Jackie Robinson is one of the most famous baseball players in American history.
Not only did he break barriers and allow African Americans to start playing professional baseball, but he was a solid player as well.
One of the highlights of a baseball player’s career is how many wins they had in the World Series.
It proves that they, and their team, were the best of the best for that particular season.
If you’ve ever wondered if Robinson ever won a World Series or what his stats were like, here’s what you need to know.
Did Jackie Robinson Win A World Series?
Yes, Jackie Robinson did win a World Series. It was the 1955 World Series, and he was playing for the Dodgers.
At that time, the Dodgers were still based in Brooklyn.
They were playing against the Yankees.
It marked the first time that the Dodgers had beaten the Yankees while they were in Brooklyn.
They’d go on to relocate to Los Angeles in 1958.
Although Robinson only won one World Series, he helped the Dodgers reach and play in the World Series five more times for a total of six World Series appearances.
Who Is Jackie Robinson?
If you’re not a sports fan or don’t love history, you may only know the name Jackie Robinson in passing.
Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major League Baseball.
Before then, there was a clear racial line in sports.
African Americans had their own teams and played against one another.
White Americans had their own teams and played against one another.
Due to segregation and general racism, it wasn’t common for African Americans to get the same sort of coverage for their games.
If they wanted to make it big in sports, they had to join the MLB.
The problem was that no Black American had ever been able to cross that racial line before.
Jackie Robinson made it possible.
He joined the Dodgers in 1947 and broke that racial line forever.
During his first season, he earned the Rookie of the Year award.
Two years later, in 1949, he won the Most Valuable Player Award.
In 1955, Robinson would also lead the Dodgers to their first World Series win in some time.
In 1962, Robinson was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame.
What Were Jackie Robinson’s Stats?
Some might wonder if Jackie Robinson only got inducted into the Hall of Fame because of the crucial part he played in desegregating sports.
While that likely had some impact on the decision, he was also an incredible player.
Robinson played 10 years in the MLB. He had a batting average of .313 and had 972 runs scored.
He also had 761 runs batted in.
Robinson was also a notorious base stealer.
In his career, he stole 200 bases.
When it came to home runs, he had a pretty good score, too.
He had 141 home runs during his career.
A crucial stat to consider is WAR or Wins Above Replacement.
This stat represents the number of wins that the player added to the team above what a replacement might add. His WAR was 63.8.
It’s clear Robinson knew how to play the game and played it well.
While he certainly helped break African Americans into mainstream sports, his skills also proved that Black Americans can play just as well as White Americans.
How Did Jackie Robinson Die?
Despite having a stellar 10-year career with the MLB, Robinson eventually retired from the sport.
He didn’t live much longer after that.
He died of a heart attack in 1972 at the age of 53.
Did Jackie Robinson’s Jersey Number Get Retired?
Yes, Robinson’s jersey number eventually got retired.
In 1997, the MLB chose to retire Robinson’s number.
His jersey number was 42.
They also retired it across all teams.
This means that no team can give a player the number 42.
It essentially belongs to Robinson.
The only exception when 42 gets worn is on Jackie Robinson day.
The MLB made April 15th the official Jackie Robinson day.
It started in 2004.
Every year any team that plays on April 15th wears a number 42 jersey to honor Robinson.
April 15th marked the opening day of Robinson’s first season.
Otherwise, no one can wear the number 42 in a professional game.
Why Do Jersey Numbers Get Retired?
Besides Jackie Robinson, there are a few players from all types of different sports whose jersey numbers get retired.
You may wonder why the organization or team chooses to retire a jersey number.
They usually do it because the player was exceptionally good or changed the game in some profound way.
It’s a way that the team or organization can further honor that player after they’re gone.
Since no one else can ever wear that jersey number, it makes the number, and thus the player, even more special.
If the player is still alive when their number gets retired, they usually attend the ceremony.
There’s a big celebration over the player’s career in the game.
It all leads up to the jersey number’s retirement.
If the player has passed, there’s usually some sort of celebration or event that goes on.
It might include a small video that goes over the highlights of the player’s career.
However it’s planned, the goal behind a jersey number retirement event is to honor the player that’s no longer part of the game.
