Monday 15 April 2013

Jays win! Snapshots from Jackie Robinson Day.

Edwin Encarnacion on Jackie Robinson Day
On what quickly became a tragic Monday, the Blue Jays played the Chicago White Sox. I arrived at the stadium blissfully unaware of what had happened in Boston, as I had been buried in an archive all day, but quickly became aware of the tragedy. Terrible. Sad. I will leave it at that.

Today was also Jackie Robinson day. All the players, coaches, ball boys and umpire wore the number 42 to honour Jackie Robinson breaking the colour barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. His number is now retired across major league baseball. (except for Mariano Rivera, who was grandfathered in, when he retires this year no one will ever wear 42 again).

As a historical researcher, I feel inclined to add a historical tidbit about Jackie Robinson. Did you know that his middle name is Roosevelt, a name he went by his entire childhood?
Yup, in the 1920 and 1930 census, Jackie got enumerated as Roosevelt.

11 year old Jackie Robinson in 1930.

For this game, I had unusually good seats so I took tons of pictures, but because the players weren't wearing their actual numbers it will be hard to reuse the pictures later. So I thought I would just put them here.

Mark Buerhle pitched into the sixth for a quality start


Mark Buerhle was better. He pitched 6.1 innings, gave up 9 hits and two runs. Both runs came in the first inning. He got himself out of jams, the defense backed him up and his ERA dipped below 7. This is the Buerhle we've been waiting for.

Edwin Encarnacion, umpire and Colby Rasmus


Edwin Encarnacion went 3-4, with 3 singles and Colby Rasmus went 1-3 with a double and a walk (and two strikeouts).

Dwayne Murphy stands with Colby Rasmus.


Colby Rasmus stands on first after taking a walk to load the bases

Adam Lind had an awesome night, going 2-3 with a walk. This is the Adam Lind I want to see every night.






 And of course, we can't forget about Munenori Kawasaki. The emergency short stop, who everyone, including me, seems to love. He's a pretty easy just to love. What with the quirks, the bowing, the dancing, the RBIs and the triples.  Kawasaki bagged a triple in the bottom of the fourth, and by the bottom of the eighth the stadium was chanting "Kaw-As-Aki." I'm sure things won't always be so rosy, but I hope the Jays keep him for awhile. I like the spirit he brings.








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