Mets Celebrate Jackie Robinson's Legacy in Pre-Game Ceremony

FLUSHING, NY – Jackie Robinson famously once said, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”

Seventy-one years after the Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman broke baseball’s color barrier, the New York Mets, along with all 30 Major League teams, paid tribute by carrying on the tradition of wearing Jackie’s number ‘42’ as they defeated the Brewers 3-2 on a Wilmer Flores walk-off solo home run in the 9th inning at Citi Field on Sunday afternoon.

In a special pre-game on-field ceremony, the Mets celebrated Robinson’s legacy with his wife, Rachel, and two children, Sharon and David. The team presented the Robinson family with a commemorative framed art print honoring his career.

For a third consecutive season, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) announced it would donate a $42,000 grant from the Players Trust to the Jackie Robinson Foundation. Through the support from donors such as the MLB and its clubs, the Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship Program provides four years of financial assistance and direct program services annually to 225 students attending 100 colleges and universities across the country, and has developed a mentoring curriculum to reach a broad range of college students beyond its core "JRF Scholars."

“I’m encouraged by the progress of (baseball’s diversity efforts),” Sharon Robinson, MLB's educational consultant and daughter of Jackie Robinson in a press conference before the game. “We are seeing some of the programs producing players going into the MLB Draft from our academies and the RBI program.”

Last year marked the third consecutive season that an alumnus of the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program was selected within the top five picks (2017, Hunter Greene - #2; 2016, Corey Ray - #5; 2015, Dillon Tate - #4). It was also just the fourth time in the history of the MLB Draft that the first two picks were African-American players (1-Royce Lewis, 2-Greene).

Mets radio broadcaster Howie Rose suggested that football’s concussion crisis could lead to an uptick in involvement in African-American kids playing baseball and asked Sharon on her thoughts on the subject.

“I will certainly tell kids that baseball is safer and it teaches them a lot of lessons whether they go into the major leagues or not,” suggested Sharon, whose son played high school football. “One of those lessons is overcoming failure. Teamwork is a critical component of baseball and (life).”

On 2018 Opening Day, 8.4% of Major League players on active, 25-man rosters were of African-American descent, which is the highest percentage on Opening Day active rosters in the last six seasons. The MLB is reportedly hoping to get their participation numbers among African-American players back up to 20 percent.

Reflecting on Jackie’s career and his lasting effect on the game of baseball, it is clear that his life has had an impact on millions of people as he helped pave the way for athletes regardless of ethnic background. The globalization of the baseball is proof of his continued inspiration to players from across the world today.

All photos used in this story were taken by Sean Conklin