Today is the 100th
birthday of baseball great Jackie Robinson, whose immediate effect on Chicago
baseball can be seen in the careers of Ernie Banks and Minnie Minoso. That of my daughter’s is still pending.
Clare grew fascinated with
Robinson all on her own, as a girl playing baseball. The class reports on No. 42 probably started
around the time she was nine, and I’m pretty sure they continued all through
grade school. No doubt, she visualized
Robinson when an opposing player shook her hand after a game, saying, “Nice
game, bitch.” That alone would have been
enough to foster a connection.
On Sunday I noticed a number of
young women working SoxFest; they were all Clare’s age and quite possibly White
Sox interns. I asked my daughter where
she thought they would end up in the organization. “How many front-office people had to work
SoxFest first?” We both agreed the
number had to be a big, fat zero.
Clare has tried several times to
get an MLB job, without success. I would
like to think the example of Jackie Robinson helps her handle the frustration
in being treated pretty much the same as that kid did after a Bronco baseball
game years ago. But I’m not sure.
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