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As a player, to me the Dodgers were the Yankees of the National League because... you either loved them or you hated them.

As I look out there and see the culture of baseball, a lot of blacks and Latins, it's given me a lot of joy to know that Jackie started that. If Jackie hadn't come in '47, me and Ron Santo wouldn't have played in Double-A and all those years in the big leagues.

I knew what the Dodgers uniform represented as a kid growing up in Brooklyn.

What I found fascinating was just how quickly the best of the young Negro League players were drafted into the major leagues once Branch Rickey broke the color line by hiring Jackie Robinson. It was clear that all of the major league owners already knew the talents of the black ballplayers that they had refused to let into their league.

I'm sure everyone knows that my heart is and always will be with the players, the fans and the entire Dodger family. I've cared about the Dodgers for nearly my entire life, and nothing can change my allegiance to this franchise.

After Jackie Robinson the most important black in baseball history is Reggie Jackson, I really mean that.

The Dodgers to me are the Yankees of the National League.

I had no future with the Dodgers, because I was too closely identified with Branch Rickey. After the club was taken over by Walter O'Malley, you couldn't even mention Mr. Rickey's name in front of him. I considered Mr. Rickey the greatest human being I had ever known.

I rooted for the Dodgers when they were in Brooklyn.

The old Dodgers were something special, but of my teammates overall, there was nobody like Pee Wee Reese for me.