Films on Friday: The Brooks Robinson Collection

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Since we just celebrated Brooks Robinson Night on Wednesday, here’s a great video about his baseball collection that he donated to charity in 2015. The collection earned $1.44 million for the Constance & Brooks Robinson Charitable Foundation. The highest earning piece was his 1964 MVP award, which sold for $155,350. Included in the collection was a platter presented to him on Brooks Robinson Night in Arlington, Texas, in 1973. Alas, the puppy and the duck were not available for the auction.

Happy Friday!

~ baseballrebecca

 

 

 

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The Baltimore Robinsons

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Yank Robinson (1877).tiff

Yank Robinson in 1888 with the St. Louis Browns

Of all the Robinsons that have played baseball (34 at my count), Baltimore has had two of the top three. (The top three being Jackie, Brooks, and Frank, naturally.) The other Robinsons that played for the Baltimore Orioles were: Earl (OF, 1961-64); Eddie (1B, 1957); and Jeff (P, 1991).

But did you know there was also Yank Robinson? And today is his birthday.

William H. “Yank” Robinson was born on September 19, 1859, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While his nickname conjures the name of Baltimore’s arch enemy, the New York Yankees, the origin of his nickname is unclear. According to SABR, the name “started to appear in print in 1886. Robinson was playing in St. Louis by then. The city had been divided on the slavery issue and was occupied by Union forces during the Civil War because of its strategic importance. The sympathies of the citizenry were split between the North and the South even after the conflict. This undoubtedly contributed to the nickname for a player with roots in Philadelphia and Boston.”

Yank played baseball back when teams had names like the Detroit Wolverines, the Pittsburgh Burghers, and Cincinnati Kelly’s Killers, three of the teams Yank played for. He also played for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, and Baltimore Monumentals. Yank was with the Monumentals of the Union Association in 1884, where he was primarily the third baseman although he also played in 14 games as the shortstop, 11 games as catcher, and 11 as a pitcher. The Monumentals disbanded after the 1884 season, so Yank then signed with the St. Louis Browns (who would move to Baltimore a half a century later). Yank was with the Browns for 6 seasons, five of which were pennant-winning seasons for the team (1885-1889).

In 1890, Yank played for the Pittsburgh Burghers of the short-lived Players’ League, before returning to the American Association with Cincinnati in 1891. He was with the Senators in 1892, though his health was failing and played only 58 games that season.

Sadly, Yank Robinson died in August 1894 at the age of 34. But we are honored to consider him one of the Baltimore Robinsons.

~ baseballrebecca

 

 

Brooks Robinson Night

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File:Brooks Robinson 1963.jpg

Brooks Robinson in 1963

On September 18, 1977, Ted Cox made his Major League debut with the Boston Red Sox, going 4 for 4 in Baltimore. What’s more interesting is that it was Brooks Robinson Night at Memorial Stadium. A few weeks ago, I wrote about Walter Johnson Day, wondering whether it was a thing to have a day to celebrate a player. Well, apparently it was – at least for the baseball greats.

That night in 1977 was “Thanks, Brooks” Day in Baltimore. Robinson had retired a few weeks earlier to make room on the roster for catcher Rick Dempsey, who we returning from the disabled list. Despite requesting that there be donations to his favorite charities in lieu of gifts, Robinson was presented with: a new car, a Hawaiian vacation, replacement Gold Gloves from the Rawlings company (because he had donated his to charities), and vacuum cleaner from Lee May. In addition, Doug DeCinces, who had taken over at third base that year, walked over the third base, removed the bag, and gave it to Robinson.

Naturally, given Robinson’s importance to the Baltimore Orioles and the entire state of Maryland, 1977 was not the first time Brooks Robinson was celebrated. Exactly 13 years earlier, on September 18, 1964, the Orioles held Brooks Robinson Night. It was his MVP season and the 5th of his 16 Gold Glove seasons. On that night, Robinson was presented with a station wagon, a freezer, a color portrait of himself, a puppy, a duck, and 50 shares of Orioles stock.

I’m sure there were others, official and unofficial. In fact, every day should be Brooks Robinson Day. And everyone should get a puppy – or a duck.

~ baseballrebecca

 

 

Happy Birthday, Orlando!

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Orlando Cepeda 1962.png

Orlando Cepeda with the Giants in 1962

Orlando Cepeda turns 82 today. Born on September 17, 1937, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Cepeda made his MLB debut on April 15, 1958. Between 1958 and 1974, the right-handed first baseman played for San Francisco (1958-66), St. Louis (1966-68), Atlanta (1969-72), Oakland (1972), Boston (1973), and Kansas City (1974). He was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1959, an 11-time All-Star, and the 1967 NL MVP.

Whenever I hear Cepeda’s name, I think of this song by Danny Kaye – even though its about his Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants and Orlando Cepeda are an important part of the tale:

 

 

~ baseballrebecca

 

 

Birdland Loves the Baysox

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The Bowie Baysox may not have won the Eastern League pennant, but they won our hearts. All of Birdland supported them in their quest, including the one and only Brooks Robinson:

~ baseballrebecca

 

 

 

Stat-urday, 9/14/2019

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Minor League Baseball has released their attendance figures for the 2019 season, which ended September 2. Overall, MiLB experienced a 2.6% increase in attendance compared to 2018, with 41,504,077 fans attending games.

Since the Eastern League Championship series just ended (sadly, my Baysox did not win), below is a look at their numbers. The Richmond Flying Squirrels led the league with an average attendance of 6,255 per game. Both the Trenton Thunder and Reading Fightin Phils experienced a 4% increase in attendance compared to last year, and the Harrisburg Senators, Bowie Baysox, New Hampshire Fisher Cats, and Binghamton Rumble Ponies all saw declines in attendace. The Rumble Ponies were last in the league in attendance with only 3,000 fans per game, a decline of 16% from 2018.

Team 2019 Attendance 2019 Avg. Attendance 2018 Avg. Attendance Percent Change from 2018
Richmond Flying Squirrels 400,321 6,255 6,198 1%
Hartford Yard Goats 414,946 6,193 6,014 3%
Reading Fightin Phils 398,314 5,945 5,713 4%
Portland Sea Dogs 357,647 5,677 5,676 0%
Trenton Thunder 340,705 5,242 5,019 4%
Akron RubberDucks 340,187 5,077 4,996 2%
NH Fisher Cats 306,511 4,716 5,065 -7%
Altoona Curve 308,464 4,604 4,571 1%
Harrisburg Senators 258,909 3,864 3,988 -3%
Erie SeaWolves 215,444 3,315 3,204 3%
Bowie Baysox 224,686 3,256 3,438 -5%
Binghamton Rumble Ponies 182,990 3,000 3,553 -16%

Happy Stat-urday!

~ baseballrebecca