Eight year old Marcus Jones spent Monday evening with hundreds of people in mcadams Park to do something. He's been waiting months for, to see the brand new Jackie Robinson statue. Jones says words can't describe the feeling when he and his league. 42 teammates pulled down the cover. I can't even explain it so out of this World League 42 director Bob Lutz says it's been *** difficult six months since thieves cut down the statue at the ankles and stole it. But he says, looking out at the crowd and seeing so many people standing in unity made it all worth it. We're so happy to have the statue back where it belongs and now we move forward and some kind of normalcy comes back and we're ready for that. Among the crowd were people like Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City where the bronze cleats the thieves left behind are now on display. My heart is filled with joy. It wasn't that way. In January, there was *** lot of despair. And since that took place, I think we all saw and gain *** renewal in spirit as so many people stepped up to seemingly try to right *** wrong Jones says his biggest hope is that more people will learn about his hero, Jackie Robinson and the lifelong values he's learned from the baseball star. It doesn't matter if you win. If you have team support, it matters. If you have that spirit that you can tell your team that whatever you tell them, just have that sport in you that Jackie Robinson put in you.
MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson Day as every player wears No. 42 on anniversary of his historic debut
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Updated: 2:37 PM EDT Apr 15, 2026
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Major League Baseball will honor Jackie Robinson on Wednesday, when every player, coach and umpire will wear 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.The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets will hold a joint reflection ceremony later Wednesday at the centerfield statue of Robinson at Dodger Stadium."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."Two of Robinson's granddaughters will join 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.Also on hand in Los Angeles will be 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.
LOS ANGELES — Major League Baseball will honor Jackie Robinson on Wednesday, when every player, coach and umpire will wear 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.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets will hold a joint reflection ceremony later Wednesday at the centerfield statue of Robinson at Dodger Stadium.
"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."
Two of Robinson's granddaughters will join 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.
Also on hand in Los Angeles will be 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.
