In honor of Martin Luther King Day, and to honor African American players in the major leagues, I have compiled a nine player lineup of the greatest African American players in baseball history.
There were a number of tough decisions in naming the team, and the likes of Ken Griffey Jr, Joe Morgan, and Frank Thomas, among many others didn’t make the cut.
So here it is, the starting nine African American players in honor of Martin Luther King Day.
There used to be a day when race stood in the way of athletes playing a game they were great at.
Athletes breaking down racial barriers were a huge part of the Civil Rights movement, but even after that there was still great discrimination in American sports until recent decades.
Now there is a day in baseball where many of the league’s players honor Jackie Robinson by wearing his No. 42.
America has come a long way since Martin Luther King Jr. led the fight for equal rights for Americans of all races, and in celebration of his birthday let’s take a look at some African-American athletes who broke down the racial barrier in America.
On Saturday Albert Pujols and his manager, Tony LaRussa, attended the “Restoring Honor,” rally held on the Mall in Washington D.C. The rally was organized by popular radio and television host Glenn Beck.
The rally was exceedingly well attended with estimates placing the crowd between 300,000 and 500,000. Beck and his organizers stated goals were to raise money for the families of fallen special forces soldiers and make a public expression of faith and patriotism.
The rally was not without its critics.
Beck, himself, is a brutally harsh, often brash critic of President Obama and the current American progressive movement. As a result he has inspired incredible vitriol towards himself and his causes.
By stepping out, perhaps even tangentially, with something Beck supported, Pujols and LaRussa have come under mild criticism for their appearances.
They are not the first athletes to embroil themselves in a political controversy. Many atheletes have stepped out in support or opposition to many different social, religious and political issues.
No sport has been free of these displays.
This slide show is a look at some of the most famous, infamous and important displays of an athletes personal political and social preferences.
Baseball is an absurd game. And I think that’s why we love it.
I was reminded of this when I happened across The Sandlot as I was skimming through channels the other day. In an odd sort of bummer, I tuned in at the very end, just after the gang has finally defeated Hercules and Smalls and Benny have their meet and greet with James Earl Jones. Alas, I had missed out on all the fun stuff.
The good news is that I was in time for the money shot.
Now, a proper way to conclude the film would have involved Smalls being mercifully beaten by Dennis Leary for stealing his Babe Ruth ball – a warning to all kids who would dare to recreate Smalls’ tomfoolery. But no. Instead, we get a classically cathartic Hollywood ending. It turns out that Benny and Smalls have both found careers in baseball: Benny as a prolific pinch runner for the Dodgers, and Smalls as his ever-faithful broadcaster. The movie ends when Benny (“The Jet”) takes off from third and steals home just ahead of the tag, thus ending the game. The Dodgers win, and The Jet’s teammates carry him off the field amidst the commotion of a standing ovation. And then we see the grown-up Smalls grinning contentedly beneath the bill of his outrageous hat as he shares a thumbs up with his old friend.
Back in the day, I had to fight back the tears. But I’m older now, and all the nostalgia that was welling up inside my chest was not enough to keep me from scratching my beard. I got a real curious feeling. I understood why the filmmaker’s chose to have a straight steal of home serve as the climax for their film. It is, after all, the most exciting play in sports.
But a straight steal of home to win the game? Has that ever even happened before?
Click “Start Slideshow” to find out about that, and many other stealing home tidbits.