It’s Opening Weekend in Baseball! The 2020 MLB season will be 60 games with a few new rules including a DH in the national league, runner on second in the 10th inning if it goes into extra innings and pitchers must face either 3 batters or pitch until the end of the half inning. Baseball usually signals the beginning of spring and that summer is right around the corner, but 2020 has been quite the year and at one time baseball in 2020 was in jeopardy. Luckily players, owners and the league were able to work it out and here we are with a new yet strange season.
Opening day has brought some historic days from some iconic Black players. The day that changed the history of baseball happened on April 15, 1947 when at the age of 28 Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball and played first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He is such a significant part of Black history and Baseball history; so much so that his number 42 has been retired permanently and he is honored every year with every player wearing his jersey and sharing stories of his impact.
On April 4, 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 714th homerun to tie Babe Ruth for all-time homerun leader. He ended his career with 755 homeruns to be the all-time leader. Barry Bonds hit 762 homeruns, but there are accusations of steroid use so many still consider Hank the homerun king.
This year opening day will be historic and involve Black players for different reasons like the late start and no fans due to COVID-19 and players kneeling, Black Lives Matter t-shirts before the game and a focus on resolving the many social injustices in America. There are not enough Black ball players, right now, but those in the league have plans to make a significant impact in the game and on the country.
