Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinsonis an American former Major League Baseballoutfielder and manager. He played for five teams from 1956 to 1976, and became the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues. He won the Triple Crown, was a member of two teams that won the World Series, and amassed the fourth-most career home runs at the time of his retirement. Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth31 August 1935
CityBeaumont, TX
CountryUnited States of America
I remember my first Opening Day very well. We lost 4-2 to the Cardinals on a two-run home run. I remember my first at-bat, a double, missed a home run by a couple of feet. I had an intentional walk and another hit and went 2-for-3, and I thought I was on my way to the Hall of Fame.
We had a lot of chances, we just didn't cash in. We couldn't get the hits we needed and we gave away too many runs. We're not making them earn them.
You let that go by, all you're doing is creating more animosity on the other side. Hey, the guy gets hit after hitting a three-run homer, nothing happens. ... I think actually he let them get away with something there.
What we said when we sent him down was, 'Go down, get yourself going.' Did he do that? No. We just feel like he has proven he can hit up here before. ... We said we'll give him the first shot. Maybe he'll get going up here.
We had our emotions in control. We just made a couple of a bad pitches, really. We didn't make good pitches in this series, and they hit them, especially tonight.
We just didn't get the big hit tonight. Just couldn't do it.
Usually in a game like this you hope for one good shot at a pitcher like Pedro. It wasn't whether they had good at-bats, they just weren't productive even if they hit the ball hard. We had the people you wanted at the plate in the order you wanted and expected to be productive, but we didn't get it.
He hit the ball so far that I lost sight of it. Everybody is saying that the ball is still going. It was very impressive.
He has a track record with the Cardinals, and I know he didn't hit for them, but you have to give the hitting coach some credit, because he takes the blame when they don't hit.
You get up, you go to first base, you come back up and hit against the guy the next time and you do some damage with the bat. Those days are over.
I would have liked for him to be a little better out there, a little sharper, and gotten the hitters out a little easier. But things weren't there.
Second pitch. Line drive off the center-field fence. Missed hitting a home run by a couple of feet. Double.
It was an excellent game. He stayed in the strike zone tonight and he mixed up his pitches. He kept the hitters off balance. You have scouting reports and watch video, but until you hit against a pitcher, you don't have the feel for what he does or the speed of his ball.
You don't want these kids to feel shattered because they don't come through with a base hit or make a play in a tight situation and feel like they've cost us an opportunity to do something.