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From the NBJHA: "Jackie Robinson is more often regarded as a historic figure, rather than a ballplayer... Jackie hit .311 in his career, and it was far from an empty .311; his secondary average was .357. He is never thought of as a great defensive second baseman, yet his fielding percentage is outstanding, his range numbers are very, very good, and his rate of DP/G is the third-best in baseball history... Jackie was a great baserunner; his stolen base totals aren't impressive, but if you read accounts of the 1947-1953 World Series, Robinson's baserunning exploits are all over the place."
On the issue of blacks in baseball today, I think it would be truly regrettable if blacks were being kept from MLB as they once were. However, no one is telling black kids today that they can't play baseball, or that they're not allowed to play in MLB. They have the choice to, whereas seventy years ago, they really didn't. I don't think there should be more blacks in baseball for the sake of having more blacks in baseball, as if fewer black baseball players meant that Robinson's sacrifice was for nothing. Robinson began the process of integrating MLB, and MLB today looks even more ethnically diverse than ever before.
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