Hello all and Happy Thursday!
Jackie Robinson Day is always a special day throughout baseball and the Hartford Yard Goats, AA-affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, make it extra special. For example, in 2025, the Yard Goats invited Jackie Robinson’s grandson to the game. This season, the Goats did it again, welcoming Mo’ne Davis to throw out the first pitch and speak to the crowd, before the game with the Richmond Flying Squirrels.
Davis set the sports world ablaze at the 2014 Little League World Series, when she became the first female to win a LLWS game, pitching a shutout and gaining international attention. As one of the Yard Goats broadcasters, I had the chance to interview Mo’ne before the game, which you can access above.
Making the evening more exciting was the fact, Mo’ne’s catcher in the LLWS game was Scott Bandura, who now plays for the Flying Squirrels, the Giants AA affiliate. Mo’ne threw out the first pitch to Bandura, whose dad coached that LL team and was also in attendance. Trey Wilson, the “Voice of the Flying Squirrels,” did a great job of capturing the moment and juxtaposing the pictures on social media with the two, when they were LLWS teammates. The post has already received tens-of-thousands of views on X. Here it is:
All in all, it was a special night and Mo’ne, who spoke glowingly of Jackie Robinson in our interview, served as an inspiration to all of us.
As always, thank you for subscribing to the newsletter and I hope you enjoy the interview, as much as I enjoyed doing it.
DAN
