Jackie Robinson, the story continues
Picking up on the media column from today's Daily News that covers ESPN's plans for Sunday's 60th anniversary of the Jackie Robinson debut, as well as covering the media protocol in Jonathan Eig's book on Robinson's first year in the big leagues, ESPN senior vice president and executive producer for remote productions Jed Drake is confident the network has struck "the right tone" with its multi-layered plan to cover not just the historical moment but make it fit into the game broadcast of the Dodgers-Padres telecast that starts well before the first pitch (moved back to 5:15 p.m.)
ESPN will have guests such as Rachel Robinson, Don Newcombe, Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron and Dave Winfield during the three-hour window of "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight" (2-to-5 p.m.) that preceeds the game. Also, Bob Ley's "Outside the Lines" on Sunday (6:30 a.m.) will show the second part of an interview Robin Roberts did with Rachel Robinson, the first part of which aired Thursday. For what it's worth, ESPN Classic will also air the 1950 docudrama, "The Jackie Robinson Story," which Robinson played himself, at 5 p.m. opposite the game.
ESPN started a 16-day "After Jackie" collection of programming leading up to the broadcast.
"We made sure that our plan was very comprehensive, listening to a lot of people on who to bring on, how to craft it all because it's a topic that far transcends the game and we wanted to get it right," said Drake. "We may have had a dress rehersal for this when two weeks ago we covered the Civil Rights Game in Memphis (with Jon Miller, Joe Morgan, Peter Gammons and other promiment African-American guests). We handled it so that a variety of opinions were heard, from Spike Lee to Hank Aaron. What struck me was that while we commemorate 60th anniversary of Jackie, it's important to recognize baseball now is suffeinrg a decline in African American players. It was a call to arm and we’lll use that theme in Sunday's broadcast."
To that issue, Morgan says he can site a couple of reasons why the percentages are down of black players in today's major leagues.
"It's not one answer, and that became apparent after talking to Spike Lee and Frank Robinson at the Civil Rights game," said Morgan. "What we really need to happen is have fans from the African-American community. We need baseball to make the effort to let them know they're needed and appreciated. Without fans, everything is only a short-term solution. My dad took me to games and pointed out why things happened. You need that connection.
"Another thing that has bothered me is how the scouting combines are set up now. College are the primary spots to find players now, but not many African American kids play baseball because that sport doesn't offer many full scholarships. Those can be had with football and basketball, so baseball misses out on a lot of minority players. Baseball almost becomes an elite sport, where kids growing up, if they're well off, have their own hitting instructors when they're 8 years old. A lot of minorities get lost in that shuffle. When I came out of Oakland, there were so many black players to look up to: Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, Vada Pinson, leading to Rickey Henderson, Dave Stewart, and on and on. It's not the same any more. Maybe that's an oversimplification, but but why should a kid turn down a scholarship for football or basketball when baseball won't offer him one."
Read on for more of ESPN's coverage and Morgan's comments ...
Jon Miller, doing the play-by-play for Sunday's Dodgers-Padres telecast, mentioned in last Sunday's Texas-Boston game that he had some trepedation doing the next contest because of the fact all the Dodgers players will be wearing No. 42.
"I'm just a little concerned," Miller said. "I don't know about you, but as a guy working the game on television, maybe there's someone on the club I don't know well, and I'll be looking for him on the roster, and all I'll see is No. 42."
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In autobiographical books that Morgan wrote in 1993 and in ’98, he more than touched an opinion that racism was still prevalent in major league baseball.
Does is still hold true in 2007?
“Maybe racism isn’t the word to use anymore,” Morgan said. “It’s as if the playing field still isn’t level, but it’s not as uneven as it was before. I’m trying to give baseball more credit because Bud Selig and a lot of people have tried to make it better.
“It is still kind of interesting to me that someone like Dusty Baker, who is a proven winner, doesn’t have a managerial job. And only two African Americans are in the dugouts today. Something’s wrong there. That means something is still not even when some who have a losing track record still get jobs managing teams. How does someone like Willie Randolph not win National League manager of the year after what he did with the New York Mets last season? Nothing against Joe Girardi (who won it with Florida), but how to the spoils not go to the victors?”
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Morgan, who grew up in California with many white friends -- as did Robinson growing up in Southern California -- expands more on what it was like playing for the Durham Bulls of the Carolina League in 1963 when he was the only black player:
"I don't ever equate the things I went through with what Jackie had to endure, but I think they were somewhat similar," said Morgan. "My teammates were very supportive as was the city of Durham. I only caught hell on the road. But my teammates were in my corner. It's so funny to look back. I didn't think about it much but Billy Goodman, who was my manager, used to have one of the players around me all the time when i was on the field. I think he was trying to protect me from the fans and make sure I didn’t scream back at them. Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron ... they had it much worse. But their ties are maybe closer to mine, even the same time frame."
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More of what ESPN plans to do with Sunday's telecast:
--Cover all the pregame ceremony from Dodger Stadium, either with "Baseball Tonight" or into the game coverage window.
--Peter Gammons will look at the impact of Branch Rickey and Pee Wee Reese on the Robinson story,and have interviews with current players Gary Sheffield and CC Sabathia.
-- An open forum focusing on the weight of being Jackie Robinson and wearing the Dodger 42 jersey with commentary from Morgan, Aaron, Sabathia, Ken Griffey, Jr, Spike Lee and the Dodgers' Juan Pierre .
--Use "SportsCenter’s" Stuart Scott as the official "host" of the telecast.
--Have Morgan compare Robinson’s all-around skills to those of current players.
--ESPN Classic has a block of programming starting at 3 p.m. with a Jackie Robinson "SportsCentury" and other shows about his legacy.
--LL Cool J will narrate 30-second spots honoring Robinson.
--ESPN.com's Eric Neel will have an update on the MLB Urban Youth Baseball Academy, which opened a year ago in Compton.
--ESPN.com reporter Amy Nelson will have online chats with players and special guests.
--The website will also have transcripts of Rachel Robinson's interview with Robin Roberts; and excerpts from Cal Fussman's book, "After Jackie."
For more information on the Jackie Robinson Foundation, go to the official website here.