. Among the Dodgers were Tyler Glasnow, Teoscar Hernandez, Will Smith, Roki Sasaki, Alex Vesia and Will Klein. Shohei Ohtani, who was in attendance previously, was not there until later pitching against the Mets.

“A special day, especially for me as a Latino. I wouldn’t be here without him,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Talk about handling pressure at that level, imagine what he went through back then.”

Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, one of two black managers currently in the majors, told teams Robinson would be proud that they reflected his dream and vision of what equality and unity would look like.

“I ask that we remember how we got here,” Roberts said.

In New York, Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. wore his baggy, blousy pinstripe pants and rolled up his knees as many players did in the 1940s, including Robinson.

A video commemorating Robinson and narrated by former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia was shown on the stadium’s scoreboard before the team’s game against the Los Angeles Angels.

“You look at the diversity of our game so far, all over the world, and Jackie was the start of opening those doors not only to black players, but also to Latin America,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “and now we have people from all over the world playing this, and Jackie was the start of all that.”

In Pittsburgh, Pirates manager Don Kelly said, “It doesn’t seem like one day is enough to really give back to Jackie and what he meant to baseball and to people.”

Two of Robinson’s granddaughters joined teams at Dodger Stadium, not far from Robinson’s adopted hometown of Pasadena. He was a four-sport star at Pasadena Junior College before joining UCLA, where the Georgia native was known more for football than baseball.

Last year, a historic monument honoring the Robinson family was unveiled by the city of Pasadena at their former home.

“We’re really carrying this legacy now and it’s an incredible honor,” said granddaughter Ayo Robinson, whose father, David, is Robinson’s youngest son. “It’s a weight that feels good because it keeps you grounded in what’s so important. I feel like legacy is just as important today as it’s ever been.”

Robinson’s widow, Rachel, will be 104 in July. She lives in New York and always visits the Jackie Robinson Museum.

“She is the strong matriarch of our family, surrounded by love and with the intention of continuing to allow her to live the life she wanted,” said her granddaughter Sonya Pankey Robinson, whose father was Jackie Robinson Jr.

Also present in Los Angeles were fellows from the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

For the first time in at least two decades, the percentage of black players on opening day rosters increased this season. Major League Baseball reports that 6.8% of players on Opening Day rosters, injured lists and the restricted list were Black, compared to 6.2% at the start of the 2025 season and 6.0% at the start of 2024.

“He’s an icon,” Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Robinson. “To take this day and make it special says a lot about the character of the game.”