Event Coverage 01
MLB.com, Sunday, June 15, 2007
T-ballers honor Jackie Robinson
By Michael Phillips
WASHINGTON -- The scene on the South Lawn of the White House was surreal on Sunday, a mix of backyard baseball and presidential pomp.
On the sides of the field were two Little League T-ball teams, running the bases and playing with the nervous energy that 6-year-olds exhibit when told to stand in their positions.
In center field was a platform reserved for the press, a full swarm of political and baseball writers on hand to document the contest.
The game was the same, but the Little League Dodgers don't usually have pop star Mario on hand to sing the National Anthem.
But no matter how surreal the scene was, the purpose was very real: President George W. Bush invited T-ball teams from Los Angeles and New York to come play ball in honor of the 60th anniversary year of Jackie Robinson's breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier.
Two teams were chosen, one from each city that Robinson played in as a Major Leaguer. The challenge for the coaches was how to explain Robinson's legacy to a group of children, ages 5-8.
"Without him, there's no us," Brooklyn mother Janel Howard explained to her son, Jeremiah Defreitas. "We have to pay homage to those that broke the barriers and decided that, by any means necessary, they would get African-Americans in Major League Baseball."
Before the game, the children gathered on the field as Bush introduced the ceremonial manager, Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who assisted the president in retiring Robinson's No. 42. It is the first number to be retired from the White House's T-ball field.
During the game, the players all wore No. 42 on the backs of their jerseys to salute Robinson.
Los Angeles coach Justino Guzman was asked by his son, Justin, why Jackie Robinson was the first African-American player. It was a concept Guzman's son couldn't understand.
"I told him that back then, things were different," Guzman said. "He opened it up for everybody -- Hispanic, Korean, Japanese. A lot of [the kids] don't really understand too much of it, but they understand that he was a pioneer."
An All-Star cast
Bush invited several of Jackie Robinson's former teammates to the game. Two of them agreed to be the first- and third-base coaches.
Tommy Lasorda manned the third-base line. Lasorda played with Robinson in Brooklyn, and later served as manager of the Dodgers after their move to Los Angeles. He brought his enthusiasm for coaching, urging the players from both teams around the bases as quickly as possible and emphatically holding court as umpire on close calls.
Before the game, he spoke with the players from Los Angeles about what Robinson stood for on the field.
"He was a great teammate," Lasorda said. "He played for the team. He didn't play for the name on the back of the jersey. He played for the name on the front."
On the other side of the field was former Brooklyn pitcher Don Newcombe, who remembered Robinson's love for children.
"He was great with kids," Newcombe said. "He always signed autographs. He was very, very passionate with young people."
Other teammates of Robinson's from the Negro Leagues were invited, and Frank Robinson, the first black manager, served as the game's honorary commissioner.
Bush also took time to acknowledge the extra media attention the game drew, including a notable name as the game's announcer.
"You know it's a big game when Karl Ravech comes over," Bush said of the ESPN personality. "You players are going to have to play hard, because you've got ESPN here."
Baseball with a purpose
The Los Angeles and Brooklyn sides were both chosen from inner-city teams that exhibited outstanding talent and on-field behavior during the Little League season.
In Los Angeles, Guzman's team tries to give players a teaching environment, but also serves a much more important purpose in South Los Angeles.
"Our goal is to keep them in the park and keep them occupied," he said. "To keep them after school practicing or playing, and show them if they continue playing, what can happen."
Representatives from both cities were on hand watching the game, and lobbying for the cause of inner-city baseball. In recent years, the percentage of blacks in baseball has declined, leaving Newcombe to lament Robinson's early death. Robinson passed away in 1972, just two years before his dream of a black manager was realized.
"Suppose he could live all those years after he was retired," Newcombe said. "Imagine all those kids he would have come in contact with and inspired. Maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't have had the problem they're talking about now with blacks not playing baseball."
Newcombe cited the opportunities that are now available worldwide for baseball players, with teams opening up baseball academies in Caribbean nations and scouting the globe to find the best players.
"The future is up to the individual," Newcombe said. "If he wants to play baseball, and make baseball his livelihood, the door is open for him."
Play ball
Overshadowed amid the pageantry was a T-ball game. After the ceremonies retiring Robinson's number, the teams played one inning of ball, with each player allowed to bat once. No score was kept.
The talent level was high, with several defenders making diving catches in the field. The children were all disappointed the game did not last longer, although those concerns were swept away quickly as they were ushered over to a hot-dog dinner.
Some of the parents documented the game with their cameras from the stands, while others swarmed the president to get his autograph. After the game, all the players were presented with a game ball autographed by Bush. Those who met Bush were impressed with his easygoing demeanor.
"He was very interactive with people. He came up to me, it wasn't like I had to go up to him," Howard said. "He was very friendly and very giving. He didn't mind at all being stopped several times for autographs."
As the players came to third base, Lasorda had to hold them back from energetically charging home, instead offering them encouragement and coaching.
"They'll remember this for the rest of their life," he said. "It's a great feeling to know that they played here, in front of the president."
Bush was the day's celebrity, but Jackie Robinson was the focal point. His No. 42 hung above the backstop as a reminder of Robinson's contribution to the game of baseball and the country's history.
Surveying the field, Newcombe was reminded of something Robinson had told him years earlier in Spring Training.
"He said, 'We're bitter now. But one day, we're going to change one letter. We're going to change the i to an e,'" Newcombe said. "And wasn't he prophetic."