CLEVELAND (AP) -First came No. 42, and No. 14 wasn’t far behind.
Larry Doby, who followed Jackie Robinson across baseball’s color barrier as the AL’s first black player, will have his legacy honored when every member of the Cleveland Indians wears his number on Aug. 10.
Major League Baseball gave the Indians permission to wear Doby’s retired No. 14, a tribute similar to the one on April 15 when the Los Angeles Dodgers and players on teams in both league’s wore Robinson’s No. 42 to mark the 60th anniversary of his major league debut with Brooklyn.
“It’s something that definitely needed to be done,” Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia said Thursday following the Indians’ 8-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. “I don’t think a lot of people know anything about him (Doby), but he was definitely huge. You hear all about Jackie all the time, and people lose sight of the fact that Larry was the first black player in the American League.
“So he’s as much of an icon as Jackie is. Hopefully this will open up people’s eyes to what he did for the game.”
The Indians’ commemoration for Doby will take place during their three-game series opener against the New York Yankees, starting off Hall of Fame/Heritage Weekend at Jacobs Field.
Larry Doby Jr. will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Each jersey worn by the Indians players and coaches will be autographed and auctioned off by Cleveland Indians Charities to benefit the Larry Doby RBI Program as well as a baseball scholarship fund in his name at Cleveland State.
Sabathia wasn’t well versed on Doby’s story until watching a documentary on the center fielder, who played for the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League.
“I knew that he was a good man and worked hard,” Sabathia said. “I was just impressed by it, the things that he went through. He was a great player. He hit for power and things like that. But you kind of lose sight on what type of player he was. I don’t think a lot of people even know the type of player Jackie was because he was such a big icon for getting us in the major leagues.”
Doby’s number was retired by the Indians in 1994. He was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1998.
Doby became the AL’s first black player in 1947, making his major league debut on July 5, two days after he was signed by Indians owner Bill Veeck. He batted just .156 in 29 games that season, but the next year Doby hit .301 with 14 homers and 66 RBIs as Cleveland won the pennant and the World Series.
He batted a team-leading .318 in the series and homered off Boston Braves pitcher Johnny Sain in a Game 4 win.
In 1952, Doby, a center fielder, led the AL in home runs (32) and runs (104). Two years later, he led the league in homers (32) and RBIs (126) while helping the Indians reach the World Series, where they were swept by the New York Giants.
Doby was 79 when he died in 2003.
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AP freelance writer Joe Resnick in Anaheim, Calif., contributed to this story.
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