(ThyBlackMan.com) Although the 2025 Major League Baseball season has focused on numerous early storylines including the massive contract extension of Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr., discussion of torpedo bats, and the balanced strength of the National League West Division, it is hard to avoid that Jackie Robinson headlines have been near the top of the focus of Major League Baseball for multiple reasons. Earlier this year, Major League Baseball held its annual Jackie Robinson Day to celebrate one of the most important figures in sports history, Jackie Robinson, who was the first Black player in Major League Baseball history after breaking the color barrier in 1947. He endured racial abuse and antagonism from fans, players and opposing managers on and off the field. Despite that hostility, Robinson excelled on the field, winning the Rookie of the Year award in his first season in the majors and ended up having a Hall of Fame career. Jackie Robinson Day is annually on April 15 to mark the anniversary of his first game with the Dodgers. Each Jackie Robinson Day, players, managers and coaches on all 30 MLB teams wear the Dodger blue No. 42 on the backs of their uniforms as Robinson did.
This year’s Jackie Robinson Day was arguably its most controversial because in March 2025 the U.S. Department of Defense restored a story on its website highlighting Jackie Robinson’s U.S. military service the same day it deleted it as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to purge references to diversity, equity and inclusion, known as DEI. Despite this controversial action, the Los Angeles Dodgers team still went to the White House weeks later to celebrate their World Series championship from last season under a Trump presidency. Perhaps there is a chance that those currently working on the U.S. Department of Defense website remembered Jackie Robinson’s stance on the national anthem and that led them to act in removing his history of U.S. military service.
While Jackie Robinson stories dominated Major League Baseball in the months of March and April, another baseball great that was also known for having a social impact found his name revived for a mistake by his former MLB franchise. Pittsburgh Pirates legend Roberto Clemente, who is known for his final humanitarian effort of his life delivering important supplies via airplane to his native Puerto Rico, was also consistently outspoken against the racism facing African/Black ballplayers and also supported the Civil Rights Movement. Weeks ago, a social media post appeared to show his Roberto Clemente’s logo replaced with a drink advertisement at PNC Park, the home ballpark of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Roberto Clemente’s son, Roberto Clemente Jr., voiced frustration on social media shortly after the Pittsburgh Pirates replaced the tribute to his father at PNC Park with a drink advertisement. The Pirates organization responded to the backlash following the removal of Clemente’s logo by removing the ad and publicly apologizing to the Clemente family.
Because Roberto Clemente was much more outspoken and defiant as well as being Spanish speaking, he has never gotten close to the widespread adoration that Jackie Robinson receives by Major League Baseball. Jackie Robinson’s U.S. military service and vocal criticism of Malcolm X when they were both living surely made him even more respected by the large percentage of the mainstream fine with the status quo of imperialism. Interestingly enough, despite this background of Jackie Robinson he was reminded with the DoD website near-erasure that even participating in the U.S. military doesn’t make him fully embraced by everyone in the country he “served”.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines
