Dickey appreciates Robinson's impact

BALTIMORE -- The Blue Jays will be in Minnesota on Tuesday when Major League Baseball honors Jackie Robinson in recognition of becoming the first African-American player in the game.

Pitcher R.A. Dickey is a player who knows what Robinson did -- both on and off the field -- and both understands and appreciates it.

Dickey said he's glad to see that Robinson is honored by baseball for all the good that he accomplished, things that still are being felt by our society so many years after the Dodgers' star made his debut in 1947.

"This time of year rolls around every year, and I'm always reminded about just the barriers that he broke, for the betterment of all, really, not just in baseball but for all people," Dickey said. "So I see him much more as a humanitarian than I do as a baseball player -- even though he was a fantastic baseball player.

"The tentacles of what he did reach into the fabric of our culture in a way that I don't know if it could have otherwise been have done. He brought a lot of people together. He opened a lot of people's eyes in a time when it was very hard to do that. It [is] incredible they get to represent him every year on that day."