# 42

Jackie Robinson broke a color barrier, and because of this, every major league player is wearing the # 42.
Bud Selig sees this as a way to honor a great man and to bring young black men back to the game. Bud Selig is a 74 year old white man.

The worst part of this promotion (and forcing every MLB team to retire the #42) is that it marginalizes every other player that had to deal with rampant racism while they were trying to hit a tiny ball going 90 mph. It is also a reminder that MLB owners used to hate African-Americans.

How many people know what Larry Doby had to deal with, or know of the racism that Clemente battled through? Baseball (and this country) used to be segregated in a way that most people can't even imagine, but focusing on one person marginalizes the contributions of everybody else.

Here's my point:
Having everybody wearing the same number looks dumb.