A baseball fan who looks hard enough at the new movie 42 can find connections to Minneapolis-St. Paul.
42 is the story of a courageous African American, Jackie Robinson, who broke major league baseball’s color barrier in 1947 while playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson’s impact on society includes today’s tribute from MLB when every player in the American and National leagues will wear uniform No. 42 including at Target Field where tonight the Twins play the Angels. Today is Jackie Robinson Day, recognizing the April 15, 1947 arrival of Robinson in the big leagues.
Robinson, played by Chadwick Boseman in the film, endured a tsunami of racial insults from fans, players and managers in his early years with the Dodgers. In the movie Phillies’ manager Ben Chapman delivers a verbal assault that is the most painful scene to watch. The harassment’s intent is to have Robinson quit the Dodgers and the barrage is so ugly it almost makes the 28-year-old rookie first baseman implode.
Although some of Robinson’s teammates didn’t want him to be a Dodger, others came to his defense. Eddie Stanky confronts Chapman in 42, showing passion and a colorful vocabulary while protecting Robinson. Stanky, whose nickname was the “Brat,” played for several major league teams before becoming manager of the 1956 Minneapolis Millers.
The man Robinson replaced as the Dodgers’ first baseman was Howie Schultz, a St. Paul native. Schultz, who attended Central High School and Hamline, played four seasons for the Dodgers prior to 1947 with his best year coming in 1944 hitting 11 home runs with 83 RBI in 138 games, according to Baseball-reference.com.
Back in the 1940s the Dodgers had affiliations with Triple-A farm teams in St. Paul, and Montreal where Robinson played in 1946. There’s a scene in 42 in which St. Paul is written on a blackboard in the office of Dodgers’ general manager Branch Rickey. The Saints’ roster in 1948 included African American catcher Roy Campanella who also played for the Dodgers that same year.
In 42 Rickey, portrayed by Harrison Ford, is looking for a pioneer to break the color barrier and considers Campenella but dismisses the easy going catcher in favor of the ultra competitive Robinson. But both players became Hall of Famers including Campanella who played in 35 games for the Saints in 1948, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
Rickey’s motivations for enduring the wrath of the segregated south and some of his major league brethren for breaking the color barrier was part personal and part business. In the movie Rickey talks about how years before he had failed a black baseball player, but he also makes it clear that bringing Robinson to Brooklyn is about attracting more African-American fans to Ebbets Field.
The Dodgers’ desire to make more money eventually resulted in a failed new ballpark initiative in Brooklyn and relocation of the franchise to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. At the same time the Dodgers convinced the New York Giants to move to San Francisco so that two teams could play on the West Coast (making schedules more efficient) and also continue their storied rivalry. The relocations changed the history of baseball in Minnesota.
The Giants had been in high level discussions about moving to Minneapolis before Dodgers’ owner Walter O’Malley convinced them to move west. The Giants had operated the Triple-A Millers for years, played exhibition games here to test the baseball market and even had purchased land that potentially could have been the site of a major league park.
Instead of acquiring the Giants, this area waited until 1960 when the American League Washington Senators moved here for the 1961 season and became the Minnesota Twins.
Worth Noting
Yesterday’s Twins-Mets game, not played because of rain, is the first Target Field postponement of the season and will now be played on Monday, August 19 in Minneapolis. Right-hander Kevin Correia, scheduled to start yesterday for the Twins, will pitch against the Angels tonight.
After losing games to the Mets on Friday and Saturday at Target Field, the Twins are now 157-127 in interleague games. The Twins’ next game against a National League team is a week from tonight in Minneapolis with the Marlins.
Gophers’ baseball coach John Anderson earned his 500th career Big Ten Conference win yesterday when Minnesota defeated Northwestern 7-1.
Parker Executive Search based in Atlanta has been paid “more than $295,000” by the University of Minnesota since 2007 to assist with searches involving Tim Brewster, Tubby Smith, Jerry Kill and Norwood Teague, according to the April 8 issue of Sports Illustrated. The story is about the role of search firms with college sports programs including their fees for identifying potential coaches and athletic directors.
Draft authority Todd McShay said on ESPN last Thursday the Vikings may draft Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o at No. 23 in the first round and California wide receiver Kennan Allen at No. 25. McShay said four wide receivers might be taken during the first round of the NFL draft April 25 including West Virginia’s Tavon Austin, a 5-9, 170-pound Percy Harvin like player who could be the first chosen.
Injured Timberwolves’ forward Kevin Love reportedly earns $13,668,750 in salary but has played in only 18 games this season. That works out to $759,375 per game.
For the first time in league history, the WNBA draft will be televised in primetime. The first round begins at 7 p.m. CDT tonight and will be telecast by ESPN2. The second and third rounds (starting at 8 p.m.) will be aired on NBATV and ESPNU. The Lynx have the No. 12 pick in the first round, two second round selections and a third round choice.