It is a truth universally recognized among sports fans that there are Hall of Famers, and then there are Hall of Famers. Some inductees make the cut but are not otherwise very memorable; you can tell the story of their sport’s history without them. And then there are Hall of Famers, without whom you could not tell the story of their sport’s history. Brooks Robinson, the legendary Baltimore Orioles third baseman who died this week at the age of 86, was surely in the latter category.
Arguably the greatest third baseman of all time, Robinson starred on the Orioles during the franchise’s glory years: the 1960s to early 1970s, when the team won four American League pennants and two World Series championships. While fellow future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson was the team’s biggest bat and its most dynamic player, Brooks Robinson was the Orioles’ heart. His steady infield presence provided a sense of security to the team’s already superb pitching staff, and his sure-handed glove work earned him the unofficial title of greatest defensive third baseman in the history of the sport.
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One stat in particular stands out: 16, the number of Gold Gloves (baseball’s annual award for the best defensive player at each position) that Robinson won during his career — not only the most of any third baseman ever, but the most that any position player has ever won. Robinson’s greatest moment may have come during the 1970 World Series when he helped the Orioles take down the juggernaut Cincinnati “Big Red Machine” Reds with his dazzling defensive play, which included a spectacular backhanded grab and throw from foul territory in Game 1 of the series. He contributed with his bat as well, hitting a clutch tiebreaking home run in the same game. Robinson was named World Series Most Valuable Player, adding that laurel to his 1964 regular season MVP and to his 18 All-Star selections (also a record for a third baseman). Robinson was also named MVP of the 1966 All-Star Game, where he scored hits off of three pitchers who would all later join him in the Hall of Fame: Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry, and Sandy Koufax. Not bad for a quiet day at the ballpark.
Robinson was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, the same city where Orioles scouts discovered him and signed him to play second base. His early-career switch to third proved to be a wise one; according to analytics, Robinson finished his 23-year career as the greatest fielding third baseman of all time, a statistical mark which he still holds.
Robinson was one of those unique players in baseball history who was beloved by virtually all fans regardless of their allegiance, likely owing not only to his stellar play, remarkable work ethic, and gracious sportsmanship, but to his Everyman appeal (aided in no small part by his Southern twang) and gentlemanly manner with which he carried himself. Reds legend Johnny Bench once described Robinson as “one of the finest gentlemen to ever wear a uniform and represent baseball.”
To paraphrase Tip O’Neill, all baseball is local; Red Sox fans tend to be almost entirely concerned with the Red Sox, Cubs fans with the Cubs, Mets fans with the Mets, and so on. For a player to reach beloved status with fans of all teams is a true accomplishment. Robinson, though, was especially (if unsurprisingly) beloved in Baltimore, where a statue of the Orioles great was erected outside of Camden Yards in 2011. Tim Kurkjian, the veteran baseball writer and Maryland native, has called Robinson the most beloved athlete in the history of Baltimore sports — more so than even Johnny Unitas, Jim Palmer, and Cal Ripken Jr. “Brooks was here,” not only in the most glorious moments in Baltimore sports history, but in the hearts of baseball fans everywhere.
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Daniel Ross Goodman is a Washington Examiner contributing writer and a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Divinity School. His latest book, Soloveitchik’s Children: Irving Greenberg, David Hartman, Jonathan Sacks, and the Future of Jewish Theology in America, was published this summer by the University of Alabama Press.