Talk:Jackie Robinson/GA1

GA Review

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Finally got around to reviewing this, sorry for the delay (RL stuff). Anyway, the article is in quite good shape, however I have a few issues:

• Is the career batting stats section necessary? I've never really seen the need for them.
  •  Done – I removed it. I looked at some baseball FAs and they don't have a section like that.Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 17:06, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
• "In 1920, his family who were sharecroppers moved to Pasadena, California after their father had left them. It feels run-on-ish, but i don't want an overcomma'd sentence. Reword if you can.
  •  Done – I changed it to "His family were sharecroppers and after their father left them in 1920 they moved to Pasadena, California."Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 17:06, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
• "There he played on various Muir Tech sport teams, and lettered in four of them: football, basketball, track, and baseball." Maybe I'm being anal but this seems like it needs a cite.
  •  Done – Found a ref.Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 17:06, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
• There's a lot of sentences that begin with "He". I don't mind it, but overuse of it as a sentence beginner is a little disappointing, as it makes the prose more bland.
  •  Done – I mixed up the use of Robinson, he, and his. He's referred to as Jackie a few times. I can change those to Robinson of use Jackie more to really mix it up. Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 17:06, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
• "Robinson lobbied successfully to be sent to officers' training school." needs cite.
  •  Done – Cited.Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 17:06, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
• The baseball section goes from 1946 to 1945, then back to 1946. I see what you were trying to do but it comes off confusing.
  • It's chronological now.
• Robinson was aghast: "Do you want a player afraid to fight back?" Rickey replied that he needed a Negro player "with the guts not to fight back." Quotes always need cites.
  •  Done – It was refed, but I duplicated it after each individual sentence. Keep the concerns coming. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 18:36, 25 October 2008 (UTC)

I'll finish reviewing the article tomorrow. (I'd do it now but it's late and my eyes are giving out.) Wizardman 04:00, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

Alright, here's some more stuff:

• "Most newspapers supported the move." Maybe a mention of some newspapers that supported and opposed it would give extra depth. If this can't be done it's no problem.
  •  Done – The reference doesn't mention any newpapers in particular.Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 17:06, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
• "He gave me a few words of encouragement." Quote needs cite (I assume it's the one right after, but just making sure.
  •  Done – It was that ref so I placed it right after the quote as well.Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 17:06, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
• "I thought it would take another war," Quote need cite.

•  Done – RyanCross (talk) 04:29, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

• There's not that much information on his playing career in comparison to the breaking of the color barrier. Probably not a big deal, but some extra information would be nice. I mean, only a few years are actually touched on.
• "By this point he had galvanized fan support to the point that a popular song, Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?, reached the national Billboard R&B chart" Citation needed.

•  Done – RyanCross (talk) 04:29, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

• "In 1952, he blasted the Yankees as a racist organization for not having broken the color line five years after his own crosstown debut." Citation needed.
  •  Done – I found a ref and made the sentence reflect it. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 18:17, 28 October 2008 (UTC)
• I'm thinking the Dodgers section should be split into two or three sections, as it's quite a few paragraphs.
  •  Done – I split it in half.Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 17:05, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
• "He was a truly outstanding baserunner." Could this be blended with the stealing home 19 times or his stolen base stats a bit more? Leaving that in and of itself feels POV-ish.
  •  Done – I removed that POV statement and added a bit more about his steals.Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 17:05, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
• "Robinson became a vice-president for the Chock Full O' Nuts corporation, and served on the board of the NAACP until 1967, when he resigned" Citation needed.

•  Done – RyanCross (talk) 04:29, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

Only have awards/recognition and JR day to go through. Wizardman 02:47, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. I'll get on it soon. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 03:49, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

One more thing:

• "In March 1984 President Ronald Reagan posthumously awarded Robinson the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Robinson is only the second baseball player to get the Congressional Gold Medal, with Roberto Clemente being the other baseball player to receive the medal.[66] On October 29, 2003, the United States Congress posthumously awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award the Congress can bestow." Either the sentences should be swapped a bit or I'm not reading it right.
  •  Done – I rearranged it to the correct order. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 16:22, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

That's pretty much everything. I'll put the article on hold and hopefully everything's satisfied. Wizardman 04:05, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, Wizardman. I've done a few, and I'll try to get to more later. Thanks for your help, Peregrine Fisher! Sorry I couldn't get to this earlier when this GA review started. – RyanCross (talk) 04:29, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

Thanks Ryan. I'm going to tackle what's left probably Wednesday morning. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 05:42, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

If I make the article comprehensive on his playing career, it's like getting ready for FA. I'm not quite ready for that, so I'd like to do the minimum. I wish I knew baseball better. I could just summarize his stats if I knew which were important. I'll try and find a source that makes it easy, but this may be quite a chore. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 21:47, 29 October 2008 (UTC)

I see what you mean. I'll look through it all again to see if it's satisfactory. Wizardman 22:51, 30 October 2008 (UTC)

I have to do a bit of copy editing, but I'm hoping the info I added is sufficient for GA. The next step, which I think would be almost all this article needs for FA, is to have a section for every season he played. Each season section would discuss JR's season and how it relates to the Dodgers that year, and how the Dodgers that year relate to the overall MLB that year. That's what it would take to really put his playing career in context. That's probably 20 more paragraphs, and 30 more references so I hope we can leave that for a FA run. The current info gives most of the important stats for JR, it just doesn't have a ton of context. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 23:43, 30 October 2008 (UTC)

I think it's ready. His career highlights are now covered, and there's at least some information on every season that he played. Check it out. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 16:22, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Wow. This article is definitely miles better then when I started the GA review. Went from an article I wasn't all that fond of to a very well-written article that I enjoyed looking through. At this time I will gladly pass the article, and hopefully I'll see it at FA soon. Wizardman 21:58, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Cool! Thanks a lot. My first GA. Hopefully heading towards my first FA. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs)