Royals’ Nick Heath understands huge cultural footsteps left by Jackie Robinson
For Royals minor-league outfielder Nick Heath, Jackie Robinson isn’t just a man or an iconic figure. Robinson’s story is a big topic, encompassing race, history, American culture and a sport Heath loves and has chosen to make his career. There’s a lot packed into that name, he says, and it elicits a feeling of “thankfulness.”
Ultimately, the Jackie Robinson story boils down to one overarching thing: Footsteps. That’s apparent in both Heath’s need to follow reverently in the enormous ones left by Robinson, as well as his desire to do so in such a representative manner that Heath leaves behind some of his own.
No Major League Baseball games will be played Wednesday, but that doesn’t erase the anniversary of Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Robinson became the first African-American ballplayer in MLB’s modern era, and he eventually became the first African-American inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Robinson endured abuse, racism, death threats and threats against the safety of his family in the process of blazing a path for players of all colors and ethnicities to compete in the major leagues.
“I’m sure there was a lot of hate coming from a lot of different directions,” said Heath, who led all of minor-league baseball in stolen bases last year. “For him to face that off the field, face that on the field and then have to play and manage a family and manage all the other things adults have to manage in life, this guy was like the complete package. He’s about as well-rounded as it’s going to come.
“If I’m looking up to somebody, that’s the type of person I want to look up to. The legacy he left behind just kind of challenges us to do the same and leave a footprint behind, leave something behind for somebody else.”
MLB will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day via myriad Internet and social-media efforts, including The Jackie Robinson Foundation’s launch of the new “Jackie Robinson Day Virtual Learning Hub,” a platform to deliver educational programming to educators and parents for students in grades K-12, at JRLegacy.org.
MLB will provide virtual and printable education activities aimed at providing kids information on Jackie’s life and legacy at MLB.com/42. And MLB.com will live-stream 12 hours of Robinson-related programming beginning at 7 a.m.
Heath said the first thing that he had to wrap his mind around as a child was this idea that once upon a time playing baseball with people of a different race was somehow a controversial issue.
“It was like, ‘There was a time when I couldn’t play with my next door neighbor? Y’all crazy,’” Heath said. “You know what I mean?”
As he got older and understood more, the feeling of thankfulness only grew stronger.
“You get a better appreciation for him having to be the face, the only one, the person, the example to set for the rest of us behind him,” Heath said. “So I love the way he handled it. I don’t like the repercussions that happened to him because of it at various points in his career, but I’m very thankful for the way he kept his composure and kept his poker face on and continued to go out there and represent us well.”
More than a movie
The intense and outright bigotry to which Robinson stood up was vividly and uncomfortably hammered home most recently through the 2013 release of the movie “42,” starring actor Chadwick Boseman as Robinson.
“You kind of look at and be like, ‘All this because somebody wanted to play baseball,’ you know what I mean?” Heath said. “All this because somebody was like no you can’t exclude me because of the color of my skin. You look at that and you’ve got to be a brave soul to stand up and kind of be the face of it and say, ‘I’m not going to allow this to happen to myself or my people ever again.’”
Realizing that depiction isn’t just fictional, but rather an account of actual events in this country at one point in time, is still somewhat “over my head,” Heath said.
“To grow up and realize it was real just makes me want to go out and lead by example so other African-American kids after me can say he went out there, he left it, he played, he was the best teammate he can be and he carried himself in the best way possible,” Heath said. “I want to be able to do that and show somebody behind me the same thing.”
The remarkable poise and character Robinson showed on a daily basis doesn’t overshadow how skilled he was as a player. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues before being signed by the Dodgers.
Robinson’s resume includes a National League Rookie of the Year award in 1947, a batting title and NL MVP award in 1949, six All-Star Game appearances, a career slash line of .311/.409/.474 and being able to say he stole home 19 times during the regular season and once in the World Series.
“He was a spark plug,” Heath said. “You look at all these videos and see all these different things and hear all these different stories about how crafty he was, how creative he was. You always see him stealing home or stealing second, stealing third.
“You’re looking at this guy like, I mean, he could ball! Why would you not just let him play. Even if it was an issue, let that man go out there and show his talent off. I think that’s probably where some of the hate probably came from. They saw somebody they didn’t like doing what they can do and probably doing it a little bit better from time to time.”
