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Post by chiyankee on Feb 7, 2019 14:45:12 GMT -5
According to Jon Heyman, baseball legend, Frank Robinson has died.
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Post by pippsheadache on Feb 7, 2019 15:55:21 GMT -5
Frank Robinson is one of the greatest players I ever saw. He was the main reason the Orioles emerged as a powerhouse in the mid-1960s. One of the most intense and intelligent players of all time. It seemed like he never made a mistake on the field. The sportswriter Jim Murray said that Robinson played the game "with pure hate," and it seemed like it at times. The way he stood right over the plate with that defiant glare. A team leader, but also not above playing it funny -- for years he was the judge for Baltimore's "Kangaroo Court," donning a ridiculous wig and handing out fines to players who screwed up.
Saw him play many times in old Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. He was such a presence, you could feel it from the stands.
I wish you all could have seen him in his prime.
He actually played high school basketball with Bill Russell for a year in San Francisco. Two of the greatest team leaders of the last one hundred years.
The last guy you wanted to be facing in a tough situation. RIP Frank Robinson.
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Post by inger on Feb 7, 2019 18:52:15 GMT -5
Don McClean would call this...
The day
That baseball
Died...
Yep. Great competitor. Strongly defiant in the face of racism. Of course because he was an Oriole, I was obligated to hate him at the time. I recall him hovering over the plate. I used to joke that his legs were so long it looked like his ass was between his shoulder blades.
Traded to the Orioles by Reds GM Bill DeWitt, who called him an “old 30” fired Frank up and drove him to win the AL MVP courtesy of a triple crown in 1966. Injuries did take their toll over the next few seasons, but DeWitt would have been well-served to wait another couple of seasons at least before invoking the “better a year too early than a year too late” trade rhetoric toward Robinson...
I don’t think there could have been a better choice for the first black manager in the game’s history. A real playing manager who was still good enough to play the game, too.
Those that believe we are watching a golden age of baseball today can be forgiven for thinking so. They’re likely too young to have seen the stars of yesteryear...Every age of baseball has plenty of gold to pan out. F.Robby was some of the greatest gold of his time, and of every time...
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Post by pippsheadache on Feb 7, 2019 20:03:52 GMT -5
Don McClean would call this... The day That baseball Died... Yep. Great competitor. Strongly defiant in the face of racism. Of course because he was an Oriole, I was obligated to hate him at the time. I recall him hovering over the plate. I used to joke that his legs were so long it looked like his ass was between his shoulder blades. Traded to the Orioles by Reds GM Bill DeWitt, who called him an “old 30” fired Frank up and drove him to win the AL MVP courtesy of a triple crown in 1966. Injuries did take their toll over the next few seasons, but DeWitt would have been well-served to wait another couple of seasons at least before invoking the “better a year too early than a year too late” trade rhetoric toward Robinson... I don’t think there could have been a better choice for the first black manager in the game’s history. A real playing manager who was still good enough to play the game, too. Those that believe we are watching a golden age of baseball today can be forgiven for thinking so. They’re likely too young to have seen the stars of yesteryear...Every age of baseball has plenty of gold to pan out. F.Robby was some of the greatest gold of his time, and of every time... I thought you might chime in on this one, Inger. We have the same memories of him. Like you, I absolutely detested him -- as I detested Earl Weaver -- because as Oriole-hating Yankee fans in the 1960s and 1970s, their aggressive style, combined with their constant winning, made them very easy to dislike. But once the dust settled, we realized we had been at war with one of the great ones. Frank Robinson was a little bit overshadowed by near contemporaries like Mantle, Mays and Aaron. But he was right in that conversation, no doubt about it. Just as Jackie Robinson was the perfect guy to break the color barrier as a player, Frank was the perfect guy to break it as a manager. Forever one of the game's all-time greats. |
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Post by inger on Feb 7, 2019 20:27:29 GMT -5
I was just reflecting a bit on societal change. I remember the headlines and sports reports that baseball had hired the first black manager in the history of the game. Though I wasn’t alive when Jackie Robinson became baseball’s first black player, I’ve seen plenty of news reels and newspaper headlines reporting it.
I just heard a report on our local news and the reporter stated that Frank had been the first African-American manager. Somewhere these proud and strong black men got sucked into the racial-identity crisis and I suppose they are now correctly referred to as African-Americans, and I’m happy to oblige to keep the peace with all.
But for THESE men, and for all of the great black men and women of their much harsher times that fought the early battles of societal non-acceptance and the attitudes that prevailed in their times, I feel as though it somehow softens their existence and refuted the courage it took to be who they were. For those folks, I proudly feel they still “deserve” to be called black in a most positive and respectful manner. They carried the fight for the following generations to choose the identity they wanted, but didn’t own that right themselves in those times.
I also heard on that news report, and was reminded of Frank Robinson having purchased a home in a very white neighborhood in Baltimore. That was the kind of courage he had. Because I didn’t have the capacity to understand in those days I thought Frank was a bit of a racist himself. But he wasn’t. He was simply fighting for equality, and he took bruises from both races for buying that home. The blacks felt perhaps he felt he was “too good” to live with them, and whites in that neighborhood...the old “There goes the neighborhood” applied. All of this with the sting of the city’s race riots barely in the rear-view mirror...
