Greatest Reds of All-Time #4

Frank Robinson in Redlegs uniform (Image: BestSportsPhotos.com)

And the fourth greatest Red of all-time is…Frank Robinson.

Many people often forget the tremendous success that Frank Robinson had in a Reds uniform before he left the Reds to play in the American League with the Baltimore Orioles. He is the only baseball player ever to win an MVP award in both the American and National league.
In a Redlegs uniform, Robinson was the 1956 Rookie of the Year and five years later he followed up that honor by winning the 1961 National League MVP.
Robinson’s 10 year stats in Cincinnati are listed below.

Year	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	OPS	Awards
1956	20	152	572	122	166	27	38	83	8	.290	.379	.936	AS,MVP-7,RoY-1
1957	21	150	611	97	197	29	29	75	10	.322	.376	.905	AS,MVP-9
1958	22	148	554	90	149	25	31	83	10	.269	.350	.854	MVP-19,GG
1959	23	146	540	106	168	31	36	125	18	.311	.391	.975	AS,MVP-9
1960	24	139	464	86	138	33	31	83	13	.297	.407	*1.002*	MVP-20
1961	25	153	545	117	176	32	37	124	22	.323	.404	1.015	AS,MVP-1
1962	26	162	609	*134*	208	51	39	136	18	.342	.421	1.045	AS,MVP-4
1963	27	140	482	79	125	19	21	91	26	.259	.379	.821
1964	28	156	568	103	174	38	29	96	23	.306	.396	.943	MVP-4
1965	29	156	582	109	172	33	33	113	13	.296	.386	.925	AS,MVP-18
CIN (10 yrs)		1502	5527	1043	1673	318	324	1009	161	.303	.389	.943

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/22/2010.

38 Home Runs as a rookie announced to the Queen City that Frank Robinson was a star. In his MVP season, Robinson hit 37 Home Runs with 124 RBI all while batting .323. It is a mystery to me how Robinson was not the MVP in 1962 also because he hit .342 while leading the league in runs and doubles to go along with his 39 home runs and 136 RBI. He came in fourth in the MVP voting that season.
Robinson was inducted into the Reds hall of fame in 1978 and also into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. One of the best to ever where a Reds uniform, he ended with 324 home runs and 1,009 RBI.

On December 9, 1965, he was traded by the Reds to the Baltimore Orioles for three players. Known also as The Judge, he played his final game in 1976 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame just six years later. Playing both outfield and first base, he won one gold glove in 1958 as a Left Fielder. Though he only was awarded one gold glove, the Texas native possessed a great arm to complement his defensive range.

Since playing, Robinson managed the Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, and the Baltimore Orioles. Finding limited success, most recently Robinson was fired by the Nationals in 2006.

Next week..the countdown continues to #3