In The Spotlight

In this spotlight we feature Frank Robinson. He played from 1956 to 1976, so some of you under 40 may have never heard of Frank Robinson or don’t know much about him. I wanted to see where Frank ranked in baseball history. I looked up three 100 greatest baseball player lists and Frank was 18th, 22nd an 24th.  He probably wouldn’t have won a popularity contest. His teammate Brooks Robinson (no relation) was quoted as saying “Frank was not out to make friends, but to knock someone on his tail.”

Robinson played in an era before free agency, but was able to have successful playing careers with two teams: the Cincinnati Reds (1956–1965) and the Baltimore Orioles (1966–1971).

The last five years of his career were spent with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1972), California Angels (1973–1974) and Cleveland Indians (1974 - 1976). He is the only player to be named Most Valuable Player in both leagues, in 1961 with the Reds and again in 1966 with the Orioles.

The last five years of his career were spent with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1972), California Angels (1973–1974) and Cleveland Indians (1974 - 1976).

He is the only player to be named Most Valuable Player in both leagues, in 1961 with the Reds and again in 1966 with the Orioles.

In his rookie year, 1956, he tied the record of 38 home runs by a rookie as a member of the Cincinnati Reds and was named Rookie of the Year. His best of many seasons with the Reds was 1961, when the Reds won the pennant and Robinson won his first MVP award. The Reds lost the 1961 World Series to the Yankees.

Bone-Head Move of the Century – Prior to the 1966 season, Reds owner Bill DeWitt sent Robinson to Baltimore in exchange for pitcher Milt Pappas, pitcher Jack Baldschun and outfielder Dick Simpson. The trade is now considered among the most lopsided deals in baseball history. It forever tarnished Dewitt’s legacy, and outrage over the deal made it difficult for Pappas to adjust to pitching in Cincinnati (he was traded after three seasons). DeWitt defended the deal to skeptical Reds fans by claiming that Robinson was “an old 30.” Meanwhile, in Robinson’s first year in Baltimore, he won the Triple Crown, leading the American League with a .316 batting average, 49 home runs and 122 runs batted in. On May 8, 1966, Robinson became the only player ever to hit a home run completely out of Memorial Stadium. Afterwards, until the Orioles’ move to Camden Yards in 1991, a flag labeled “HERE” was flown at the spot where the ball left the stadium.

To put winning the Triple Crown in perspective, there have been only 13 Triple Crown winners by 12 players (Ted Williams won twice) in the history of major league baseball. The last time someone won a triple was in 1967  by Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox.

The Orioles won the 1966 World Series, something Robinson’s Reds had never accomplished, and Robinson was named the Series MVP. In the Orioles’ four-game sweep of the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers,  Robinson hit two home runs—in Game One, which Baltimore won 5-2, and in Game Four, the only run of the game in a 1-0 Series-clinching victory. Both home runs were hit off Don Drysdale.

His career totals include a .294 batting average, 586 home runs, 1812 runs batted in, and 2,943 hits in 2808 games played. At his retirement, his 586 career home runs were the fourth-best in history. Since then he has moved down to seventh. However, Alex Rodriguez is only one HR from tying Frank, so it’s safe bet to say that he will drop to eight. Then there are only two active players with a legitimate shot of passing Frank, Jim Thome (568) and Manny Ramirez (548). After that I think there is only one active who can top 586, and that is Albert Pujols (373). If continues at his current pace he should be there in five to six years.

In 1975, the Cleveland Indians named him player-manager, giving him distinction of being the first black manager in the Majors. His managing career would go on to include Cleveland (1975–1977), San Francisco Giants (1981–1984), Baltimore Orioles (1988–1991) and Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals (2002–2006). He was awarded the American League Manager of the Year Award in 1989 for leading the Baltimore Orioles to an 87–75 record, a turnaround from their previous season in which they went 54–107. After spending some years in Major League Baseball as the Director of Discipline, MLB offered Robinson the chance to manage the Expos.

Ty Cobb

In 1936 the first class is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. You may have heard of some of these players: Ty Cobb, the 11-time American League batting champion, led all vote getters with 98.2%. He was followed by home run king Babe Ruth and ex-Pirates shortstop Honus Wagner at 95.1% apiece. A pair of pitchers joined them in Cooperstown: Christy Mathewson (90.7%) and Walter “Big Train” Johnson (83.6%)

Walter Johnson

Honus Wagner

Christy Mathewson