Frank Robinson

He got a lot of face time last night at the Rockies/Phils game. No matter how cold he was it wass still a better seat than the Nationals dugout the past couple of years. Although better days may be ahead if some of their high draft picks pan out well.

Isn't he NL president?

I've always thought it was odd that when people tick off lists of the all-time greats, Frank Robinson so often gets omitted. When you look at his stats, his awards, the fact that his teams were always contenders and sometimes champions, I've always wondered why.

Clearly baseball people respect him deeply. It's a shame he doesn't get as much of his due from the fans.

ClevelandDad can probably appreciate this. I grew up watching the Tribe and was often one of the 7,600 watching the team in the 70's in Municipal Stadium. From his first day as player/manager, Frank Robinson called upon himself to pinch hit in the most crucial moment of the game. I don't have a statistic in front of me, but it seemed like he came through much more often than not.

His prime days were long gone, and I always thought it took some set to call your own number time again. It was even more incredible how often he produced.

For those that has logged many hours tracking the sometimes-bumpy course of baseball history, many
rankings of individual players are obviously subjective and open to debate.

Thus, who rates, on a tally of players, Frank Robinson's baseball career on the field as a position player ahead of say
........Ernie Banks?
........Roberto Clemente?
........Josh Gibson?
........Mickey Mantle?
........Johnny Bench?
........Jimmy Fox?
........Honus Wagner?
........Joe DiMaggio
........Stan Musial
........Rogers Hornsby?
........Ted Williams?
........Lou Gehrig?
........Ken Griffey Jr?
........Henry Aaron?
........Willie Mays?
........Ty Cobb?

Who thinks the following HR Hitters will pass
Frank Robinson's 586 on the all-time list?

Alex Rodriquez
Jim Thome .....
Manny Ramirez
Gary Sheffield


For CD and DE, this family is a fan of Lou Boudreau.
And during the '71 at DC Stadium, also Denny Mclain, Lou's son in law, even though McLain's tumultuous relationship with Mr. Williams, was rampant througout the locker room and field.

We were so starved for good news on the diamond as kids we would sometimes listen to the album of the '48 season. Boudreau was featured nicely, and the road around the old stadium was named for him. I don't know what they did because they only play football down there now.

Your list is tough for me. I'm not a stat guy. I saw few of those on the list. Longevity does mean something to me, and for that alone Robinson can compare with Clemente. I think I might take Robinson before Jr.

As for home runs. ARod a shoo in. Thome I hope not because I'm still mad he left. Manny ditto. I don't think Sheffield can stay healthy enough.

I'd be interested to hear from old timers about how F-Robbie played defensively. Offensively, he's on par with or above just about everyone on that list except Aaron and Mays. But I don't know if he had the defensive skills to be considered on par with Griffey or Clemente, among others. Not saying he didn't, I truly just don't know.

Wow, DoubleEagle, brings back memories.
I remember cutting school to go to the frigid cold openers at the old Municipal stadium. Was "lucky" enough to play home games there in college.
Robinson was awesome in his first opener....pinch hit HR to win the game. Still can see John Lowenstein greeting him at plate in those bright red uniforms!
Not sure about his defensive skills but he could rake.

Sorry to steal this thread, but I was at that and many other openers. Robby had a bad shoulder by then. When he walked up to the box to pinch hit he had a little tilt to his body, as if you knew his shoulder was aching. Then he'd line a single up the middle to score the winning run. We had very little to cheer about. Robby coming up to pich hit was one of them.

quote:

Originally posted by Midlo Dad:
I'd be interested to hear from old timers about how F-Robbie played defensively. Offensively, he's on par with or above just about everyone on that list except Aaron and Mays. But I don't know if he had the defensive skills to be considered on par with Griffey or Clemente, among others. Not saying he didn't, I truly just don't know.

God! I'm an oldtimer and I have a kid in high school and one in college. I remember Robinson from when he was traded to the Orioles at thirty years old. He was an above average fielder with an average arm. In the next few years age and injuries turned him into an average fielder.

I like Frank Robinson. I've been a supporter of his for a long time. He suffers the same fate as Barry Larkin. Both have HOF credentials but are stuck behind a more charismatic person. Robinson had Willie Mays and Larkin had Ozzie Smith. Both Mays and Smith captured the imagination of the fans more than others who played the same position in their era.

I think Hank Aaron is getting the short end of the stick even more than Robinson. He is better than Mays in just about every offensive category there is but Mays is the one who gets the love. Aaron was a better baseball player than Mays but you would never know it by listening to fans who saw them both play.

When Frank was managing the Nationals one of the young players asked him if he had ever played in the Major Leagues... that tidbit is often quoted to show that some young guys know nothing of the history of the game.

quote:

Originally posted by Dear old Dad:
I like Frank Robinson. I've been a supporter of his for a long time. He suffers the same fate as Barry Larkin. Both have HOF credentials but are stuck behind a more charismatic person. Robinson had Willie Mays and Larkin had Ozzie Smith. Both Mays and Smith captured the imagination of the fans more than others who played the same position in their era.

I think Hank Aaron is getting the short end of the stick even more than Robinson. He is better than Mays in just about every offensive category there is but Mays is the one who gets the love. Aaron was a better baseball player than Mays but you would never know it by listening to fans who saw them both play.

Mays was a better player who probably would have hit another hundred homers had he not spent fourteen years playing in the worst hitting conditions in MLB. Aaron played nine seasons in a stadium known as The Launching Pad.

I agree with RJM that F. Robinson was an above average fielder in his early to mid career. What he was really known for was his fierce attitude on the basepaths where most players of his era say he was one of the most feared guys coming down to second on a double play. He also had a famous fight with 3rd baseman Eddie Mathews after a hard slide. The 60's was an era of great right fielders with Robinson, Aaron, Kaline, Clemente, Maris and others.

Mathews was reputedly not very warm and fuzzy towards African-American players, including a chilly relationship with Aaron. Makes you wonder what all might have led up to that confrontation.

As for Mays -- 14 years? More like his entire career. Polo Grounds, Candlestick, Shea -- none are considered hitter's parks.

Aaron had it better in Atlanta but really not all that great. A lot of the rep for "the launching pad" was really people denigrating Aaron (esp. vis a vis fan favorite Mays) and also the result of decades of poor Braves pitching, which was the norm prior to the 1990's.

Aaron was a complete player even though he didn't have the high energy appeal that helped make Mays so popular. Mays also benefited from being in NYC for so long; it always pays to be in the major media centers of your era. That being said, Mays was so special in so many ways that Aaron's having more hits and more HR's to me doesn't allow him to surpass Mays as a five tool player. Taking nothing away from Aaron, to me Mays is the greatest non-pitcher ever to play in MLB.