{"id":729947,"date":"2026-04-15T15:07:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/729947\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T15:07:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:07:13","slug":"jackie-robinson-days-joy-and-weight-plus-roki-sasakis-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/729947\/","title":{"rendered":"Jackie Robinson Day\u2019s joy and weight, plus Roki Sasaki\u2019s struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The Windup Newsletter<\/strong> \u26be | This is The Athletic\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5903586\/2024\/11\/07\/mlb-offseason-teams-needs\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MLB<\/a> newsletter. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/newsletters\/the-windup\/?source=pulsenewsletter&amp;campaign=9178780&amp;userId=10748855\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Windup directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s Jackie Robinson Day. Plus: Andy McCullough answers your questions about Roki Sasaki, I answer my own question about injuries and here\u2019s your reminder to file your taxes today. (If you\u2019re an MLB player, I suggest starting weeks\u00a0ago.) I\u2019m Levi Weaver \u2014 welcome to The Windup!<\/p>\n<p>Contrast: Jackie Robinson Day 2026<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no singularly correct way to honor Jackie Robinson Day, I think. Some feelings are celebratory. Others are heavy. An honest accounting of history surely requires both.<\/p>\n<p>Robinson took a huge step in a movement toward equality. Maybe his 1947 MLB debut wasn\u2019t\u00a0the\u00a0reason that Brown vs. Board of Education (1951) or the Civil Rights Act (1964) came to be, but he certainly helped shift public opinion. That\u2019s worth celebrating.<\/p>\n<p>There is also the knowledge of why those things were necessary, why they\u2019re\u00a0still\u00a0necessary. Ignore that, and the celebration can become\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=uwvAgDCOdU4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">hollow and commodified<\/a>. Opponents of equality become cartoon movie villains, so one-dimensional that we can\u2019t imagine knowing anyone like that.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Celebration: A statue of Robinson stands at Dodger Stadium, erected in 2017.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stealing_Home_(statue)#:~:text=Stealing%20Home:%20The%20Point%20of,first%20African%20American%20to%20play\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">It\u2019s\u00a0really\u00a0cool<\/a>. The full name of the statue is \u201cStealing Home: The Point of No Return.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Heaviness: Today, Sam Blum has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7197558\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">an in-depth story<\/a>\u00a0about the statue the Texas Rangers are displaying at Globe Life Field. Its model was a law enforcement officer who was once dispatched to ensure that a nearby high school would remain segregated. That was in 1957, a year after Robinson retired.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I can\u2019t ignore that, especially today. But I\u2019ll use it to measure the distance we\u2019ve come and how far we still have to go. And then I will allow the celebration to remind me which direction to keep moving: forward.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you, Jackie.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\ud83d\udcdd McCullough\u2019s Mailbag: What\u2019s up with Sasaki?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Welcome back to our weekly check-in with Andy McCullough\u2019s mailbag. This answer has been edited a bit for length, but you can\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7195430\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">read everything here<\/a>.<br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you think the biggest issue with Roki Sasaki has been? And how would you go about fixing him so that he can go back to being the Monster of the Reiwa Era?<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Tae K.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll answer the second part of the question first: If I knew how to fix Sasaki, I probably wouldn\u2019t still be working in journalism. Because the problem that ails him is one that has vexed baseball people since time immemorial: He does not throw enough strikes. I know this seems like an overly simplistic answer, but it is true. Sasaki has walked 10 of the 63 batters he has faced this season, a rate of 6.9 per nine innings that is simply unsustainable. He failed to get past the fourth inning in two of those outings. Almost all of his at-bats are lengthy affairs. He doesn\u2019t throw enough first-pitch strikes and he doesn\u2019t put batters away quickly.<\/p>\n<p>His outing against Texas on Sunday demonstrated the limitations of his current ability. Sasaki allowed a pair of hits and issued a pair of walks in the first two frames but emerged unscathed. He was less fortunate in the third. The Rangers laid off his splitter and dared him to throw effective strikes with his fastball. Sasaki could not. He gave up two runs in an inning that could have been a lot worse, and left after the fourth.