Who Did The Brooklyn Dodgers Play In The 1955 World Series?
The Dodgers played against their rivals, the New York Yankees, during the 1955 World Series.
Before then, the Dodgers and Yankees had played against one another in the World Series for several years.
There was even an ongoing joke of having the World Series become a permanent part of Broadway since it was always two New York teams playing against one another.
The Dodgers were especially looking for a win since the Yankees had shut them out in the past few World Series.
They were coming into the game in top form, too.
They had a 22-2 record and had won 10 of their first initial games back-to-back.
The Yankees were looking to settle the score, too.
The previous year had gone well for them, so they were in top form, too.
The Yankees also had Elston Howard making his debut.
He was the first African American to play for the Yankees.
Jackie Robinson was on the Dodgers’ side and was the first African American to play in the MLB at all.
During the first two games, the Dodgers weren’t doing too hot.
The Yankees had a few home runs which had put the first two games in their pocket.
That all changed when Johnny Podres took the mound.
He didn’t have the best stats that season, and he was up against Bob Turley who was a 17-game winner.
Despite that, Podres managed to get an 8-3 game which put the Dodgers back on the map.
They’d go on to win the fourth game, too, with a few home runs.
Another rookie pitcher, Roger Craig, earned the Dodgers another win in Game 5.
Yet, the Yankees weren’t quite done.
They got Game 6 which put both teams neck-and-neck for the final win.
Both teams tried a few creative strategies to outmaneuver one another, but it was ultimately the Dodgers who won the game and World Series.
Did Jackie Robinson Win The World Series During His Rookie Year?
Robinson did not win the World Series in his rookie year.
He joined the Dodgers in 1947.
They wouldn’t win the World Series until 1955.
However, he did win the Rookie of the Year award in 1947.
Who Broke The Color Barrier In MLB?
While many think that Jackie Robinson was the first black man to play in the major leagues, this isn’t actually the case.
That honor belongs to Moses Fleetwood Walker.
He was a catcher from Mount Pleasant, Ohio.
Born to a midwife and physician, Walker got his start playing baseball when he attended college at Oberlin and Michigan.
His brother also played with him.
Walker wanted to play baseball professionally, so he made a contract with the Toledo Blue Stockings.
It just so happened that the Toledo Blue Stockings were a minor league team at the time.
However, that changed the year that he joined.
In 1884, the team got an invitation from the American Association.
They wanted the Blue Stockings to join the major leagues.
The team had performed well in their prior season and had even won their league pennant.
The team accepted and the Blue Stockings became a major league baseball team.
That meant that Walker was now a major league baseball player.
He’d go on to play 42 games with the Stockings before the team had to let him go.
The team didn’t perform much better without him either.
They ended up reverting back to a minor league team the year after.
However, Walker didn’t stop playing after he left the Blue Stockings.
He signed up with a team in Newark, New Jersey instead.
They were a minor league team, but even still, they got some friction from white players who didn’t want black players in the game.
At the very least, they didn’t want black players playing with white players.
That said, Walker was able to play with the Newark team until 1889.
His original contract had extended that far.
Once 1889 passed, however, he left the team and was unable to join another minor or major league team.
Why Did Moses Fleetwood Walker Retire Early?
Walker had pretty decent stats for someone who played primarily in the minor leagues.
He had a batting average of .263.
When he was with the Blue Stockings, he had 40 hits and scored 23 runs during the season they played in the major leagues.
His last game with them was on September 4th, 1884.
His last game, at all, was in 1889.
Considering that Walker was still at his peak, you may wonder why he chose to retire and walk away from baseball.
The simple answer is that he was barred from playing baseball.
While there were a few people responsible for the shift away from letting black players play with white players, one of the most vocal players about it was Cap Anson.
Anson was a famous player in the major leagues and had a strong voice.
When Walker first emerged on the major league team scene with the Blue Stockings, Anson claimed that he didn’t want to play against the team with Walker on it.
He didn’t want to play with a black man.
Ultimately, the game happened, anyway, but Anson wasn’t done protesting.
When he met with Walker on the field again later, he again stated that he wouldn’t play if Walker was playing.
The Newark team had no choice but to put Walker and another black player, George Stovey, in the dugout.
