The player: Brooks Robinson is generally considered the greatest third baseman of all time. He won 16 straight Gold Gloves (1960-1975) and was a human highlight reel, especially in the postseason. He was a very good hitter, but might not have been a Hall of Famer if not for his defense. He never had a 200-hit or 30-HR season despite being among the league leaders in games and at-bats most seasons. In 1964 he put it all together with career highs of .317, 194 hits, 28 HR and 118 RBI, all career highs and enough to earn him the AL MVP award. He did have high doubles totals, with 11 seasons of 25 or more. He saved some of his best hitting for October; in 39 postseason games he hit .303 with 5 HR and 24 RBI. He hit .500 in the 1969 NLCS and .583 in the 1970 NLCS; and in the 1970 World Series he hit .429 with 2 HR and 6 RBI, on top of stellar defense, to win the World Series MVP.
The man: Robinson is generally considered one of the nicest men in baseball and is revered in the Baltimore area. After his playing career he owned a variety of businesses and was a part-time announcer for the Orioles for many years.
My collection: In addition to a variety of other cards, I have his base Topps cards for 1964, 1968, and 1973-1977.
He's still very popular with collectors too.
ReplyDelete