ONE OF A KIND
Hall of Famer, pioneering manager, Frank Robinson dies at 83
LOS ANGELES — Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, the first black manager in Major League Baseball, the final manager of the Montreal Expos and the only player to win the MVP award in both leagues, died Thursday. He was 83.
Robinson had recently been in hospice care at his home in Bel Air. MLB confirmed his death.
An MVP with Cincinnati and Baltimore, Robinson cemented his legacy when he became Cleveland’s manager in 1975. The Reds, Orioles and Indians retired his No. 20 and honoured him with statues at their stadiums.
Fearsome and fearless in the batter’s box, Robinson hit 586 home runs — he was fourth on the career list behind only Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays when he retired and now ranks 10th. He won the Triple Crown while leading the Orioles to their first World Series championship in 1966.
An all-star outfielder in 12 seasons and a first-ballot selection to Cooperstown, Robinson also was a rookie of the year and picked up a Gold Glove.
Robinson’s place in the game’s history extended far beyond his abundant playing skills.
While still active, Robinson fulfilled his quest to become the first black manager in the big leagues. In his first at-bat as a player-manager for Cleveland, he hit a home run.
Robinson also managed San Francisco, Baltimore and Montreal. He became the first manager of the Washington Nationals after the franchise moved from Montreal for the 2005 season — he also was in the Nationals’ Ring of Honor.
Robinson later spent several years working as an executive for MLB and for a time oversaw the annual Civil Rights Game. He advocated for more minorities throughout baseball and worked with former commissioner Bud Selig to develop the Selig Rule, directing teams to interview at least one minority candidate before hiring a new manager.
For all he did on and off the field, Robinson was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush in 2005.
Born Aug. 21, 1935, in Beaumont, Texas, Robinson attended McClymonds High School in Oakland, California, and was a basketball teammate of future NBA great Bill Russell.
Starting out in an era when Mays, Aaron, Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams were the big hitters, Robinson more than held his own over 21 seasons. He scored 1,829 runs and had a .389 on-base percentage. He played in the World Series five times, and homered in each of them.
Robinson played the game with grace, yet was known as fierce competitor who combined hard work with natural talent. He crowded the plate, yielding to no pitcher, and didn’t seem to care about being brushed back or getting hit by a pitch 198 times.
“Pitchers did me a favour when they knocked me down,” Robinson said. “It made me more determined. I wouldn’t let that pitcher get me out.”
And opposing pitchers noticed. “Frank Robinson might have been the best I ever saw at turning his anger into runs. He challenged you physically as soon as he stepped into the batter’s box, with half his body hanging over the plate,” Hall ace Bob Gibson once wrote.
Robinson was the 1961 NL MVP after batting .323 with 37 homers
and 124 RBIs for the pennantwinning Reds, and reached career highs in runs (134) and RBIs (136) in 1962.
In December 1965, Robinson was the centrepiece in what would ultimately be one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history, going to Baltimore for pitchers Milt Pappas and Jack Baldschun and outfielder Dick Simpson.
Robinson became an immediate hit with the Orioles in 1966 as the unanimous AL MVP. He batted .316 with 49 home runs and 122 RBIs during his first season in Birdland. He then homered in the first inning of the 1966 World Series opener at Dodger Stadium and capped off the four-game sweep of Los Angeles with another homer off Don Drysdale in a 1-0 win in Game 4.
Robinson hit two home runs against the Reds — of all clubs — in teaming with future Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson to win another crown for the Orioles in 1970.
Hired to guide the Indians in
1975, he made an immediate impact. Opening at home, and batting second as the designated hitter, Robinson hit a home run in the first inning as Cleveland beat the Yankees.
Robinson had coached for the Orioles and worked in their front office when he became their
manager in 1988 after the team opened at 0-6. Baltimore went on to lose its first 21 games and finished 54-107. The next season, the O’s went 87-75 and Robinson was voted AL Manager of the Year.
Tough and demanding, he went 1,065-1,176 overall as a big league manager.