The legacy of Jackie Robinson once again unites the Marlins and the rest of Major League Baseball as the sport honored the Hall of Fame ballplayer and civil rights activist on Friday.
With society dealing with so much racial unrest, the Marlins are talking about keeping Robinson’s memory alive more than once a year.
"It needs to be an ongoing thing," Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson said. "We can't just have one day out of the baseball year that we bring light to everything. It needs to be Jackie Robinson Day. It needs to be the day after, and the day before.”
MLB chose to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day on Aug. 28 for two reasons. It’s the anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, which the Robinson Family attended, and it also is the date in '45 when Robinson and Branch Rickey met to discuss his future as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The timing of the celebration this year comes a day after the Marlins and Mets had a unifying moment of reflection on social injustice at Citi Field. Both clubs took the field, observed a 42-second moment of silence and then walked off the field. The game was postponed.
“This is a situation that is impacting everybody in America,” Marlins reliever Stephen Tarpley said. “What's going on is much bigger than the game itself. We are just trying to bring that awareness to everybody. The way that it was done [Thursday], it was done right. The way that it was done in the league has been done right. I don't think there is a set way of how we should go about this, because it's something none of us have ever been through before.
“We talked about this. We don't want things to necessarily become a moment or is celebrated on one day.”
In conjunction with the celebration, MLB announced a partnership extension with the JRF Scholarship Program, the Jackie Robinson Museum and the annual JRF ROBIE Awards. The extension is through 2023 and includes a $3.5 million commitment on behalf of MLB.
To help continue the work of this American icon, the Marlins and the Miami Marlins Foundation announced a $420,000 donation to the Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF), which will award an annual scholarship in perpetuity to a deserving outstanding African American student from South Florida that demonstrates Robinson’s nine values. With a focus on empowering South Florida youth, the Marlins are partnering with the Jackie Robinson Foundation to create an endowment, which will yield a $20,000 annual scholarship beginning in fall 2021 thanks to an additional $20,000 donation from the Marlins.
“Obviously, everybody is unified for a change,” Marlins outfielder Matt Joyce said. “Everybody wants to see things, especially within social justice areas, improve. For me being raised in America and knowing not much else … it's frustrating, and to be honest with you, it's a little embarrassing that this keeps happening. I think America, us as a country, I think we are a lot better than that.”
Robinson and Rickey had their historic three-hour meeting 75 years ago. That day, Rickey tested Robinson to see how if he could hold up to the onslaught of racially related criticism he would face when he eventually broke MLB’s color barrier on April 15, 1947.
Rickey delivered his famous line that he was looking for someone “with guts enough not to fight back.”
“Although we've probably come a long way, we're not far enough,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “It has to get better. The equality issues, the different forms of education, the opportunities, justice. All of those within that. As you look at Jackie, you can say, 'Hey, we've come a long way.' But we're still seeing a lot of issues in that area. I think that's where you see people saying, 'We've had enough of this.' It's human rights. Human equality.”
Worth noting
• The Marlins made four roster moves on Friday, increasing their total for the season to more than 100 transactions. First baseman/designated hitter Garrett Cooper and reliever Yimi García were reinstated from the alternate training site. Infielder Logan Forsythe (right oblique strain) was placed on the 60-day injured list, and right-hander Jorge Guzman was optioned to the alternate site.
• Mattingly said on Friday that right-hander Sandy Alcantara, who is on the IL, is ready to be reinstated. It’s a matter of where to fit him into the rotation. Sunday is likely, because Alcantara threw in a scrimmage on Tuesday, putting him in line for the finale against the Rays.
• Mattingly said postgame that first baseman Jesús Aguilar wasn't in Friday's lineup because he felt some back tightness. He received treatment and the club is hopeful he can be back as early as Saturday.
• Thursday's Marlins-Mets game that was postponed will be made up at 1:10 p.m. ET on Monday at Citi Field.