Remembering Larry Doby
Back in April, Major League Baseball made a big deal about the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut, and rightfully so.
You can never take away from what Jackie Robinson did, and I was glad to see a number of players (and a few teams) wear the now-retired 42 (Robinson's number) to celebrate the event.
But yesterday, another milestone passed, without too much notice.
Larry Doby debuted with the Cleveland Indians July 5, 1947. In doing so, he became the first black player in the American League. This was back when the two leagues were very much separate entities, unlike today.
But yesterday passed, and aside from a few features on ESPN and in some newspapers, the anniversary wasn't given much attention. The Indians were on the road in Detroit, and while the team will honor Doby after the all star break, the rest of the league didn't seem to notice.
What Doby went through couldn't have been much different than what Robinson went through (he entered the big leagues . But his name and number are not draped in every ballpark.
Doby's relative lack of prominence may be for two reasons. He was "second," but he also played most of his career in Cleveland, which was not as prominent as Brooklyn.
For the record, the Indians will honor Doby Aug. 10 against the Yankees. All Indians players will wear No. 14.
But why weren't the Indians home yesterday? Why couldn't the Indians honor Doby on his anniversary? Why didn't American League players wear a patch, to commemorate what Doby went through?
I don't have an answer for that. I don't know if the Indians even requested to be home July 5. But they shouldn't have had to.
The Indians retired Doby's number July 3, 1994, before a game against the Twins. It was in the first season of Jacobs Field, and the game was sold out. It was also a Sunday night game carried by ESPN. Larry Doby spoke, as did Joe Morgan and some others. My family had tickets for the game, so I was lucky enough to see the ceremony.
Doby was a great player, a Hall of Fame outfielder who played on the Indians last championship team, in 1948. He died in 2003.
We should certainly remember Jackie Robinson. We should also remember Larry Doby.