Jackie Robinson will be honored with a statue at Dodger Stadium

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Tuesday that in 2016, for the first time their stadium's history, they will erect a statue of a player. Fittingly, it's Jackie Robinson.

While statues are common at many MLB parks, Dodger Stadium was an outlier. There's not one player statue currently at the their ballpark. By comparison, the Chicago White Sox gave one to Paul Konerko during his final season.

So you can count this as a high honor for Robinson, the man who broke baseball's color barrier, has been immortalized in film and is remembered each season on April 15 when every player on every MLB team wears his No. 42.

Some further details on the statue from Jon Weisman of the in-house Dodgers Insider blog:

California-based sculptor Branly Cadet will create the Robinson statue, which will be followed in the future by other such pieces, according to Dodger president and CEO Stan Kasten.

“The Dodgers have a rich history of breaking barriers, and it all began with Jackie Robinson in 1947,” Kasten said. “Therefore, it is altogether fitting that our first statue at Dodger Stadium be of Jackie. The class that Jackie exhibited while still performing at the highest level made everything that has happened since not only in baseball, but in many respects throughout American society, possible. It is with great humility and joy that the Dodgers launch this project in concert with Rachel Robinson and the Jackie Robinson Foundation. We know Branly Cadet’s artistry will result in a tribute to Jackie that will resonate with Dodger fans for decades to come.”

Cadet studied figurative sculpture at the New York Academy of Art, Arts Student League, and the Vaugel Sculpture Studio and L’Ecole Albert Defois in France. Cadet won the prestigious James Wilbur Johnston National Figure Sculpture Competition and has completed several private and public commissions.

Now that the statues will be coming to Dodger Stadium, the obvious question is who's next? The Dodgers have many contenders — from Sandy Koufax to Tommy Lasorda — but with his retirement coming soon, Vin Scully seems like a logical choice.