Apr 15, 2026, 08:Forty five PM ET
LOS ANGELES — Predominant League Baseball honored Jackie Robinson on Wednesday with every participant, coach and umpire wearing his No. 42 to tag the 79th anniversary of the infielder breaking the sport’s coloration barrier.
Robinson made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. He went on to earn Rookie of the twelve months honors and change into a six-time All-Star and the 1949 Nationwide League MVP. He played in six World Assortment and won his handiest championship in 1955 with the Dodgers.
“Every player of color who now enjoys our great sport, they owe it to this man,” talked about 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 became there 5 months before Dodgers general manager Department Rickey interviewed him for that you just doubtless can keep in mind possibility to Brooklyn’s Worldwide League farm membership. Rickey wished to substantiate Robinson may perhaps face as much as the racial antagonism with out reacting angrily.
“What he did was incredibly difficult under some of the most harsh circumstances you could ever imagine,” Kendrick talked about. “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 Contemporary York Mets gathered across the guts-discipline statue of Robinson stealing home at Dodger Stadium. Among the Dodgers had been Tyler Glasnow, Teoscar Hernandez, Will Smith, Roki Sasaki, Alex Vesia and Will Klein. Shohei Ohtani, who has attended beforehand, became now not there ahead of pitching in opposition to 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 talked about. “Talk about dealing with pressure at this level, imagine what he dealt with back in the day.”
The Dodgers’ Dave Roberts, one of merely two Dim managers at the 2nd in the majors, told the teams Robinson would be proud that they replicate his dream and imaginative and prescient of what equality and harmony would search like.
“My ask is that we remember how we got here,” Roberts talked about.
In Contemporary York, Yankees 2nd baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. wore his pinstripe pants loose and blousy and rolled at the knees the vogue many gamers did in the Forties, in conjunction with Robinson.
A video commemorating Robinson and narrated by faded Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia became played on the stadium scoreboard before the group’s sport in opposition to the Los Angeles Angels.
“You look at the diversity in our game as far as now, worldwide, and Jackie was the start of opening those doors to not just Black players being able to play but Latin America,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone talked about, “and now we have people from all over the globe playing this, and Jackie was the start of all that.”
In Pittsburgh, Pirates manager Don Kelly talked about, “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, now not a long way from Robinson’s adopted bid of birth of Pasadena. He became a four-sport broad establish at Pasadena Junior College before occurring to UCLA, the build the Georgia native became higher identified for football than baseball.
Closing yr, a ancient marker honoring the Robinson family became unveiled by the metropolis of Pasadena at their faded home.
“We’re really carrying the legacy now and it’s an incredible honor,” talked about 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 Contemporary York and composed 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,” talked about granddaughter Sonya Pankey Robinson, whose father became Jackie Robinson Jr.
Also available in Los Angeles had been recipients of scholarships from the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
For the first time in at the least two decades, the proportion of Dim gamers on Opening Day rosters elevated this season. Predominant League Baseball says 6.8% of gamers on Opening Day rosters, injured lists and the restricted checklist had been Dim, up from 6.2% at the originate of the 2025 season and 6.0% at the originate of 2024.
“He’s an icon,” Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy talked about of Robinson. “To take this day and make it something special says a lot about the character of the game.”