<\/p>\n<p>I think it is worth noting that although Sasaki is only 24, he has not pitched like the Monster of Reiwa Era for quite a while. Back in 2023, a scout with plenty of experience in the Japanese market told me Sasaki had \u201cthe best fastball you will ever see in your life.\u201d Sasaki\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PitchingNinja\/status\/1637955347628404736\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">could touch 102 mph<\/a>\u00a0with plenty of movement. But his path to the majors was not a straight line. In 2024, Sasaki\u2019s final season with the Chiba Lotte Marines, I spoke to multiple MLB executives who wondered if he would end up as a reliever.<\/p>\n<p>And if you think about him that way, as a 24-year-old pitching prospect rather than a former phenom, what he\u2019s going through is fairly common. He injured his shoulder last season and his fastball velocity dipped to 96 mph. The heater is sitting at 97 mph, which is plenty of speed, if you can command it. Sasaki, as we have seen, cannot command it. He has recently incorporated a slider, but he is primarily a two-pitch guy. He pairs his fastball with a splitter. The splitter can be nasty. But if you can identify it out of his hand, or if he is tipping it, good teams will lay off and force Sasaki to beat them in the zone with fastballs. He hasn\u2019t been able to do that at an efficient rate, and he hasn\u2019t been able to do that since he came to America.<\/p>\n<p>The lone bit of success Sasaki has experienced as a Dodger occurred last October, when the team used him\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6682628\/2025\/10\/02\/dodgers-mlb-roki-sasaki-postseason\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">as a reliever<\/a>. When we conducted our Aces Project this past spring, Sasaki did not crack the top 50, but we did receive a bevy of intriguing responses. \u201cNothing about him wows me,\u201d one executive said. Another evaluator described him as \u201cfar from polished.\u201d Several of our panelists suggested the bullpen might be in his future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Numbers: Who\u2019s the most injured team?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It seems like every day this season, we\u2019ve had a new story about an injured\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7197344\/2026\/04\/14\/astros-hunter-brown-injury-comments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">member of the Astros<\/a>\u00a0or Blue Jays. Today, we got bad news about\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7196762\/2026\/04\/14\/brewers-christian-yelich-groin-strain-jackson-chourio-return\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Christian Yelich and Jackson Chourio<\/a>\u00a0in Milwaukee, and there\u2019s a reason the Padres and Cubs are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7196514\/2026\/04\/14\/cubs-padres-lucas-giolito-interest\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">rumored to be interested in Lucas Giolito<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It made me wonder: Which team has had the worst injury luck this year? So I went through all 30 rosters, and here are your answers:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>Five most injured teams<\/strong>:<br \/>1. Baltimore Orioles (13 players)<br \/>T2. Houston Astros (12)<br \/>T2. Los Angeles Dodgers (12)<br \/>4. Arizona Diamondbacks (11)<br \/>T5. Three teams (Blue Jays, Padres, Cubs, 10)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I knew the O\u2019s were banged up, but just didn\u2019t realize it was\u00a0that bad.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, all injuries are not the same. For instance,\u00a0<strong>the DBacks have the most players on the 60-day IL (seven)<\/strong>, with the Orioles coming in second at six, and the Dodgers, Braves, Tigers and Giants tied with five players each.<\/p>\n<p>Also, I was curious who was healthiest, so here\u2019s that list:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>Five healthiest teams<\/strong>:<br \/>T-1. Guardians (two players, none on 60-day IL)<br \/>T-1. Pirates (two, one on 60-day)<br \/>T-1. Athletics (two, same as Pirates)<br \/>4. Phillies (three, none on 60-day)<br \/>5. Cardinals (three, one on 60-day)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Ugh: It\u2019s also Tax Day 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Happy \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/inside-turbotax-20-year-fight-to-stop-americans-from-filing-their-taxes-for-free\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Lobbying Still Works<\/a>\u201d day to all who celebrate.<\/p>\n<p>But hey: It could be worse? See, while you or I might be able to hop online for a few hours and be done with it,\u00a0<strong>professional athletes have to account for money they make in each city and state they play in<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>As\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7196780\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Stephen Nesbitt explains<\/a>, it leads to a byzantine labyrinth of tax forms. Not that players would be doing their own taxes from a visiting clubhouse or hotel room anyway, but this level of complexity ensures that they\u00a0definitely\u00a0don\u2019t do that.