Quick Hit: Ground Broke on Jackie Robinson Museum

After ten long years of waiting thanks to the economy and our recent recession the ground has officially been broken in New York City at the future Jackie Robinson Museum landsite. In a ceremony last week Rachel Robinson, the wife and widow of the late Jackie Robinson, and their daughter Sharon Robinson broke ground on the project with Commissioner of Major League Baseball Rob Manfred.

The museum is set to be opened in the spring of 2019 and will be funded by the Jackie Robinson Foundation. The foundation has already raised about 23.5 million at the time of this writing and will look to raise $42 million in honor of the jersey number that Robinson wore during his playing days in the league.

You can donate to the cause online by visiting the Jackie Robinson Foundation’s website.

MLB, Diversity, a New Program and Rachael Robinson

Major League Baseball is one of the most diverse sports in the four major sports in North American with players of every ethnicity, color and shape playing while representing every corner of the globe. Rachel Robinson, the widow of the great Jackie Robinson, wants more diversity in the sport and Commissioner Rob Manfred is going to try and give it to her.

MLB has hired Tyrone Brooks from the Pittsburgh Pirates to be their senior director in their new front office and field staff diversity pipeline program. This new program is designed to increase the pool minority and female candidate for on-field and baseball operations positions around the league. Brooks will report directly to Chief Legal Officer Dan Halem after spending his time as the Pirates director of player personnel.

Renee Tirado was also hired by MLB to serve as a senior director of recruitment in the new program and will report directly to Steven Gonzalez, the senior vice president and deputy general counsel for labor and human resources for the league. Tirado recently left her job as head of diversity and inclusion at AIG before coming to work for Manfred and MLB.

Welcome both, do us proud.