Episode Details

Every year on April 15, the entire baseball world celebrates the achievements of Jackie Robinson for breaking the color barrier and becoming the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. The impact that Jackie had—not just on the sports world, but globally—through his courage, endurance, and military service shows the importance of the figure the Hall of Famer was.

On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman talk about Jackie’s story, including how his wife, Rachel Robinson, was just as important a figure in his life and continues to spread the message of her late husband. Jordan also discusses Charles Follis, the first African American professional football player, who also played in the Negro Leagues, and his relationship with Branch Rickey.

Also on this episode, Jake and Jordan discuss the early-season power rankings, which have the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees at the top of the list, and why it’s tough to rank teams with so few games played so far. Later, they cover Steve Cohen’s interesting tweet after the New York Mets extended their losing streak, Houston Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai having a difficult time adjusting in the States and try to figure out why Ben Rice isn’t starting every game for the Yankees.

1:34 - The Opener: Power rankings drop
19:07 - Remembering Jackie Robinson
29:56 - The importance of Charles Follis
50:10 - Steve Cohen’s Mets tweet
58:17 - Scary dugout moment in Baltimore
1:07:50 - Why isn’t Ben Rice starting?

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