Honoring Jackie Robinson

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From the NY Times:

Sixty years after Jackie Robinson shook the baseball establishment and broke the sport’s color barrier, an unforeseen grassroots movement by today’s players has suddenly shaped the way Major League Baseball will commemorate the anniversary. More than 200 players will wear Robinson’s No. 42 retired by baseball 10 years ago in ballparks across the country on Sunday, the anniversary of Robinson’s first appearance with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

While the tribute has received baseball’s approval, it grew spontaneously from a request by the Cincinnati Reds’ Ken Griffey Jr., who asked Commissioner Bud Selig earlier this month if he could wear the number on April 15. What has evolved since is surprisingly organic for a group of famous, feted athletes with multimillion-dollar contracts.

As word of Griffey’s gesture spread, small groups of players — among them stars like Barry Bonds, Dontrelle Willis and Gary Sheffield — decided also to wear 42 that day. Soon, there was a representative from every team. The Los Angeles Dodgers then decided to have their entire roster wear 42.

Now, there are six major league teams that plan to have everyone in uniform wearing No. 42 — players, coaches, manager and bat boys. Those teams are the Dodgers, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Houston Astros.

And the number of jerseys having a new 42 sewn onto the back remains fluid, but seems to be increasing by the day.

Baseball had planned events commemorating the 60th anniversary at every ballpark this year, even before the ad hoc initiative to wear Robinson’s number began. The plans were not as elaborate as those for the 50th anniversary, when President Bill Clinton and Rachel Robinson, Jackie Robinson’s widow, appeared in a ceremony in the middle of a game at Shea Stadium. But commemorations were scheduled in some cities, including Los Angeles and New York.

The Phillies are among the teams that will have the entire roster wearing No. 42. The team made the decision to do so after a players’ meeting last week.

No player on any team wearing a No. 42 will have a name on the jersey above the number. The jerseys will be authenticated by Major League Baseball after Sunday’s games and most will be auctioned off for charity.

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I imagine substitutions would be tough for umpires and broadcasters alike. "42 in for 42."

Thoughts about honoring Robinson aside, what are your thoughts about the way some teams are going about it. Is having an entire roster of #42s without names on the back a good idea from an umpiring standpoint?