Mets join Dodgers for ceremony at Jackie Robinson statue at Dodger Stadium

LOS ANGELES -- Every April 15, baseball comes together to honor Jackie Robinson, the man who broke down institutional barriers to open doors for ballplayers of color. As much as Jackie Robinson Day is a celebration of his legacy, it's also a yearly reminder of the trials he endured on the path to blazing that trail.

Before and after debuting with the Brooklyn Dodgers to break the Major Leagues' color barrier, Robinson experienced racism and discrimination on and off the field. He and the Black players who followed in his footsteps had to deal with obstacles that white players did not, all while playing the same game.

To honor Robinson's legacy is to appreciate what he stood for, something that doesn't begin and end on one day each season. But every year, Jackie Robinson Day provides a special opportunity to reflect on all he did for baseball.

"My ask is that we remember how we got here," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "It's one thing to appreciate where we're at, the fruits of all that we have. We're all the beneficiaries of what Jackie did and sacrificed."

On Wednesday, the 79th anniversary of Robinson's Major League debut in 1947, the Dodgers held their annual Jackie Robinson Day reflection at his statue in Centerfield Plaza at Dodger Stadium. The Mets joined in, as visiting teams have done for the past several years.

"That was special," Mets second baseman Marcus Semien said. "It was cool to be a part of that. My first time. I didn't realize that they do that every year here, so being able to do that in this ballpark, I think they do a tremendous job."

Two of Robinson's granddaughters, Sonya Pankey Robinson and Ayo Robinson, were in attendance and shared their gratitude for the Dodgers, Mets and a group of Jackie Robinson Foundation scholars for being there. Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick gave an address to conclude the event, reminding those in attendance that Robinson's story began in the Negro Leagues.

For a brief spell in 1945, Robinson suited up for the Kansas City Monarchs, one of the most famous Negro Leagues clubs. Later that same year, Robinson and Dodgers president and general manager Branch Rickey reached an agreement that would forever change baseball -- and, arguably, United States society at large.

"We make the rather bold assertion that Jackie's breaking of the color barrier wasn't just a part of the Civil Rights Movement," Kendrick said. "It was the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement."

Kendrick went on to establish a timeline. Martin Luther King Jr. was a sophomore at Morehouse College in Atlanta when Robinson signed his contract with the Dodgers' organization. Robinson breaking the color barrier took place a year before U.S. President Harry S. Truman desegregated the armed forces, seven years before the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education and eight years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, sparking an extended boycott in Montgomery, Ala.

"For all intents and purposes," Kendrick said, "this is what started the ball of social progress rolling in this country: baseball."

In the decades since Robinson's debut, baseball has grown into a quintessentially global game. Every Major League clubhouse contains players from around the world who communicate in a variety of languages and dialects, all brought together because of the game they play.

"The fact that we get to celebrate Jackie, for me as a Latino manager, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't [for] him," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "You talk about adversity and challenges that not only the game, but also life will throw at you, and just think about this day. What he was facing and still be one of the best players in the game, it's unbelievable. The fact that we get to celebrate Jackie Robinson is an honor for us."

That has all been made possible by everything Robinson went through just to play the game.

"Y'all already know how difficult this game is to play under the best of circumstances," Kendrick said. "He had to go out there and not only deal with all the racial hatred, but y'all, he was carrying 21 million Black folks on his back when he walked across those lines. Because had he failed, an entire race of people would have failed.

"And that's an enormous amount of pressure, and how he did it with such grace, class and dignity is absolutely incredible."