Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson, nicknamed "the Judge", was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played for five teams over 21 seasons: the Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels, and Cleveland Indians. In 1975, Robinson became the first Black manager in big-league history, as the player-manager of the Indians.
The first player to be named Most Valuable Player of both the National League and the American League, Robinson was named the NL MVP after leading the Cincinnati Reds to the pennant in and was named the AL MVP in with the Baltimore Orioles after winning the Triple Crown; Robinson's 49 home runs that year tied for the most by any AL player between and, and stood as a franchise record for 30 years. He helped lead the Orioles to the first two World Series titles in franchise history in 1966 and 1970, and was named the Series MVP in 1966 after leading the Orioles to a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
A 14-time All-Star, Robinson batted.300 nine times, hit 30 home runs 11 times, and led his league in slugging four times and in runs scored three times. His 586 career home runs ranked fourth in major league history at the time of his retirement, and he ranked sixth in total bases and extra-base hits, eighth in games played, and ninth in runs scored. His 2,943 career hits are the most since by any player who fell short of the 3,000-hit mark. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1982.
After managing the Indians, Robinson went on to manage the San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, and Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals. For most of the last two decades of his life, Robinson served in various executive positions for Major League Baseball concluding his career as honorary president of the American League.
Early life
Robinson was born in Beaumont, Texas. He was the youngest of Ruth Shaw's ten children and the only child of her marriage to Frank Robinson. His parents divorced when he was an infant, and his mother moved with her children to Alameda, California, and then to the West Oakland neighborhood of nearby Oakland. He attended McClymonds High School in Oakland where he was a basketball teammate of Bill Russell. He was a baseball teammate of Vada Pinson and Curt Flood. He also played American Legion Baseball.Playing career
Minor leagues
In 1953, Bobby Mattick, a scout for the Cincinnati Reds, signed Robinson to a contract worth $3,500. He made his professional debut for the Ogden Reds of the Class C Pioneer League. He batted.348 with 17 home runs and 83 runs batted in in 72 games played. He was promoted to the Tulsa Oilers of the Class AA Texas League in 1954, but was demoted to the Columbia Reds of the Class A South Atlantic League. He returned to Columbia in 1955.Major Leagues
Cincinnati Redlegs / Reds (1956–1965)
Robinson made his major league debut on April 17, 1956 at the age of 20. After posting 11 consecutive losing seasons, the Reds surprised their opposition by jumping to first place at the mid-point of the 1956 season. Robinson led the team with 18 home runs at mid-season, earning him the role as starting left fielder for the National League in the 1956 All-Star Game. The Reds stayed in the pennant race until the last day of the season, ending up with a 91–63 record, two games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers.Robinson ended the 1956 season with a.290 batting average and 83 RBIs, and his 38 home runs tied the Major League Baseball record for home runs hit by a Rookie player previously set by Wally Berger in. His rookie home run record stood for 31 years when it was broken by Mark McGwire's 49 home runs in. His impressive power hitting display earned him the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
In 1957, the Reds were once again in first place at mid-season when, Robinson and six of his Redleg teammates—Ed Bailey, Johnny Temple, Don Hoak, Gus Bell, Wally Post and Roy McMillan—were voted into the National League starting lineup for the 1957 All-Star Game. An investigation launched by Commissioner Ford C. Frick found that the majority of the ballots cast had come from Cincinnati as the result of a ballot stuffing campaign by Reds fans.
Frick allowed Robinson to remain on the team while Bell and Post were replaced on the NL starting roster by outfielders Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Bell remained as a reserve player, but Post was removed from the roster altogether. Subsequently, Frick suspended fans' All-Star game voting rights until they were eventually restored in 1970. The Reds faltered after the All-Star break and dropped to fourth place in the season final standings.
Robinson earned the 1957 Associated Press National League Sophomore-of-the-Year award by improving his batting average to.322, tying him with Hank Aaron for third place in the 1957 NL batting championship race behind future Hall of Fame members Stan Musial and Willie Mays. He credited manager, Birdie Tebbetts for his performance saying, "He kept after me all year and that's what a young ball player needs." In 1958, Robinson would win the only Gold Glove Award of his career however, his batting average dropped to.269 as the Reds fell to last place in the National League, prompting Tebbetts to announce his resignation on August 14. In 1959, Robinson improved to a.311 batting average along with 36 home runs and 125 RBIs in 146 games. He also enjoyed a productive 1960, batting.297 with 31 home runs and 83 RBIs in 139 games. That year, Robinson led the major leagues in slugging percentage and on-base plus slugging, and also ranked first in the NL in hit by pitches.
In 1961, Robinson moved to right field and produced another strong offensive season. In July he batted.409, hit 13 home runs, and drove in 34 runs to win NL Player of the Month Award, and finished the season with a.323 batting average with 37 home runs and 124 RBIs in 153 games, helping to propel the Reds to the National League pennant. His performance earned him the 1961 National League Most Valuable Player Award. In the 1961 World Series against the New York Yankees, Robinson had a lackluster performance, producing only three hits as the Reds fell to the Yankees in five games.
