Game Changer

Jackie Robinson's Career Major League Stats

In 1949, the Dodgers moved Robinson from first to second base. Robinson went on to lead the league in hitting and in stolen bases that season and was named National League MVP. Robinson went on to play 10 seasons, helping the Dodgers win the 1955 World Series.

By 1956, Robinson was showing his age — 37 — and the effects of diabetes. After he struck out to end Game 7 of the 1956 World Series, Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley traded Robinson to the New York Giants for $35,000 in cash. Robinson declined the trade, retired from baseball and became an executive with the Chock Full o’ Nuts coffee company.

After his departure from the game, Robinson took up high-profile political causes and worked to support civil rights.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, his first year of eligibility. He became the first Black TV baseball analyst for ABC Sports in 1965. Robinson died of a heart attack in 1972 at age 53.

In 1987, both the National and American leagues renamed their Rookie of the Year awards after Robinson. In 1997, every MLB club retired Robinson’s jersey number, 42. In 2004, players throughout the league were invited to wear No. 42 on April 15, which became known as Jackie Robinson Day.

The Changing Look of Major Baseball

After Robinson pried the door open for African Americans in the major leagues, the percentage of Black players peaked in 1981. The percentage of Black MLB players has dropped every year since, even as numbers of Latino and Asian players has increased. One theory: Baseball requires expensive equipment, which prices minorities out of the sport at an early age.