Mahalo to Glenn Mickens for graciously letting me come to his home and talk baseball.
For those of you who don’t know, Mickens enjoyed a brief career as a pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers. I repeat, the BROOKLYN Dodgers, not the L.A. Dodgers.
I recently interviewed Mickens for a feature for Jackie Robinson Day, which takes place Sunday.
Mickens and Robinson were teammates, and he was kind enough to share some of his stories about the man who broke baseball’s color barrier. So, be on the lookout for that story this weekend.
At Mickens’ home in Kauai’s East side, we had the interview in his office. Stepping through that door was like stepping through a baseball time capsule. Among the photos I saw were:
w a portrait of a young Mickens in his Brooklyn Dodgers uniform.
w a portrait of Mickens in the foreground of Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. And if I remember correctly, in that picture frame was also an old ticket to a game.
w a group photo of the Montreal Royals, a minor league affiliate of Brooklyn, in which Mickens was a part of. He quickly and very proudly pointed out that hall of famer Roberto Clemente was also in that photo.
w a poster of UCLA baseball hall of fame players, which included Robinson.
I’m pretty sure some of Mickens’ belongings should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. It was quite something to see.
Then as we’re talking, Mickens stands up and goes for a cupboard nearby. He reaches in and takes out a plastic bag with a couple of baseballs in it.
He takes one out, looks at it for a few seconds and hands it to me. I had to double-take looking at that ball because I was in such disbelief.
In my hand is a baseball signed by hall of famer Joe DiMaggio. Joe friggin’ DiMaggio.
You’ve heard of the guy, right? Great New York Yankee? Holds the record for the longest hitting streak? Was married to Marilyn Monroe?
This was the kind of thing that I only saw in pictures or on TV. Never in my life I’d think I would have the chance to hold in my hand something so historic.
Mickens, thank you. I’ll always be grateful for that. As a Giants fan, you’re the only Dodger I know that’s OK in my book.
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Nick Celario, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or ncelario@thegardenisland.com.
