Now Batting, Number 42

Please don't get me wrong.  I'll never say a bad word about Jackie Robinson.  Jackie Robinson is one of the most important figures in the history of sports.  In fact, his leagcy reaches well beyond the world of sports.  His major league debut on April 15, 1947 was a landmark date for all the right reasons.  It set America on a path that righted a wrong that had gone on way too long.  The fact that he did all this while also having to put up with all that other crap makes him even more of a hero.  Jackie Robinson is a true American icon.

This post has nothing to do with Jackie Robinson.  He was a great man who deserves to be honored.  But the way he's honored on "Jackie Robinson Day" is one of the stupidest things that Major League Baseball does on an annual basis (along with the patriotic hats on holidays).

Jackie Robinson's No. 42 is retired across Major League Baseball.  That was a very appropriate move by the Commissioner's Office.  That's been the case for 15 years, when No. 42 was retired across the board in 1997 as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of his debut.  Every player who was currently wearing the number was allowed to keep it.  Mariano Rivera's the only one left.  When he retires, No. 42 will never be worn again on a Major League uniform.  Except on April 15.  On April 15, everybody's No. 42.

You can't tell the players without a scorecard.  Unless it's April 15.  On April 15, you can't even tell the players apart with a scorecard, since they're all wearing the same number!  (And nothing speaks to Jackie Robinson's legacy more than random white guys wearing No. 42.)  The whole point of uniform numbers is to tell the players apart.  That's kind of tough to do when everybody's wearing the same one.  I watch upwards of 200 games a year, and even I get confused on Jackie Robinson Day!  And to make things even worse, all of the jerseys just have 42's on them.  No names.

This whole thing started a couple of years ago and I absolutely hate it.  For a few years prior to that, any players who wanted to wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day were allowed to do so.  That was a little better, but that doesn't mean there wasn't any confusion.  You might have three different guys on the same team who decided they wanted to wear No. 42.

I'd like to see Major League Baseball drop this whole everyone wears No. 42 thing and go back to a slightly modified version of the previous rule.  I'd allow one player from every team to wear the number on that day.  The criteria for who gets to wear it is up to the team, but each team's only allowed one guy.  (Obviously, only 29 teams would actually be choosing somebody as long as Mariano Rivera is still on the Yankees.)  Then you've only got one player wearing the "wrong" number, but it's a lot easier to explain that than trying to figure out who's who if you don't already know.  Or trying to explain why everybody's wearing the same number.  (I'm not trying to insult the intelligence of baseball fans here.  All I'm saying is that not every fan is astute enough to be able to identify every player by sight.)

I'm not crazy about the Mets having the Jackie Robinson Rotunda with the gigantic 42 at Citi Field, either.  The Mets play in Queens, not Brooklyn.  He had absolutely nothing to do with the New York Mets franchise!  The Jackie Robinson Parkway is a different story.  That's in Brooklyn.  The only team that should be naming an area of their stadium after Jackie Robinson is the Dodgers.  You know, the team he actually played for.

I've got no problem with trying to honor the legacy of a great man.  He deserves to be honored.  But there are tributes that make sense and those that don't.  I understand the idea behind having everybody wear Jackie Robinson's number on the anniversary of his debut.  But in execution, it simply doesn't work.  You can't have 750 players (not to mention all the managers and coaches) across 15 games all wearing the same number.  It's too confusing.