After a tumultuous week that made Josh Bell take a long look at and have some candid conversations about the world outside of baseball’s bubble, the Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman found a way to focus on positives.

It started with celebrating the significance of the sacrifice Jackie Robinson made in breaking baseball’s color barrier when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Bell called it a “special time” to wear his retired No. 42 on MLB’s Jackie Robinson Day.

Today we join all of MLB in honoring the legacy of Jackie Robinson and his incredible impact on and off the field.#Jackie42 pic.twitter.com/uARJ6RwdMJ

— Pirates (@Pirates) August 28, 2020

“Jackie Robinson represented so much change in the game, change that you see right now across the league, change that you see across all sports,” Bell said. “I feel like, for us, for players, for Black athletes, we hope to see more change. We don’t know what it’s going to look like.

“I feel like Jackie didn’t know what it was going to look like. But he knew that he was going to have to take some backlash, and he did. I feel like a lot of the players right now are taking some backlash, but they are willing and able to take it full on. It’s exciting to hope for the change in the future and to see what the world looks like in the future.”

That helped Bell momentarily take his mind off the racial and social injustice issues that stopped the sports world this week. Athletes acoss multiple leagues sat out in reaction to a Black man, Jacob Blake, being shot seven times in the back by a Kenosha, Wis., police officer and a white teenager with an assault rifle shooting and killing two people at a Black Lives Matter protest in the same town.

“I know that these horrific acts aren’t going to be the last ones that are talked about, but, hopefully, one day, they will end,” Bell said.

“Hopefully, one day it will be the last one, things will change, and legislation will change and society will change as a whole to make life better for younger generations across the board. It’s definitely tough. I think it’s tough, but I guess one day I’ll look back on these times and be thankful.”

Bell said Pirates players discussed what to do Thursday but “we just felt like our hands were kind of tied in that moment” by how injuries and postponements because of covid-19 concerns have affected their schedule. The Pirates are in a stretch of playing 15 games in 13 days, including a pair of doubleheaders against NL Central opponents.

That hasn’t stopped Pirates players from using their platform. Outfielder Cole Tucker, who is biracial, appeared as a guest on MLB Network to serve as a voice on the issues.

“This week’s been kind of a bummer, but I’ve really been proud of how people around the league, guys around the world, people around the world have come together and done and said the right things,” Tucker said. “I’m happy to be a part of that.”

"I'm young but I have a platform to speak...so I am happy to be a voice on these issues."

? Watch as @cotuck joins @MLBNetwork: https://t.co/y8ahcoPAwr pic.twitter.com/BTT35Z5LlC

— Pirates (@Pirates) August 28, 2020

Pirates manager Derek Shelton chose to keep his conversations with Black players private, though he wanted them to know they had his support. On Opening Day, Shelton showed his support for former Pirates center fielder Jarrod Dyson by walking over and placing his hand on Dyson’s shoulder as he knelt during the national anthem.

“I think we have to be sensitive to everybody, involving any situation, especially with the way we are in the world today,” Shelton said. “We have to be extremely empathetic.”

What Bell wants more than a symbolic gesture is continued conversation and activism. He is one of 75 MLB players who donated his salary for games on Aug. 27-28 to The Players Alliance in its support effort “to combat racial inequality and aid the Black families and communities deeply affected in the wake of recent events.”

We cannot stand idly by and wait for change✊?

Join The Players Alliance in our movement: https://t.co/GF2xq96IZp pic.twitter.com/kwZCsLtXo5

— ThePlayersAlliance (@Player_Alliance) August 27, 2020

“I think it was just recognizing that we have to put our money where our mouth is,” Bell said. “I think this world is run by the dollar. We can say a lot, but it means a lot more if we can go out in communities and actively do. That’s just a sign of us doing. I know there’s going to be a lot more to come. Everybody with the Players Alliance is doing a great job this season. I’m excited to be a part of it in the future.”

For now, Bell is thankful to the MLB players he called “heroes,” such as Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dexter Fowler of the St. Louis Cardinals, for taking a prominent public stand by sitting out.

“I feel like there’s so much wrong in this world that can be righted,” Bell said. “It seems like, if nobody does anything, nothing is going to change. If Jackie Robinson never played, the game wouldn’t look the way that it looks right now. People are trying to do what they can. Especially today, Jackie Robinson is a hero for so many. And he was an enemy for so many, as well. …

“It was awesome to be able to see (athletes) were doing what they could to at least make a statement to try and push for that change, whatever it might be, to continue to push, to continue to acknowledge that we’re not where we can be as a nation, but we’re going to fight to get there. It’s not going to be easy. But it’s going to be worthwhile in the end.”

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