Listen, we know it's tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn't easy. It's okay, though, we're going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.
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Yeah, yeah, April 15 is tax day, but it’s also the day that Major League Baseball commemorates Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers back in 1947. Robinson only reached base thanks to an error that day, not picking up his first hit and walks until two days later, but his performance isn’t what matters about April 15: it’s that he was allowed to play the game at all. He wasn’t the first black player to ever play baseball in the National League, but he was the first since noted racist Cap Anson got his petulant way in the late 1880s, and thanks to Robinson’s efforts and perseverance, he wasn’t the last.
For 2015, the Civil Rights Game is being played on Jackie Robinson Day, and with the Dodgers serving as hosts for the first time. It’s a fitting backdrop for baseball’s annual celebration of civil rights, and while work remains in attracting black youth to the game -- Andrew McCutchen wrote a must-read piece on the subject for the Players’ Tribune earlier this year -- celebrating how far the game has come is worth our time. Just so long as Baseball doesn’t forget how much still needs to be done, anyway.
- It’s still only April, but we’ve already seen a few candidates for defensive play of the year, including this ridiculous running grab from the Rockies’ Nolan Arenado.
- Oh nothing just one of the Giants players hanging out playing Call of Duty with a cat that is roughly half his size.
- The Red Sox signed one of the creators of the Ice Bucket Challenge to an honorary contract before their home opener at Fenway Park.
- Speaking of the Red Sox, their $31.5 million prospect, Yoan Moncada, hit a triple in his first at-bat of extended spring training. Yes, you can watch it happen on video, thanks to the one sportswriter who showed up to see the game.
- There is a proper way to worry about the 2015 Giants, and there is a wrong way. Let us explain the differences to you.
- Pablo Sandoval straight up tried to punch a guy in the beans to break up a double play attempt. Bad Panda!
- These are the four lessons every team can learn from the career of LaTroy Hawkins.
- Mets third baseman and handsome franchise cornerstone David Wright left Tuesday’s game with a pulled hamstring, and he’s expected to land on the disabled list.
- Yasiel Puig is going to cut down on his bat flips because your dad who will never love him hates fun.
- You probably have a friend who still raves about MVP Baseball 2005 as the greatest baseball video game ever, but you might not know that the modding community is keeping the rosters, uniforms, and more up to date even today.
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