COMPTON, Calif. — Two high school teams proudly wore Jackie Robinson’s number 42 Saturday afternoon in Compton.
Players like Chris Petit, who has been playing baseball since he was 6 years old, wore the number 42.
“The baseball field is a place where I feel like it’s my home,” Petit said. “I mean, you get to take your anger out on the ball. It’s my peace zone.”
Petit is a senior on the King Drew High School team. His squad faced off against Centennial High on a field named after Robinson at Gonzales Park in Compton.
It’s all a part of the Dodgers celebration of the 75th anniversary of Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier.
It thrilled him to see Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, but for him, it was a privilege to continue the heritage of Robinson in baseball for people of color.
“It’s an honor just to be on this field,” said Petit. “I’ve been playing on this field all my life. So, to see the fact that it’s redone, and I was able to be a part of history, is a very big thing for me.”
He, nor his teammates, or any of the kids on the field were around when Rachel Robinson watched her husband change society.
Today, their son David Robinson told this generation about his father’s vision for change way back in 1947.
“I think Jackie Robinson would look at this field today and say we have moved that agenda and those ideals forward into 2022, with facilities such as this,” said David.