Frank Robinson

For other people named Frank Robinson, see Frank Robinson (disambiguation).

Frank Robinson
Robinson with the Cincinnati Reds in 1961
Outfielder / Manager
Born: (1935-08-31)August 31, 1935
Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
Died: February 7, 2019(2019-02-07) (aged 83)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 17, 1956, for the Cincinnati Redlegs
Last MLB appearance
September 18, 1976, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
Batting average.294
Hits2,943
Home runs586
Runs batted in1,812
Managerial record1,065–1,176
Winning %.475
Teams
As player
As manager
As coach
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1982
Vote89.2% (first ballot)

Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who 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). In 1975, Robinson became the first Black manager in big-league history, as the player-manager of the Indians.[1]

The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), Robinson was named the NL MVP after leading the Cincinnati Reds to the pennant in 1961 and was named the AL MVP in 1966 with the Baltimore Orioles after winning the Triple Crown; Robinson's 49 home runs (HR) that year tied for the most by any AL player between 1962 and 1989, and stood as a franchise record for 30 years. He helped lead the Orioles to the first two World Series titles in franchise history in 1966 and 1970, and was named the Series MVP in 1966 after leading the Orioles to a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A 14-time All-Star, Robinson batted .300 nine times, hit 30 home runs 11 times, and led his league in slugging four times and in runs scored three times. His 586 career home runs ranked fourth in major league history at the time of his retirement, and he ranked sixth in total bases (5,373) and extra-base hits (1,186), eighth in games played (2,808), and ninth in runs scored (1,829). His 2,943 career hits are the most since 1934 by any player who fell short of the 3,000-hit mark. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1982.[2]

After managing the Indians, Robinson went on to manage the San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, and Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals. For most of the last two decades of his life, Robinson served in various executive positions for Major League Baseball concluding his career as honorary president of the American League.[3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference sabr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Robinson, Frank". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
  3. ^ Fay, John (February 8, 2019). "Frank Robinson was part of the worst trade in modern Reds history". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved August 9, 2019.