On the 68th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier and becoming the first African-American player in Major League Baseball, center fielder Adam Jones said the annual tradition of players wearing Robinson’s No. 42 in his honor is unifying in a world that needs it.
“I remember when I first got in, all the African-Americans wore No. 42 [today],” Jones said. "Now, everybody wears it, which is awesome. It’s bringing unity to the game. This game has extreme reaches due to some bravery by Jackie back in the heydays of the [19]40s."
“As you see in our society, racism is still there — obviously in bigger scales than the sport of baseball,” he said.