BOSTON — Four people, four different perceptions of Jackie Robinson:

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Alex Cora is reminded every time he steps onto the baseball diamond just how much he owes to Jackie Robinson.

No matter where the Boston Red Sox are playing, the No. 42 is prominently displayed somewhere. Every team has retired the number, honoring the man who shattered the color barrier 60 years ago when he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Today, on the 60th anniversary of his breaking of baseball’s color line when he made his major-league debut, he’ll be honored again. Players throughout baseball will wear No. 42 in remembrance of his extraordinary accomplishments, on and off the field. In Boston, David Ortiz, Coco Crisp and third-base coach DeMarlo Hale will wear the number.

“It’s a great thing,” said Cora. “What he represents, not only for African-Americans but for baseball in general, is huge. Retiring the number” — major-league baseball made the decision to retire the number across the sport in 1997, on the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s debut — “was great, but doing what they’re doing [today] is very special.”

Cora grew up in Puerto Rico, where Roberto Clemente was the national hero. When he broke into the major leagues with Los Angeles, however, he realized he had more in common with Robinson than he thought.

When Cora played for the Dodgers he worked closely with Robinson’s daughter, Sharon, to promote literacy in the L.A. area.

“I’m very proud of that,” said Cora. “Just to be part of it was special. Being a minority, I [talked] about how lucky I was to go to college and explain to kids that there are different ways to be a professional. Jackie went to school and that’s something they’re trying to get across to the kids. It’s not only about baseball, it’s about education.

“He wasn’t only a productive baseball player, he was a great person,” added Cora. “To go through everything he did, we can’t even think … we don’t even have an idea of what he went through. Just to be able to do it you have to be a strong person, and he did it because he went to school.”

Cora kept his community service work in L.A. quiet and he said yesterday this was the first time in a while he had discussed working with Sharon Robinson.

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CRISP, ON THE OTHER HAND, chose his words carefully when asked about the impact Robinson had on his career.

“Jackie, obviously, paved the way, not just for African-Americans, but all minorities in the game,” said Crisp. “Without him going through all the different adversities he had to deal with we wouldn’t be here today. He had the personality to deal with that stuff, all the comments and racism.

“As a little kid I had no clue [about Robinson],” Crisp said. “I was just going out and playing baseball. Then as you get older you learn more about the game and learn more stories about him.”

If Crisp reaches third base with less than two outs today, fans may want to pay a little more attention to the base runner 90 feet from home plate.

One of the most memorable moments of Robinson’s career was when he stole home plate during the 1955 World Series against the New York Yankees. Crisp said yesterday that it would make today even more special if someone wearing No. 42 attempted to steal home.

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BECAUSE HE’S NOT A CURRENT PLAYER, Hale has mixed feelings about wearing the number. But he spoke with Red Sox manager Terry Francona and decided it was the right thing to do.

“We’re trying to be respectful of everybody,” said Francona. “I get a little torn because I want to make sure we’re respectful and the players are respectful. I don’t want it to get lost in all the celebration of Jackie Robinson, which he deserves.

“It’s somewhat of an embarrassment day, also. It’s a little bit of a shame that we have to have this day because 60 years ago, the color of somebody’s skin [meant] they weren’t treated the same. To me, that’s humiliating, and I hope that message doesn’t get lost, either.”

Francona was very candid in his discussion of race relations, saying he can’t imagine what it must have been like for African-American athletes 60 years ago.

“I can’t,” he said. “And I’m thankful for my parents. [It wasn’t until] I got out of the house did I realize that wasn’t really how the world worked completely. I don’t ever remember thinking twice, because it wasn’t part of my growing up. Then you get out in the real world and you see how it is different, so I’m grateful for my parents I was raised that way.”

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FORMER RED SOX OUTFIELDER JIM RICE was part of the Pawtucket Red Sox home-opener celebrations on Friday night and he wore a 50th anniversary Jackie Robinson leather jacket. It was given to him by Mo Vaughn 10 years ago and is one of only 250 jackets made. Rice owns jacket No. 14 and Vaughn has No. 42, representing their respective jersey numbers when they played.

Rice was asked what he thought of MLB honoring Robinson once again.

“They recognize the color barrier and they recognize the things he did for baseball,” said Rice. “Not just for African-Americans, but for baseball. You have to look at the talent Jackie played with and against and maybe Jackie probably wasn’t the best African-American ballplayer. If you go back and look at the history, there were a lot of guys in the same category, but Jackie was chosen; that’s just the way things happened.

“What Major League Baseball is doing right now, has done and continues doing is outstanding.”

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WHEN CORA STEPS ON TO THE FIELD today, tomorrow and in the future he will always be reminded of the past. Jackie Robinson transcended race and color and will never be forgotten. Major League Baseball is making sure of that.

“Every time you look at his retired number you think about it every day,” said Cora. “Seeing that number up in every stadium is great.”

jmcdonal@projo.com