“Broke the Barrier For All of Us”: MLB Legend Alex Rodriguez Reveals His Dream Dinner Date

There is no shortage of names that the baseball world can call legends. From universally recognized players to lesser-known entities, talented players are all around. Major League Baseball has seen the rise and fall of some iconic athletes over the decades. Some fans have been lucky enough to watch them play in the same era. In recent decades, one of the biggest names in baseball has been Alex Rodriguez.

Naturally, most future players grow up watching athletes of the time. But some names become so embedded in the history of the sport that everyone knows them, regardless of the era they’re playing in. Babe Ruth, certainly, is one of them. But another popular name is Jackie Robinson, of whom Rodriguez is a fan.

Alex Rodriguez would like to have dinner with Jackie Robinson

Everyone knows those rapid-fire questions that celebrities often get asked. Who is your favorite in the field? What’s the best piece of advice you have ever gotten? Who would you like to have dinner with, dead or alive? And when A-Rod was asked that last question, his answer was the legendary Jackie Robinson.

For the unversed, Robinson broke the color barrier on April 15th, 1947, when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers (now based in Los Angeles). As the first player to go from the Negro Leagues to MLB, the late ballplayer is iconic. So naturally, Rodriguez was inspired.

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“I would say, Jackie Robinson, ‘cause Jackie was a four-sport athlete at UCLA and he was actually the first African-American,” the former Yankee told Harry Stebbings in an interview. “So in many ways, he broke the barrier for all of us and I would be curious – what courage it took for him to play baseball at such a high level, be a champion and deal with so much hate.” But it’s not just Robinson, A-Rod once named another baseball great for an ideal dinner date!

Rodriguez commemorated Jackie Robinson Day in a special way

Major League Baseball celebrates a day dedicated to the Dodgers legend on the day he played his first game with them – April 15th. On that day annually, every single player in the league wears the number 42 on his back, regardless of the actual jersey number or team. When he played, A-Rod did that too.

Now that he’s retired, the former shortstop still took the time to honor Robinson by sharing an old picture of himself and former teammate Derek Jeter in jersey #42. The two teammates both hold the legendary player in high regard; having African-American ancestry themselves is just a part of it.

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If given the chance, which player would YOU like to sit down for dinner with? Tell us in the comments below!