Jackie Robinson = Real Baseball

April 15, 1947 Jack Roosevelt Robinson makes his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers. While not the first pro baseball player of that "other" color, Jackie is the most known, he broke the color barrier. Today we celebrate Jackie Robinson Day. Jackie played the game with a passion and eventually won over the "mind" of Cletus from Alabama who came home from work, beat the wife, and decided "I'm gonna write that nigger Jackie Robinson a letter about how I will kill him if he keeps playing baseball."

The world was a different place in 1947, WWII was finished, and baseball truly was the "American Pastime". 1947 seems like ancient history, just ask a fan of the Chicago Cardinals who won the NFL championship at Comisky Park. Sidenote: 1947 was also the last time the University of Michigan got fucked out of a National Championship. (editors note: The Gate has clearly forgotten about 1997) (Writers note to editor: The Gate has not forgotten 1997 but bringing it up would add another entire paragraph to this and get me off topic)In 1947, I could have sat through nine innings on a nice day in the middle of May and given a shit. And I would've been one of the people at Ebbets Field yelling like an idiot about some "Negro" playing my game. Jackie was different though, he belonged out there, he was a guy who could play the game and loved doing it. It wasn't just Jackie, all of these guys loved the game of baseball and so did the people. Somewhere in the $250 Million contracts the game was lost in the last 60 years. Now baseball is a drawn out affair that lasts 3 hours 162 times a year. Call me in September.

The Evolution of the Slide

On a day celebrating one man, the game that created him should take note. There was a reason people gave a shit and still give a shit about one man. He opitimized the game as it was meant to be played. Baseball's hero's are all from the past; there's no Brett Favre to Johnny Unitas, no Kobe to Jerry West, and no Gretzky to Gordie Howe. Steroids have a play here, but baseball was long gone before Barry found the cream. Today baseball is on the backburner of American Sport; if there were anything besides soccer to realistically compete side by side baseball it would be in the same conversations as the XFL. People cared about Jackie, Maris and Mantle you want me to give a damn about this guy? Please, there's a reason Pacman doesn't get the NFLs backing.

This is America, Where The Gate is allowed to Swing Freely