Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 - February 7, 2019), nicknamed "the Judge", was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for five teams over 21 seasons: the Cincinnati Reds (1956-1965), Baltimore Orioles (1966-1971), Los Angeles Dodgers (1972), California Angels (1973-1974), and Cleveland Indians (1974-1976). 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. In 1953, Bobby Mattick, a scout for the Cincinnati Reds, signed Robinson to a contract worth $3,500 ($41,134 in current dollar terms). 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 (RBI) 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.
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.
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 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. 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 (.366) and Willie Mays (.333). 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. Robinson was noted as a fiercely aggressive player. He spiked Johnny Logan in 1957, causing Logan to miss six weeks.
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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.
Triple Crown and World Series MVP
In Robinson's first year in Baltimore, he won the Triple Crown, leading the American League with a .316 batting average (then the lowest ever by a Triple Crown winner), a career high 49 home runs (the most ever by a right-handed Triple crown winner) 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 541 feet (165 m). 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 (which Baltimore won 5-2), and one in Game 4 (the only run of the game in a 1-0 series-clinching victory).
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 (such as one dollar per lady talked to during a game) 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. 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 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. 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.
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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.
First African-American Manager
On September 12, 1974, the Angels traded Robinson to the Cleveland Indians for Ken Suarez, cash and a player to be named later (Rusty Torres). 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. During a 21-year baseball career, he batted .294 with 586 home runs, 1,812 runs batted in, and 2,943 hits. At his retirement, his 586 career home runs were the fourth most in history (behind only the records of Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays). In his career, Robinson held several major league records. Robinson won the 1966 American League Triple Crown (.316 batting average, 49 home runs, 122 RBIs).
Robinson managed in the winter leagues late in his playing career. By the early 1970s, he had his heart set on becoming the first black manager in the majors; the Angels traded him to the Cleveland Indians midway through the 1974 season due to his open campaigning for the manager's job. He was appointed player-manager by the Indians on October 2, 1974, giving him the distinction of being the first black manager in the Majors. On April 8, 1975, Robinson made his debut as a player-manager; batting second as the designated hitter, he hit a home run (his 575th in his career) in the bottom of the 1st inning as the team prevailed 5-3 over the New York Yankees. Robinson had a rocky time in Cleveland, as general manager Phil Seghi generally liked to second guess his manager along with trying to push for him to play alongside managing (the result was that he played roughly 80 games as manager). Disagreements with players such as Gaylord Perry did not help matters (he went to the press saying he wanted to be paid a dollar more than Robinson's $173,500 salary). The Indians had a 79-80 record, and had an 81-78 record in 1976, their first winning record in eight years.
Robinson managed the San Francisco Giants from 1981 through 106 games of the 1984 season, when he was fired. He finished the 1984 season as the hitting coach for the Milwaukee Brewers on a contract worth $1. In 1985, he joined the Orioles' front office. On April 12, 1988, Robinson was named manager of the Orioles, replacing Cal Ripken Sr. Robinson was fired by the Orioles in May 1991. After he had spent some years known in baseball as the Director of Discipline, Robinson was chosen by Major League Baseball to manage the Montreal Expos in February 2002, which MLB owned at that time.
The Expos, who had losing records in the five previous seasons, finished the 2002 and 2003 seasons with 83-79 records. In a June 2005 Sports Illustrated poll of 450 MLB players, Robinson was selected as the worst manager in baseball, along with Buck Showalter, then manager of the Texas Rangers. During a game against the Houston Astros on May 25, 2006, Robinson pulled Nationals catcher Matt LeCroy during the middle of the seventh inning, violating an unwritten rule that managers do not remove position players in the middle of an inning. Instead, managers are supposed to discreetly switch position players in between innings. However, LeCroy, the third-string catcher, had allowed Astros baserunners to steal seven bases over seven innings and had committed two throwing errors. On September 30, 2006, the Nationals' management declined to renew Robinson's contract for the 2007 season, though they stated he was welcome to come to spring training in an unspecified role. Robinson, who wanted either a front office job or a consultancy, declined. On October 1, 2006, he managed his final game, a 6-2 loss to the Mets, and prior to the game addressed the fans at RFK Stadium. Robinson's record as a manager stood at 1,065 wins and 1,176 losses.
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In 1982, Robinson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a Baltimore Oriole. Robinson is also a charter member of the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame (along with Brooks Robinson), and a member of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, being inducted into both in 1978. He was named to the Washington Nationals Ring of Honor for his "significant contribution to the game of baseball in Washington, D.C." on May 9, 2015. He was inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in 2016. The Reds, Orioles, and Indians have retired his uniform number 20.
President George W. "Frank Robinson played the game of baseball with total integrity and steadfast determination. He won Most Valuable Player awards in both the National and American Leagues. He achieved the American League Triple Crown in 1966. His teams won five League titles and two World Series championships. In 1975, Frank Robinson broke the color barrier as baseball's first African-American manager, and he later won Manager of the Year awards in both the National and American Leagues. Robinson served as an assistant general manager for the Orioles through 1995 when he was fired. He worked for MLB as vice president of on-field operations from 1999 to 2002. In 2007 Robinson rejoined the MLB front office serving as a special advisor for baseball operations from 2007 to 2009. He then served as special assistant to Bud Selig from 2009 to 2010 and was named senior vice president for major league operations from 2010 to 2011.
While playing for the Reds in the late 1950s, Robinson attended Xavier University in Cincinnati during the off-season. While in Baltimore, he became active in the civil rights movement. He originally declined membership in the NAACP unless the organization promised not to make him do public appearances. On February 9, 1961, Robinson pulled a .25 caliber pistol during an argument in a Cincinnati restaurant.
Greatest Sports Legends- Frank Robinson
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