Baltimore Sports History: Celebrating The Life of Brooks Robinson
September 26th, 2024 by The Professor
by Andrew Ciofalo, host of After The Whistle
Every major sports team has a shortlist of its best players of all time. And out of all of them, there’s usually less than a handful that stand out among the rest. The Baltimore Orioles have been around since 1954 and had its own handful, the Iron Man Cal Ripken, Frank Robinson and Jim Palmer. But there was only one Mr. Oriole: Brooks Robinson.
Brooks Robinson Jr. was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on May 18th, 1937. His father, Brooks Sr. was a semi-professional baseball player and played second base. His athletic ability was prominent from a young age. Robinson was a dual sport athlete, playing baseball and basketball. He received a full scholarship from the University of Arkansas to play basketball but declined it because he wanted to pursue baseball instead. His baseball skill attracted the attention of the Orioles, New York Giants, and the Cincinnati Redlegs.
Robinson would ultimately sign with the Orioles because of the major league contract offer as well as their overall love and interest in him playing as soon as possible. His first professional game was in June of 1955 and would get called up to the big league squad in September of ’55. His MLB Debut was a memorable one, Robinson went 2/4 with 2 singles, his second driving in his first run as well. For the next few years Robinson bounced between the major and minor leagues, whether it was from struggles at the plate or injury, his fielding was never in question.
In 1960, Brooks Robinson officially took over as the starting third baseman for the Orioles. His season got off to a great start on offense, batting .333 in June and .351 in July. He also became the first Oriole to hit for the cycle as he went 5 for 5 in a game against the White Sox. He ended the year batting .294 on the season and set the precedent for the type of player he would be for years to come. He also ended 3rd in MVP voting as well as being voted to his first All-Star games and received his first Gold Glove… many more were to follow.
By now Brooks had solidified himself as one of the game’s finest third baseman in the league. His batting was coming along in the first 4 full years, as he batted .284 on average between 1960 and 1963. Those years would lead up to his career batting year in 1964 where he would also win the AL MVP. Another year where he won Gold Glove and had All-Star game honors, Brooks finished the year with a .317/.368/.521 slash line, all being career best. Brooks led the American League in RBI’s with 118 and second in the AL in hits with 194. His most impressive stat of the season was that he played in all 163 games of the season for the Orioles and played all but 2 innings of the year. Take that, Cal.
In 1966, the Orioles acquired another Robinson, outfielder Frank Robinson had been traded to Baltimore from Cincinnati because the Reds thought he was past his prime. In his first year with Baltimore, he along with Brooks Robinson and Boog Powell led the Orioles to their first World Series where they would sweep the Los Angeles Dodgers. The three Orioles finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in MVP voting respectively in 1966 that powered the Orioles to the best record in the MLB. From 1969 to 1971, the Orioles took 3 trips in a row to the World Series, coming up victors only in the 1970 season. Brooks lived in the heads and nightmares of the Cincinnati Reds in the ’70 World Series. He made fantastic plays, one after the other, killing the moods of Reds’ like Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, and Tony Perez.
The most famous quote of all came from Pete Rose, “Brooks Robinson belongs in a higher league”. Brooks won the World Series MVP, batting .429 and drove in 6 runs over the series.
A few of Brooksies’ career notes include making 18 straight All-Star Games, winning 16 straight Gold Gloves, he’s a two-time World Series Champion and a World Series MVP winner. At the time, he spent the most amount of time with one team at 23 years, now tied with Carl Yastrzemski. He earned nicknames such as “Mr. Hoover” and the “Human Vacuum Cleaner” as well as Mr. Oriole. Brooks Robinson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Not only was he a fantastic baseball player, but off the field he was an even better human being. Those who knew him or those who even got an autograph from him knew the character of Brooks. You’d ask for him to sign your hat and by the end of the interaction, you’d have talked about your entire family and your dreams and aspirations.
After retirement, Robinson helped found the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association which aimed to help retired players with life after baseball particularly with getting benefits from their organization, as well as promoting youth baseball and being a charitable organization. He was president of the MLBPAA from 1989 till before he passed in 2023.
Mr. Oriole, Brooks Robinson, was bigger than life, yet the most down to earth person one might ever meet. I’m sure Brooksie is playing in that higher league now and still leagues above those players. Brooks Robinson will forever be remembered in Baltimore, enshrined in Camden Yards’ Legends Park and his number 5 retired, but most importantly in Orioles fans’ hearts.
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