WASHINGTON -- Some wear custom cleats, batting gloves and sleeves. They all don No. 42 jerseys. All across Major League Baseball, they celebrated Jackie Robinson Day on Saturday, on the 70th anniversary of his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers that broke baseball's color barrier.
The Nationals combined this day with their annual Black Heritage Day event where they also honor African-Americans in the D.C. community. Prior to Saturday's game against the Phillies, they held a pregame ceremony honoring the grandsons of Katherine Johnson, the NASA physicist and mathematician recently highlighted in the film "Hidden Figures"; George H. Lambert Jr.