Eddie Robinson (baseball)

Eddie Robinson

Robinson during his first tenure with the A's
First baseman
Born: (1920-12-15) December 15, 1920
Paris, Texas
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 9, 1942, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
September 15, 1957, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
Batting average .268
Home runs 172
Runs batted in 723
Teams
Career highlights and awards

William Edward "Eddie" Robinson (born December 15, 1920) is an American Major League Baseball first baseman, scout, coach and front office executive of the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s who, during a 13-year playing career (1942; 1946–57), was on the roster of seven of the eight American League teams then in existence. He is the author of an autobiography, published in 2011, titled Lucky Me: My Sixty-five Years in Baseball.[1]

Robinson is the last living person to win the World Series with the Cleveland Indians,[2] as well as the oldest living player to play on a World Series-winning team and the oldest living member of the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, and Washington Senators.[3]

Career

Born in the Northeastern Texas town of Paris, Eddie Robinson, a left-handed batter who threw right-handed, enjoyed his most prominent team moment when, at the age of 27, he contributed to his first team, the Cleveland Indians, winning the 1948 World Series. Although traded during that offseason, he was still at the top of his game and, at the next two teams, Washington Senators (1949–50) and Chicago White Sox (1950–52), experienced the most productive seasons of his time in the majors. Overall, he appeared in 1,315 games and batted .268 with 172 home runs. He did not play in the 1943 through 1945 seasons, due to his service in the US Navy during World War II.[4]

A four-time All-Star, he was the American League's starting first baseman for the midsummer classics of 1949 and 1952. The first game was a slugfest, 11-7, won by the American League, with a Robinson first-inning single off National League starter Warren Spahn driving in Joe DiMaggio. In the 1952 game, a rain-shortened 3-2 National League victory, Robinson singled in the American League's first run, scoring Minnie Miñoso, who had led off the fourth inning with a double.

Upon retirement, he became a coach for the Baltimore Orioles and then moved into their player development department. A protégé of Orioles manager Paul Richards, he followed Richards to the Houston Astros, then worked as the farm system director of the Kansas City Athletics during the tempestuous ownership of Charlie Finley in the mid-1960s. In 1968 he rejoined Richards in the front office of the Atlanta Braves. He succeeded Richards as general manager of the Braves during the 1972 season, serving through early 1976 in that post.

Robinson then returned to the American League as a member of the Texas Rangers front office. In 1977, Robinson was named co-general manager (with Dan O'Brien) of the Rangers, and became sole GM from 1978–82. Although the Rangers posted winning seasons in 1977, 1978 and 1981, a disastrous 1982 campaign cost Robinson his General Manager job.[5]

Continuing in baseball as a scout and player development consultant, he found his last position as a scout for the Boston Red Sox, the only team of the "original eight" American League clubs that he did not play for.

References

  1. ↑ Robinson, Eddie (2011). Lucky Me: My Sixty-Five Years in Baseball. Southern Methodist University. ISBN 978-0870745669.
  2. ↑ AP (October 31, 2016). "The Latest: Francona unsure of left fielder for Game 6". USA Today. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  3. ↑ Stevenson, Stefan (October 31, 2016). "Eddie Robinson, last link to Indians' 1948 glory, going to Game 6". Star-Telegram. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  4. ↑ C. Paul Rogers III (January 12, 2012). "Eddie Robinson". SABR. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Rangers fire Robinson, veteran general manager". Star-News. June 11, 1982. p. 3D.

Further reading

External links

Preceded by
Paul Richards		 Atlanta Braves General Manager
1972–1976 		Succeeded by
John Alevizos
Preceded by
Dan O'Brien		 Texas Rangers General Manager
1978–1982 		Succeeded by
Joe Klein
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.