Robinson hit a career-high.342 in 1962, just four points behind the NL batting champion, Tommy Davis. He also led the league in runs scored, doubles, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and on-base plus slugging. Robinson's season totals for runs scored, doubles, RBIs and on-base percentage were also career-highs.
Robinson was noted as a fiercely aggressive player. He spiked Johnny Logan in 1957, causing Logan to miss six weeks. In a game against the Milwaukee Braves on August 15, 1960, Robinson slid hard into third base, prompting a fistfight with Milwaukee's future Hall of Fame third baseman, Eddie Mathews.
Baltimore Orioles (1966–1971)
On December 9, 1965, Reds owner Bill DeWitt traded Robinson to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for pitcher Milt Pappas, pitcher Jack Baldschun, and outfielder Dick Simpson. The trade turned out to be very lopsided. DeWitt, who had a slew of successful trades including his time as general manager in Detroit and the early 1960s rebuilding the Reds, famously referred to Robinson as "not a young 30" after the trade. The Reds led the NL in offense in 1965 and needed pitching. Pappas, who was a consistent performer in Baltimore was a major disappointment in Cincinnati while Robinson had continued success in Baltimore. In Robinson's first year in Baltimore, he won the Triple Crown, leading the American League with a.316 batting average, a career high 49 home runs and 122 RBIs in 155 games. On May 8, 1966, Robinson became the only player ever to hit a home run completely out of Memorial Stadium. The shot came off of Luis Tiant in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians, and the home run measured. Until the Orioles' move to Camden Yards in 1992, a flag labeled "HERE" was flown at the spot where the ball left the stadium.The Orioles won the 1966 World Series, and Robinson was named World Series Most Valuable Player. In the Orioles' four-game sweep of the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, Robinson hit two home runs—one in Game 1, and one in Game 4. Robinson hit both home runs off of Don Drysdale.
During the 1969 season, Robinson brought some humor to the Orioles' clubhouse by presiding over their kangaroo court, held after every Oriole win. As the judge, he would hear arguments from both sides and give out fines for minor infractions and "awards", named after people notoriously bad at a certain skill and involving a prop the "winner" had to display until the next court session. For instance, Jim Palmer once won the John Mason Baserunning Award, a smelly, decrepit baseball cleat presented for baserunning gaffes. Palmer credited the kangaroo court for helping the Orioles bond as a team.
On June 26, 1970, Robinson hit back-to-back grand slams in the fifth and sixth innings in the Orioles' 12–2 victory over the Washington Senators. The same runners were on base both times: Dave McNally was on third base, Don Buford was on second, and Paul Blair was on first.
The Orioles won three consecutive American League pennants between 1969 and 1971. Before the 1969 World Series, Robinson said, "Bring on the Mets and Ron Gaspar!" He was told by his teammate Merv Rettenmund, "It's Rod, stupid." He then retorted by saying, "OK. Bring on Rod Stupid!" Baltimore won the 1970 World Series over the Reds.
Final years as a player (1972–1976)
Robinson was traded along with Pete Richert from the Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Doyle Alexander, Bob O'Brien, Sergio Robles and Royle Stillman at the Winter Meetings on December 2, 1971. When the 1972 Major League Baseball strike occurred, Robinson was one of three Dodgers out of thirty who voted against it. When the vote was announced, he said, "I don't believe in the strike, and I voted against it. But I was voted down, so now I'm on your side. I'm with you guys." The 1972 season was his first season in the National League since playing with the 1965 Reds. He played 103 games while compiling a.251 batting average, 59 RBIs, 86 hits, and 19 home runs. Teammate Tommy John said, "Frank didn't have a great year in 1972, but he played hard all year...He set a positive role model for the team."Robinson's only season with the Dodgers ended when he was dealt along with Bill Singer, Bobby Valentine, Billy Grabarkewitz and Mike Strahler to the California Angels for Andy Messersmith and Ken McMullen at the Winter Meetings on November 28, 1972. The transaction was the result of Robinson's request for regular playing time, something Dodgers general manager Al Campanis wanted for the team's younger prospects. It also reunited him with Angels general manager Harry Dalton who had worked in a similar capacity when both were with the Orioles. In his time with the Angels, he became their first designated hitter while also being teammates again with Vada Pinson. He played 147 games in 1973 and 129 in 1974. In his tenure with the Angels, he hit for a.259 average while posting 50 home runs, 249 hits, and 160 RBIs in 276 games.
On September 12, 1974, the Angels traded Robinson to the Cleveland Indians for Ken Suarez, cash and a player to be named later. Three weeks later, the Indians named him their manager and persuaded him to continue playing. In his first at-bat as a player/manager for Cleveland in 1975, he hit a home run off of Doc Medich of the Yankees. He injured his shoulder in 1975 and did not play often. He retired from playing after the 1976 season, after batting.226 with 14 home runs in 235 at-bats for Cleveland from 1974 through 1976. His final at-bat in the majors came against Baltimore on September 18, where he pinch-hit in the eighth inning and collected an RBI base hit in a 3–2 loss.