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All Phillies and Astros Players will wear #42 on Sunday

Discussion in 'Houston Astros' started by weslinder, Apr 12, 2007.

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  1. weslinder

    weslinder Member

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    http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070411&content_id=1893338&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

    04/11/2007 8:57 PM ET
    Entire team to honor pioneer
    Every Phillies player will wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day
    By Ken Mandel / MLB.com

    NEW YORK -- No. 42 will be all over Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, as the Phillies and Astros plan a tribute for the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's Major League debut.

    Both teams are planning to wear Robinson's No. 42 as part of a league-wide celebration to honor the date when Robinson shattered the color barrier.

    "That's going to be a cool day," Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson said. "I'm going to be honored to wear that number."

    For Thompson, the digits will allow him to remember weekend summer trips down Interstate 95. Stopping in places from North Carolina to New York, Thompson's father, Wilbert Thompson, played on barnstorming teams against Negro Leaguers.

    Milt and his six siblings would watch and cheer, and hear the stories about a less fair time in baseball. Even as recent as the late '70s, Thompson remembers when, as a rookie in the Appalachian League, he inquired about an apartment in Kingsport, Tenn. He knocked on the door and left a message with a neighbor when no one answered.

    The next day the sign was gone, and Thompson ended up staying in a hotel for $10 a day.

    "The bottom line is, when you talk about some of the players today, most don't know all the information, and what Jackie went through," Thompson said. "It's important to remember."

    Commissioner Bud Selig often says that the most significant moment in baseball history occurred when Robinson broke the color barrier, because of the social impact it had on the country. The Phillies are planning a special tribute.

    The organization will salute African-American pioneers who opened doors for others. The four living members of the Philadelphia Stars -- Bill Cash, Mahlon Duckett, Stanley Glenn and Harold Gould -- will be honored in a pregame ceremony. The Stars team played from 1934-50 and won the 1934 Negro National League pennant.

    The tribute also will include an appearance by the Tuskegee Airmen, who made history by enlisting to become America's first black military airmen during World War II in 1941. Shorstop Jimmy Rollins will also take part in the ceremony.

    "This is a great opportunity to honor a historic person," Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "We're proud to take part."

    Amaro brings another perspective to Robinson's legacy. A player of Cuban decent, Amaro grew up around the sport and heard stories of prejudice from his father, who played from 1958-69.

    "There are many," Amaro said. "He had to go through a lot of things in the Minors. In the Texas League, he couldn't eat at a lot of the restaurants or stay at some of the same hotels. As a Latin American player who was very dark skinned, he had to go through those things, too. There are some of the greatest Latin American players who didn't get a chance to play in the States."

    Ken Mandel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
     
    #1 weslinder, Apr 12, 2007
  2. armyman789

    armyman789 Member

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    thats r****ded.... the WHOLE DAMN TEAM. It just loses its meaning like that. Especially when a scrub like lidge gets to "honor" jackie by wearing his number.
     
    #2 armyman789, Apr 12, 2007
  3. superden

    superden Member

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    That is going to be real confusing...
     
    #3 superden, Apr 12, 2007
  4. Jugdish

    Jugdish Member

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    Yeah, all those white guys look the same to me.
     
    #4 Jugdish, Apr 12, 2007
  5. kaleidosky

    kaleidosky Your Tweety Bird dance just cost us a run

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    I don't see how it loses its meaning. It's not like it's the whole world. Everyone on 5 MLB teams... that's a great tribute to Jackie. Unless you know there's a guy who's gonna wear it and not understand it...I don't get what you're saying.

    And stfu. Since when do you have to be playing well to be able to honor an all-time great?
     
    #5 kaleidosky, Apr 12, 2007
  6. kaleidosky

    kaleidosky Your Tweety Bird dance just cost us a run

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    I found it odd that Houston was one of the teams chosen to have everyone wear it considering our team's racial make-up. Do you think this was Houston volunteering or being appointed by the MLB? Either way, you have to wonder if this is a PR thing saying "hey, we don't have any black players, but we're still sensitive to their issues".

    (I still think it's a great honor/tribute. I just wonder about the motivations in choosing specific teams)
     
    #6 kaleidosky, Apr 12, 2007
  7. weslinder

    weslinder Member

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    I don't know, but I think Philly asked Houston to all wear #42. After Griffey started this, only El Caballo on Houston was going to wear it.
     
    #7 weslinder, Apr 12, 2007
  8. Jugdish

    Jugdish Member

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    Big pumas are black.

    And on opening day, they had a text message vote for the best song among 3 Astros' choices--I think it was Burke who chose Ice Cube's "Today Was a Good Day". (Which was hilarious, as an aside, especially since it got second place.)
     
    #8 Jugdish, Apr 12, 2007
  9. Kam

    Kam Member

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    why don't the astros have any asian players?
     
    #9 Kam, Apr 13, 2007
  10. rezdawg

    rezdawg Member

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    Thats like wondering why there arent any races other than asians at the top of my science classes.
     
    #10 rezdawg, Apr 13, 2007
  11. bobrek

    bobrek Politics belong in the D & D

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    Actually, Cecil Cooper was also going to wear it....
     
    #11 bobrek, Apr 13, 2007
  12. MadMax

    MadMax Member

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    i'm not sure there are any irishmen on the 'stros. i'm pissed.


    this is great. jackie was a stud. all this is just a way to remember him...to provide a talking point for one generation to explain to another about the impact he had socially and on the game, itself. i'll use it to talk to my kid, for sure. this is a very good thing.
     
    #12 MadMax, Apr 13, 2007
  13. weslinder

    weslinder Member

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    Lidge is Fighting Irish.
     
    #13 weslinder, Apr 13, 2007
  14. MadMax

    MadMax Member

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    lidge is not irishman!!! that dude's french.
     
    #14 MadMax, Apr 13, 2007
  15. SwoLy-D

    SwoLy-D Member

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    Pujols would hit it.

    :D
     
    #15 SwoLy-D, Apr 13, 2007
  16. Smokey

    Smokey Member

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    On the Fox pregame show, they said some players think it is being overdone. If every player on the field for both teams wears 42, I agree.
     
    #16 Smokey, Apr 14, 2007
  17. kaleidosky

    kaleidosky Your Tweety Bird dance just cost us a run

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    wouldn't make sense to wear the 42's on another day. So I guess the Phils and Astros just lose their opportunity to celebrate the day with the canceled game, huh?
     
    #17 kaleidosky, Apr 15, 2007
  18. Brando2101

    Brando2101 Member

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    This makes everyone focus on Robinson the person as oppose to the actual acomplishment.

    What did he do? Broke down the color Barier? Desegregated baseball?
    There are not many more African American Players now than there were then.

    This whole weekend should be mostly about what to do to increase MLBs presence in the black communities.
     
    #18 Brando2101, Apr 15, 2007
  19. redefined

    redefined Member

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    That's what I'm thinking. It's probably for the best though.
     
    #19 redefined, Apr 15, 2007
  20. Smokey

    Smokey Member

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    Joe Morgan gave the Astros a plug last night by mentioning they're one of two teams without a black player.

    I think Jackie's wife mentioned the Astros too but I don't remember if it was by name. She was talking about whole teams wearing 42 even if they don't have a black player was alright with her.
     
    #20 Smokey, Apr 16, 2007
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