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Jackie Robinson: Plays
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Through it all, Jackie Robinson played gloriously. Because he bore the weight of representation, he understood that he would never have the luxury of confronting a racist system with anger and invective.
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Robinson excelled on the field during his first season, despite the difficult environment. He was selected as the league's most outstanding rookie, though he was playing first base instead of his usual position at second base. Robinson led the National League in steals, with twenty-nine. At the end of his first season, a national poll found him to be the second most popular celebrity in the United States, behind the singer Bing Crosby. He was named the National League's "Rookie of the Year," honored with a "Jackie Robinson Day" for Dodger fans, and featured on the cover of Time magazine.
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Rickey reminded Robinson that he would face tremendous racial animus, and insisted that he not take the bait and react angrily. Robinson was aghast: "Do you want a player afraid to fight back?" Rickey replied that he needed a Negro player "with the guts not to fight back." Robinson agreed to abide by Rickey's terms for his first year.
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Robinson was an exceptionally talented and disciplined hitter, with a career average of .317. Jackie Robinson was known as the most aggressive and successful base runner of his era. He consistently disrupted the concentration of pitchers, catchers and middle infielders. Jackie Robinson’s home plate prowess and defensive skills bear testimony to the fact that he was regarded as one of the most intelligent baseball players of any era. It was almost impossible to get Robinson, last man out.
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That's what Robinson had to do when Dodgers president Branch Rickey selected him to become the first African-American to play in the majors this century. Rickey wanted a man who could restrain himself from responding to the ugliness of the racial hatred that was certain to come.
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After two years, as per his agreement with Branch Rickey, Jackie stopped turning the other cheek. He was finally allowed to defend himself when players or spectators vented their hate on him. He taught America something then, too: it was right and proper for a black (or any target of discrimination) to be angry and speak out.
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