MBTI Type: ISTP

Jackie has played ball enough times to understand “how” it works, and to be able to skillfully adapt to any field, any team, and on any turf, because he simply adapts to new challenges and environments, such as learning how to use a new glove and play in a new position. He is often lost in his head, and disinterested in other people, because he is thinking about why he is doing this (to earn money, and to break the color barrier). He is a risk-taker within the game itself, who likes to steal bases (that has the added benefit of throwing off the pitcher). His wife says of him that he is “thick-skinned,” because he doesn’t care what others think of him, “only who I know I am.” He is able to keep his temper, because he remembers what he is doing this for – a lot of money, plus breaking the color barrier. His boss convinces him that it is better to be a man “strong enough” to stand up for himself who won’t, if it is for a greater cause. Jackie is a “super-human” ball player because of his extraordinary reflexes and adaptability. When during spring training, they want him to play a different base, Jackie soon picks it up and adjusts to the larger glove. When looking upon his newborn child, Jackie shares a story about how his father was not there for him growing up, but “I am going to be here for you, every day until I die.” His low Ni misreads some situations (instead of thinking himself in danger when he’s woken in the middle of the night and shuffled off somewhere else, Jackie says, “Shoot, I thought you were going to tell me I was cut from the team!”). His inferior Fe shows, though. He’s unaware of the need for “small talk” and shows no interest in befriending his journalist tag-along (just in getting a ride back and forth). Jackie is able to withstand the racism and persecution aimed his way at becoming the first black man in “a white man’s game” on an all-white team, because he has a strong conviction of who he is, what he stands for, and what he intends to be, including “being there for my family… in a way my father never was.” He also says, “I don’t think it matters what I believe; only what I do.” When a gas station attendant tells him he cannot use the bathroom, Jackie tells them to stop filling up their gas tank – “We’ll buy our 99 gallons of gas somewhere else.” When a journalist asks him if he’s pushing an agenda on the field, and if not, what are you doing this for? Jackie fires off, “To get paid.” Jackie often cannot ignore the taunts of the audience, since they affect him.

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Jackie is explosive and temperamental, often hot-headed and assertive; when a teammate blames him for them not being allowed to stay in a hotel, he demands to know what the man meant by that and challenges him to a fight. He has a reputation for losing his temper over racial segregation and slurs, which cause others to be apprehensive about whether or not he can “control himself” on the field. Jackie is able to do this, in support of something far greater than himself – he admits it is hard, but that he is “living a sermon out there” (of turning the other cheek). But he breaks bats on walls and screams out of the public eye. He has a strong desire to participate in life and avoid thinking about his faults.