Фрэнк Робинсон: Бейсбол мансабы мен өмірі

American professional player and manager (1935–2019)

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. 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.

Robinson was born in Beaumont, Texas. He was the youngest of Ruth Shaw's ten children and the only child of her marriage to Frank Robinson. His parents divorced when he was an infant, and his mother moved with her children to Alameda, California, and then to the West Oakland neighborhood of nearby Oakland. He attended McClymonds High School in Oakland where he was a basketball teammate of Bill Russell. He was a baseball teammate of Vada Pinson and Curt Flood. He also played American Legion Baseball. After posting 11 consecutive losing seasons, the Reds surprised their opposition by jumping to first place at the mid point of the 1956 season. Robinson led the team with 18 home runs at mid season, earning him the role as starting left fielder for the National League in the 1956 All Star Game. The Reds stayed in the pennant race until the last day of the season, ending up with a 91–63 record, two games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson ended the 1956 season with a .290 batting average and 83 runs batted in while, his 38 home runs tied the Major League Baseball record for home runs hit by a Rookie player previously set by Wally Berger in His rookie home run record stood for 31 years when it was broken by Mark McGwire's 49 home runs in
In 1957, the Reds were once again in first place at mid season when, Robinson and six of his Redleg teammates—Ed Bailey, Johnny Temple, Don Hoak, Gus Bell, Wally Post and Roy McMillan—were voted into the National League starting lineup for the 1957 All Star Game. An investigation launched by Commissioner Ford Frick found that the majority of the ballots cast had come from Cincinnati as the result of a ballot stuffing campaign by Reds fans. Frick allowed Robinson to remain on the team while Bell and Post were replaced on the NL starting roster by outfielders Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. He credited manager, Birdie Tebbetts for his performance saying, "He kept after me all year and that's what a young ball player needs." In 1959, Robinson improved to a .311 batting average along with 125 runs batted in and 36 home runs. His performance earned him the 1961 National League Most Valuable Player Award. In the 1961 World Series against the New York Yankees, Robinson had a lackluster performance, producing only three hits as the Reds fell to the Yankees in five games (4–1). Robinson hit a career high .342 in 1962, just four points behind NL Batting Champion, Tommy Davis. He also led the league in runs scored, doubles, on base percentage, slugging percentage and on base plus slugging.

Prior to the 1966 season, Reds owner Bill DeWitt traded Robinson to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for pitcher Milt Pappas, pitcher Jack Baldschun, and outfielder Dick Simpson. The trade turned out to be very lopsided. DeWitt, who had a slew of successful trades including his time as GM in Detroit and the early 1960s rebuilding the Reds, famously referred to Robinson as "not a young 30" after the trade. The Reds led the NL in offense in 1965 and needed pitching. Pappas, who was a consistent performer in Baltimore was a major disappointment in Cincinnati while Robinson had continued success in Baltimore. In Robinson's first year in Baltimore, he won the Triple Crown, leading the American League with a .316 batting average (then the lowest ever by a Triple Crown winner), 49 home runs (the most ever by a right handed Triple crown winner) and 122 runs batted in. The shot came off of Luis Tiant in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians, and the home run measured 541 feet (165 m). Until the Orioles' move to Camden Yards in 1992, a flag labeled "HERE" was flown at the spot where the ball left the stadium. The Orioles won the 1966 World Series, and Robinson was named World Series Most Valuable Player. In the Orioles' four game sweep of the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, Robinson hit two home runs—one in Game One (which Baltimore won 5–2), and one in Game Four (the only run of the game in a 1–0 series clinching victory). Robinson hit both home runs off of Don Drysdale. During the 1969 season, Robinson brought some humor to the Orioles' clubhouse by presiding over their kangaroo court, held after every Oriole win. As the judge, he would hear arguments from both sides and give out fines for minor infractions (such as one dollar per lady talked to during a game) and "awards", named after people notoriously bad at a certain skill and involving a prop the "winner" had to display until the next court session. For instance, Jim Palmer once won the John Mason Baserunning Award, a smelly, decrepit baseball cleat presented for baserunning gaffes. Palmer credited the kangaroo court for helping the Orioles bond as a team. On June 26, 1970, Robinson hit back to back grand slams in the fifth and sixth innings in the Orioles' 12–2 victory over the Washington Senators. The same runners were on base both times: Dave McNally was on third base, Don Buford was on second, and Paul Blair was on first. The Orioles won three consecutive American League pennants between 1969 and 1971. Before the 1969 World Series, Robinson said, "Bring on the Mets and Ron Gaspar!" He was told by his teammate Merv Rettenmund, "It's Rod, stupid." He then retorted by saying, "OK. Bring on Rod Stupid!" Baltimore won the 1970 World Series over the Reds. When the 1972 Major League Baseball strike occurred, Robinson was one of three Dodgers out of thirty who voted against it. When the vote was announced, he said, "I don't believe in the strike, and I voted against it. But I was voted down, so now I'm on your side. I'm with you guys." The 1972 season was his first season in the National League since playing with the 1965 Reds. He played 103 games while compiling a .251 batting average, 59 RBIs, 86 hits, and 19 home runs. In his time with the Angels, he became their first designated hitter while also being teammates again with Vada Pinson. He played 147 games in 1973 and 129 in 1974. In his tenure with the Angels, he hit for a .259 average while having 50 home runs, 249 hits, and 160 RBIs. His final at bat in the majors came against Baltimore on September 18, where he pinch hit in the 8th inning and collected an RBI base hit in a 3–2 loss.

Robinson served as an assistant general manager for the Orioles through 1995 when he was fired. Robinson served as an analyst for ESPN during spring training in 2007. The Nationals offered to honor Robinson during a May 20 game against his former club the Baltimore Orioles but he refused. In 2007 Robinson rejoined the MLB front office serving as a special advisor for baseball operations from 2007 to 2009. He then served as special assistant to Bud Selig from 2009 to 2010 and was named senior vice president for major league operations from 2010 to 2011. In June 2012, he became executive vice president of baseball development.

While playing for the Reds in the late 1950s, Robinson attended Xavier University in Cincinnati during the off season. While in Baltimore, he became active in the civil rights movement. He originally declined membership in the NAACP unless the organization promised not to make him do public appearances. However, after witnessing Baltimore's segregated housing and discriminatory real estate practices, he reconsidered and became an enthusiastic speaker on racial issues. Robinson met Barbara Ann Cole in 1961; they married that year They had two children. On February 7, 2019, Robinson died of bone cancer in Los Angeles at the age of 83.