Jackie Robinson Day

Jackie Robinson died 8 years before I was born.

I’ve heard a great deal of praise for the man, some of it regarding the color barrier & his contributions to the civil rights movement, and some of it regarding the type of ballplayer and person that he was. But it wasn’t until today, while browsing baseball-reference.com, that I started to understand how Jackie Robinson played the game.

It’s hard to get a feel for a ballplayer when you’ve never seen him play.

Check out this stat: In 1952, Robinson struck out forty times in 510 at bats. Pretty good number, eh? Now consider that that was the highest strikeout total of his career.

This number means a whole lot more to me than his batting average, RBI, rookie of the year award or MVP trophy, because it’s an indicator of his talent and the way he played the game.

You know who else topped out at 40 strikeouts in a season? Tony Gwynn, who is probably the best hitter I’ll ever see.

In 1949, Jackie Robinson struck out only 27 times in 598 at bats. The following year, he had 24 strikeouts in 518 at bats.

These numbers just absolutely boggle my mind, and for the first time I think I’m starting to understand the type of player that Jackie Robinson was. 

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