With MLB celebrating Jackie Robinson Day on April 15 and players across baseball wearing 42 during games on that day, much of the celebration could be credited to Ken Griffey Jr. requesting to wear the number during his playing career. However, Griffey downplayed that impact, saying it is about Robinson, not him.
“The way I look at it, this is what we’re supposed to do,” Ken Griffey Jr. said, via Bryan Horowitz of MLB.com. “This isn’t a Ken Griffey thing. This is a baseball thing. I just happened to be the guy that brought it to everybody’s attention. But this is what baseball needed to do.”
Nike has a commemorative cleat for Jackie Robinson Day in 2025, and it is based on the Griffey 2 MCS model. There have been several Jackie Robinson Day cleats based on the Griffey model over the years. This year’s model features No. 42 in every MLB team’s font. Griffey detailed what was involved with making the design this year and in prior years.
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“Over the last few years, we’ve really sat down and said, let’s pick certain things that have happened,” Griffey said. “One year it was his military service, the other was the [Brooklyn] colorway. When he played for the UCLA Bruins, we had that colorway. … So it is not just one thing that we have. It’s a collection of amazing things that people really associate with Jackie Robinson.”
It is not a surprise that Griffey downplayed his role and put the focus on Robinson. The cleat idea is emblematic of every team coming together to celebrate Robinson. He also said that players like Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and Mickey Mantle should be celebrated, and that we should learn from them as well.
It will be a day filled with celebration and tributes to Robinson across Major League Baseball.
Ryan Bologna is an experienced sports writer covering the NFL, MLB, and NCAA Basketball for ClutchPoints. He studied journalism and communication at UConn, and has bylines at New York Sports Nation and the Greenwich Free Press.
