Jackie Robinson Stadium

Robert A. George referred me to the New York Post editorial section, advocating for calling the new Mets ballpark 'Jackie Robinson Stadium'. The chances of the Mets dedicating the new park to the most important ballplayer of all time are slim primarily for financial reasons. But perhaps the Mets could pull a 'Branch Rickey' of their own, break the trend, and do the right thing.

Excerpt from the Post:

The New York Mets, of course, have a special connection to Robinson. Again, the team is the successor to the Dodgers and the Giants. Robinson was traded from the Dodgers to the Giants before retiring after a 10-year career.

There's a personal connection: Back in the early 1950s, the Mets' Wilpon played baseball for Brooklyn's Lafayette HS. One of his teammates was a fireballing southpaw pitcher named Sandy Koufax - who in 1955 would join Jackie Robinson on the Dodger team that won its only World Series in Brooklyn.

And, beyond baseball, there's a New York connection: After leaving the game, he returned to this city and became an outspoken political and social activist (and, for a while, he wrote a twice-weekly column for The Post).

With all that, why not name the new stadium for Robinson?

What more could "bring people together" than a stadium named after the man who brought Americans of all creeds and colors together - both on and off the ball field.

He believed in America, then a great, but fundamentally flawed, nation. His grace under pressure helped set into motion forces that would ultimately redeem the promise of America - shamefully unfulfilled a century after a horrific civil war had been fought in its name.