Frank Robinson
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Frank Robinson (born August 31, 1935) was a Major League Baseball player and is currently the manager of the Washington Nationals. Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.
Robinson had a very successful career with five teams: Cincinnati Reds (1956 - 1965), Baltimore Orioles (1966 - 1971), Los Angeles Dodgers (1972), California Angels (1973 - 1974) and Cleveland Indians (1974 - 1976). He was a member of two teams that won the World Series, the 1966 and 1970 Baltimore Orioles. Robinson was given the World Series MVP Award in 1966. He was named Most Valuable Player twice, in 1961 with the Reds and again in 1966 with the Orioles, becoming the first player to win MVP awards in both leagues. In 1966 he hit for the Triple Crown, leading the American League with a .316 batting average, 49 home runs and 122 runs batted in. In 1966, he was honored with the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year.
Robinson's final career totals included a .294 average, 586 home runs, 1812 runs batted in, and 2808 games played.
Frank Robinson became the first black manager of a Major League Baseball team, when he was a player-manager with Cleveland in 1975. He managed the Cleveland Indians (1975 - 1977), San Francisco Giants (1981 - 1984), Baltimore Orioles (1988 - 1991) and Montreal Expos (2002 - 2004). When the Expos relocated to Washington, D.C. after the 2004 season, Robinson followed them there, becoming manager of the new Washington Nationals starting in 2005.
Robinson's managerial record coming in to 2002 is 680-751, a .475 record. He was awarded the American League Manager of the Year Award in 1989 for leading the Baltimore Orioles to an 87-75 record, a huge turnaround from their previous season in which they went 54-101. After spending some years in Major League Baseball as the Director of Discipline, MLB offered the former manager the chance to manage the Expos.
Robinson's style of managing is somewhat controversial. In 2005, the Montreal Gazette's Stephanie Myles reported that he had spent much time playing golf during his years in Montreal. The septugenarian sometimes spent 16 hour days between the course and the games at night. This practice came under heightened scrutiny in the American capital. In addition, he has occasionally been caught talking on a cell phone during his team's games. Also, some journalists have questioned his lack of use of statistics to determine pitching match-ups with his hitting line-ups. Robinson defended his style of managing by saying that he goes by his "gut feeling".
Except for 1972, when the Dodgers gave Robinson uniform 36, he wore uniform number 20 on all his teams.
In 1982, Frank Robinson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Robinson is also a member of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, being inducted in 1978.
External links
- Baseball Almanac (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=robinfr02)
- Baseball Hall of Fame (http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers%5Fand%5Fhonorees/hofer%5Fbios/robinson%5Ffrank.htm)
- Baseball History (http://www.baseballhistory.info/player2/Frank-Robinson.html)
- Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/R/Robinson_Frank.stm)
- The Baseball Page (http://www.thebaseballpage.com/past/pp/robinsonfrank/)
- Baseball-Reference.com (http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/robinfr02.shtml) - career statistics and managing recordes:Frank Robinson
Categories: Baseball Hall of Fame | Major league right fielders | 1956 National League All-Stars | 1957 National League All-Stars | 1959 National League All-Stars | 1961 National League All-Stars | 1962 National League All-Stars | 1965 National League All-Stars | 1966 American League All-Stars | 1967 American League All-Stars | 1969 American League All-Stars | 1970 American League All-Stars | 1971 American League All-Stars | 1974 American League All-Stars | Baltimore Orioles players | California Angels players | Cleveland Indians players | Cincinnati Reds players | Los Angeles Dodgers players | Baltimore Orioles managers | Cleveland Indians managers | Montreal Expos managers | San Francisco Giants managers | Washington Nationals managers | Baseball managers | 1935 births | African American athletes