Anson’s outspoken views eventually reached as high as the International League.
They released a statement stating that they weren’t going to be accepting contracts with black players any longer.
While Walker still had the existing contract that let him play for a few more years, ultimately, he was unable to join another team afterward.
Walker had to retire from baseball because the leagues forced him out of the game.
It wouldn’t be until Jackie Robinson took the field that the barrier would finally get broken once and for all.
How Many Times Was Jackie Robinson Hit By The Pitcher?
Hit by Pitch is a term that refers to when the pitcher hits the player with a ball.
It’s usually an accident.
The pitcher might lose control of the ball while attempting a fast throw.
Instead of going where the pitcher intended to throw it, the ball might end up hitting the player instead.
That’s one of the reasons why players wear helmets when batting.
Jackie Robinson got hit by the pitcher 72 times in his career.
The most occurred in 1952. He got hit 14 times during that season.
The question comes down to if the pitcher hit him on accident or if it was racially charged.
Which Player Has Had The Most Hit By Pitches?
Although Jackie Robinson got his share of hits, he isn’t the player who’s received the most hits by pitch.
That title belongs to Hughie Jennings.
He got hit 287 times by the pitcher.
Part of the reason that Jennings got hit as much as he did is that he sometimes leaned into the balls to get hit.
When a player gets hit by a ball, they’re able to get an automatic walk to first base.
This is an easy way to score a point if someone is on third base.
Since Jennings played in the 1800s, the rules were a bit looser than they are today when rules against faking or attempting to get hit are strongly enforced.
After his time as a player, Jennings would also take on a management position and then a coaching position for third base.
His antics on and off the field made him a beloved player for both fans and fellow players.
Did Jackie Robinson Serve In The Army?
Yes, Robinson was part of the army during World War II.
Interestingly, he was also almost in Pearl Harbor during the attack.
He was playing football with the Honolulu Bears two days before the attack.
When the war broke out, he joined the army and became a second lieutenant.
He was part of the 761st tank battalion which was the first black tank unit to see action in World War II.
However, he missed some of the action due to ongoing court proceedings.
Robinson had refused to sit in the back of a bus which was the area segregated for black soldiers.
The army arrested and court-martialed him.
Eventually, during the trial, the court acquitted him and gave him an honorable discharge instead.
This occurred in November 1944 while his unit was in Europe and suffering casualties.
A year later, Robinson would return to playing baseball.
How Did Jackie Robinson Join The Dodgers?
Considering how much of a big deal it was that Robinson played for a major league team, you may wonder how he even got noticed by the Dodgers.
Robinson started playing professional baseball after the war ended.
His primary position was shortstop.
The team that gained him some popularity and notice was the Kansas City Monarchs.
While he was playing for the Monarchs, the Dodger’s general manager took notice of him.
The general manager was none other than Branch Rickey.
Rickey wanted to integrate baseball.
He was looking for a player who not only had the skills to play a good game but also had the right behavior for what was to come.
Rickey knew that whoever he chose to help integrate baseball would likely face threats, violence, and humiliation.
One of the reasons that Robinson stood out from the others, besides his skills, was the fact that he had already displayed non-violent protest against segregation.
By refusing to sit in a segregated bus while he was in the army, Robinson had made his views on segregation clear.
Rickey also appreciated that Robinson didn’t get violent with the other army officials when they tried to force him to sit in the segregated area.
As such, Rickey tapped Robinson for a trial run.
He left the Kansas City Monarchs and joined the Montreal Royals instead.
The Royals were a sort of team that the Dodgers used to try out new players.
When one showed promise, they’d promote them to become an official Dodger.
Robinson joined the Royals in 1946.
While he played for them, he had a .349 batting average.
His reputation for being someone that stole bases was also introduced.
He stole 40 bases while he played for them.
The Dodgers decided to hire him full-time, and shortly after, he broke the color barrier in the modern era in 1947.
While Robinson would face verbal and physical abuse from fans, managers, and his teammates, he proved Rickey right in never turning to violence in response.
Conclusion
Jackie Robinson is one of the most famous baseball players in history.
Although he wasn’t technically the first black player to play in the major leagues, he did mark a turning point in sports history.
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