<\/p>\n<p>Taxes also explain why so many big-leaguers live in Texas, Tennessee and Florida during the offseason. It\u2019s not just the warm weather; those are three of the nine states with no state income tax. (The other six are in markedly colder climates: Washington, Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota, New Hampshire and Alaska.)<\/p>\n<p>And while we\u2019re at it, Arizona \u2014 another baseball hub \u2014 is one of two states (North Dakota is the other) with the second-lowest rate, at 2.5 percent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Handshakes and High Fives<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Last night, Kenley Jansen recorded his 479th save. That puts him third all-time, and he has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7197800\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">a lot of perspective<\/a>\u00a0on what has kept him around this long.<\/p>\n<p>A quick correction: In yesterday\u2019s Windup, I accidentally said that O\u2019s manager Craig Albernaz was hit in the face with a foul ball at the Diamondbacks-Yankees game. Clearly, that was meant to be DBacks-Orioles. An update on Albernaz: he has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7197126\/2026\/04\/14\/orioles-manager-craig-albernaz-fractures-cheek-jaw-foul-ball\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">seven fractures in his cheek and a broken jaw<\/a>. He is expected to miss \u2026 uhhh, zero games; he was back on the top step last night.<\/p>\n<p>Nationals shortstop C.J. Abrams looks great to start the season \u2026 again. Is this the year he\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7197752\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">keeps it up in the second half<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p>Unless you\u2019ve already seen this already, I guarantee you could take 200 tries and still never guess what former Phillies, Astros and Nationals closer Brad Lidge is doing as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.penn.museum\/blog\/major-league-archaeology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">a post-baseball career<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In Houston, Tatsuya Imai acknowledges that he\u2019s having\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7196880\/2026\/04\/14\/astros-tatsuya-imai-injury-adjustment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">a difficult time adjusting to life in the U.S.<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 including when players eat dinner.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Gelb\u2019s story about Vince Velasquez, who is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7194921\/2026\/04\/14\/vince-velasquez-phillies-16-strikeout-game-cubs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">still in the minor leagues<\/a>\u00a0with the Cubs at 33, is so good.<\/p>\n<p>If it seems like Ben Rice is in a platoon situation, Yankees manager Aaron Boone has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7196965\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">two words for you<\/a>\u00a0\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2026 which are\u00a0not\u00a0the same two words implied by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7197771\/2026\/04\/14\/red-sox-jarren-duran-obscene-gesture-minnesota\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Jarren Duran\u2019s gesture<\/a>\u00a0to a fan last night. If Duran\u2019s explanation is true, the fan deserved worse.<\/p>\n<p><strong>On the pods:<\/strong>\u00a0Over on Slate, after 17 years,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/podcasts\/hang-up-and-listen\/2026\/04\/the-final-episode-of-hang-up-and-listen-with-sports-predictions-from-john-wertheim-louisa-thomas-jeff-passan-and-more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Hang Up and Listen signs off<\/a>\u00a0with some predictions about what\u2019s coming in sports in the\u00a0next\u00a017 years.<strong><br \/><\/strong><strong><br \/><\/strong><strong>Most-clicked in our last newsletter<\/strong>: Dave Winfield\u2019s list of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7192832\/2026\/04\/14\/dave-winfield-mlb-best-leaders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">three best leaders<\/a>\u00a0he met in the game of baseball.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udceb Love The Windup? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5803046\/2024\/09\/30\/the-athletic-newsletters-sign-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>Check out<\/strong><strong>\u00a0The Athletic<\/strong><strong>\u2019s other newsletters<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Windup Newsletter \u26be | This is The Athletic\u2019s MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":729948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1266,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-729947","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-mlb","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116409351986621802","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=729947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/729948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=729947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=729947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=729947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}