Remembering Jackie Robinson for the amazing player that he was

As Major League Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson Day, most of the conversation will, rightly, be about Robinson's importance in the integration of the game and society at large. We've all heard the stories about how Robinson was not only talented enough to succeed at the Major League level, but that he was also of strong enough character to handle the many hardships of his first years in the league.

But it's also important to remember that Robinson was an amazing talent, one of the best to ever play the game. He is not just a symbol of inclusion, but also a wholly deserving Hall of Famer judging from his on-field numbers alone.

Robinson was named Rookie of the Year in 1947 and MVP in '49. He was elected to six All-Star games, won a batting title, led the league in OBP once and stolen bases twice. But you probably knew all that. So let's dig a little deeper into the underlying numbers that show Robinson's true greatness (all WAR calculations refer to Baseball Reference's rWAR):

- Robinson twice posted rWARs above 9.5: 9.6 in his MVP Award-winning season of 1949 and 9.7 in 1951. Only eight other players since 1947 have managed to pull off the feat twice, including Ted Williams, Joe Morgan and Mickey Mantle.

- While Robinson's career rWAR of 61.5 ranks only tenth among Hall of Fame second baseman, that is largely a reflection of his World War II service time and segregation (Robinson debuted at the age of 28). Under Jay Jaffe's WAR7, using a player's seven best seasons, Robinson ranks fifth. 

- Between 1948-1953, Robinson posted 47.5 rWAR, second only to Stan Musial's 52.3 mark.

- During that time period he was also second in stolen bases, third in average and fifth in on-base percentage among all hitters. 

- His career 132 OPS+ is also fifth all-time among second basemen. 

- Robinson had three seasons of .300+ average, 15 home runs and 20+ steals. Only Roberto Alomar, Derek Jeter and Hanley Ramirez have four such seasons while playing middle infield.

- Robinson unofficially ranks ninth in all-time steals of home with 19. No one ahead of him on the list played past 1930.

And that's leaving aside that Robinson's skills -- strong defense at multiple positions, a patient batting eye and speed and efficiency on the basepaths -- are attributes that were arguably not valued highly enough during the time that the Dodgers star played. 

As you remember Robinson today for the number of things he did off the field that bettered the game and the world around him, don't forget about the remarkable things he did on the field, too. He was one of the greatest players of all-time, and even that is overshadowed by the quality of person he was.