LOS ANGELES — Major League Baseball honored Jackie Robinson on Wednesday with every player, coach and umpire wearing his No. 42 to mark the 79th anniversary of the infielder breaking the sport's color barrier.
Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. He went on to win Rookie of the Year honors, become a six-time All-Star and the 1949 National League MVP. He played in six World Series, and won his only championship in 1955 with the Dodgers.
“Every player of color who now enjoys our great sport, they owe it to this man,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
Robinson made his pro debut with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in 1945. He was there five months before Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey interviewed him for possible selection to Brooklyn's International League farm club. Rickey wanted to make sure Robinson could withstand the racial antagonism without reacting angrily.
“What he did was incredibly difficult under some of the most harsh circumstances you could ever imagine," Kendrick said. "He had to go out there and deal not only with the racial hatred but he was carrying 21 million Black folks on his back when he walked across those lines. Had he failed, an entire race of people would have failed. That's an enormous amount of pressure. How he did it with such grace, 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 centerfield statue of Robinson stealing home at Dodger Stadium. Among the Dodgers were Tyler Glasnow, Teoscar Hernández, Will Smith, Roki Sasaki, Alex Vesia and Will Klein. Shohei Ohtani, who has attended previously, was not there ahead of pitching against the Mets later.
“A special day, especially for me as a Latino. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't because of him,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Talk about dealing with pressure at this level, imagine what he dealt with back in the day."
Dave Roberts, one of just two Black managers currently in the majors, told the teams Robinson would be proud that they reflect his dream and vision of what equality and unity would look like.
“My ask is that we remember how we got here,” Roberts said.
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 the teams at Dodger Stadium, not far from Robinson's adopted hometown of Pasadena. He was a four-sport star at Pasadena Junior College before going on to UCLA, where the Georgia native was better known for football than baseball.
Last year, a historical marker honoring the Robinson family was unveiled by the city of Pasadena at their former home.
“We’re really carrying the 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 is so important. I feel like the legacy is just as important today as it has ever been.”
Robinson's widow, Rachel, turns 104 in July. She lives in New York and still visits the Jackie Robinson Museum.
“She's the strong matriarch of our family, surrounded by love and intention to continue to allow her to live a life that she wanted,” said granddaughter Sonya Pankey Robinson, whose father was Jackie Robinson Jr.
Also on hand in Los Angeles were recipients of scholarships 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 says 6.8% of players on opening day rosters, injured lists and the restricted list were Black, up from 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. “To take this day and make it something special says a lot about the character of the game.”
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AP Sports Writers Will Graves in Pittsburgh and Steve Megargee in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
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