It helps me to further understand the desire to not be called negro or black. Great people make great sacrifices and fight great battles. I hope today’s youth of color can appreciate how they got there. Great people...
I wish
I knew then
What I
Know now
When I
Was younger
Ooh-la-la
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Post by michcusejoe5 on Feb 8, 2019 11:50:08 GMT -5
A sad day...a true legend!
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Post by michcusejoe5 on Feb 8, 2019 11:52:03 GMT -5
I almost forget how incredible of a career Robinson had. 586 homers, 2 world series rings, rookie of the year, 2 MVPs, 12 time all star. 107.3 WAR...18th all time among position players.
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Post by inger on Feb 8, 2019 12:36:43 GMT -5
I almost forget how incredible of a career Robinson had. 586 homers, 2 world series rings, rookie of the year, 2 MVPs, 12 time all star. 107.3 WAR...18th all time among position players. And...when he was young he ran well, stole some bases, covered lots of ground in RF with a well-respected throwing arm. Needless to say, as was the style in those days of more aggressive play, he played with a chip on his shoulder and gave no ground on the bases, not at the outfield wall... |
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Post by michcusejoe5 on Feb 8, 2019 12:43:50 GMT -5
I almost forget how incredible of a career Robinson had. 586 homers, 2 world series rings, rookie of the year, 2 MVPs, 12 time all star. 107.3 WAR...18th all time among position players. And...when he was young he ran well, stole some bases, covered lots of ground in RF with a well-respected throwing arm. Needless to say, as was the style in those days of more aggressive play, he played with a chip on his shoulder and gave no ground on the bases, not at the outfield wall... Saw a pic of how close he would stand to the plate...holy wow. |
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Post by chiyankee on Feb 8, 2019 12:47:30 GMT -5
I almost forget how incredible of a career Robinson had. 586 homers, 2 world series rings, rookie of the year, 2 MVPs, 12 time all star. 107.3 WAR...18th all time among position players. For a long time, Robinson was 4th on the all time HR list, behind the holy trio of Aaron, Ruth and Mays. He might just be the most underrated great player of all time. |
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Post by michcusejoe5 on Feb 8, 2019 12:49:08 GMT -5
I almost forget how incredible of a career Robinson had. 586 homers, 2 world series rings, rookie of the year, 2 MVPs, 12 time all star. 107.3 WAR...18th all time among position players. For a long time, Robinson was 4th on the all time HR list, behind the holy trio of Aaron, Ruth and Mays. He might just be the most underrated great player of all time. I was going to make that last statement too but decided not to. Figured it was just bc I was of the younger generation but I guess that makes the point. As someone who didnt see him play, I dont always think of him in the same sentence as Mays and Aaron, among others and probably should. |
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Post by greatfatness on Feb 8, 2019 12:49:20 GMT -5
Heartfelt tribute from one of the game's great scholars
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Post by greatfatness on Feb 8, 2019 13:09:07 GMT -5
I almost forget how incredible of a career Robinson had. 586 homers, 2 world series rings, rookie of the year, 2 MVPs, 12 time all star. 107.3 WAR...18th all time among position players. For a long time, Robinson was 4th on the all time HR list, behind the holy trio of Aaron, Ruth and Mays. He might just be the most underrated great player of all time. You beat me to it. Wildly underrated. |
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Post by inger on Feb 8, 2019 16:26:44 GMT -5
And...when he was young he ran well, stole some bases, covered lots of ground in RF with a well-respected throwing arm. Needless to say, as was the style in those days of more aggressive play, he played with a chip on his shoulder and gave no ground on the bases, not at the outfield wall... Saw a pic of how close he would stand to the plate...holy wow. LOL because I used to do the same thing. I have nice had an umpire tell me I had to back up because my head was in the strike zone, which led to an argument (because it was obvious that a ball that high would NOT be a strike of course) which nearly led to my ejection. I was only ejected from a game once. Since it was a sandlot game and the ejection was obvious horse shit I told the guy to do something physically impossible and stayed in...I accepted the third strike call on a ball that WAS going to hit my head (it was that high). The guy that threw it was a bully known to fight, the umpire was a puss that would cringe when a volleyball was hit his way... |
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Post by Renfield on Feb 8, 2019 17:23:13 GMT -5
Don McClean would call this... The day That baseball Died... Yep. Great competitor. Strongly defiant in the face of racism. Of course because he was an Oriole, I was obligated to hate him at the time. I recall him hovering over the plate. I used to joke that his legs were so long it looked like his ass was between his shoulder blades. Traded to the Orioles by Reds GM Bill DeWitt, who called him an “old 30” fired Frank up and drove him to win the AL MVP courtesy of a triple crown in 1966. Injuries did take their toll over the next few seasons, but DeWitt would have been well-served to wait another couple of seasons at least before invoking the “better a year too early than a year too late” trade rhetoric toward Robinson... I don’t think there could have been a better choice for the first black manager in the game’s history. A real playing manager who was still good enough to play the game, too. Those that believe we are watching a golden age of baseball today can be forgiven for thinking so. They’re likely too young to have seen the stars of yesteryear...Every age of baseball has plenty of gold to pan out. F.Robby was some of the greatest gold of his time, and of every time... |
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