Tag Archives: Jackie Robinson

Baseball and African-American Life

Posted on December 26, 2014 by

Gerald Early’s meandering yet compellingly, beguilingly honest essay, “Baseball and African American Life”, asks, “Why have Negroes not truly accepted baseball?” The answers are complex and perhaps inconclusive. A first questioning is, “In what way?” Jackie Robinson opened a door … Continue reading →

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Mike Night for the Ultimate Dodger Dog

Posted on August 3, 2014 by

L.A. Dodgers-broadcasting legend Vin Scully plans on returning to the mike in 2015. This would be his sixty-sixth straight season with the Dodgers. Robust at eighty-six, Bronx native Scully does things the traditional way—as could only be expected. He solos … Continue reading →

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The New Breed Is Old Hat

Posted on December 8, 2013 by

Robinson Cano could not leave $70 million on the table. That is roughly the difference between what the storied New York Yankees offered their star second baseman and what the Seattle Mariners are paying. The Mariners have set Cano for … Continue reading →

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DH; or, Designated Hebrew

Posted on April 21, 2013 by

It’s been forty years (and two weeks) in the wilderness. Ron Blomberg became the first DH on April 6, 1973. From Atlanta and still living there, Blomberg—whom I (Evander) had the pleasure to meet a year ago—went thro his own … Continue reading →

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Be Sure to Check out “42”

Posted on April 4, 2013 by

As promised last fall, the new Jackie Robinson biopic, 42, is soon opening. Here is pretty much a rave from hardened society-and-film columnist Liz Smith. She is already talking Academy Award nominations, barely a month after the recent lackluster Oscars … Continue reading →

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Mariano Rivera Retires

Posted on March 9, 2013 by

Number 42 will be retired forever throughout Major League Baseball at the end of this season. It is the uniform number that Jackie Robinson wore: now on but one, with his own legacy. Mariano Rivera, who will be forty-four on … Continue reading →

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(Im)probabilities

Posted on January 25, 2013 by

No one is going to confuse us with Theo Epstein or Bill James. Truthfully, the term Sabermetrics barely gets a nod in Right Off the Bat. Why? It all goes back to my (Evander’s) childhood. Fade-in…I remember almost flunking a … Continue reading →

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