Cincinnati Reds: Remembering legendary slugger Frank Robinson

The baseball world lost a legend. Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who played for the Cincinnati Reds from 1956-1965, passed away last week at the age of 83.

Frank Robinson, who played the first 10 years of his career with the Cincinnati Reds, passed away this past week after a reportedly long battle with cancer. Robinson was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, his first year on the ballot. Robinson is the only player in Major League Baseball history to have won an MVP in both the National and American Leagues.

Robinson made his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 1956. In his first season in the big leagues, Robinson showed how special he was going to be. The Reds’ rookie smashed, a then record for a first-year player, 38 home runs and received 100% of the vote for the NL Rookie of the Year. Robinson came in seventh in race for NL MVP that season and was selected as a member of the NL All-Star team.

Robinson would go to the All-Star Game in five of the next seven seasons and took home the National League MVP in 1961, the same year that the Cincinnati Reds made it to the World Series. Cincinnati fell to the New York Yankees in 5 games. The Reds were overmatched by the Yankees and their three future Hall of Famers, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford, who would take home the series MVP.

The 1962 season was a special one for Frank Robinson. That year, Robinson led the league in runs (134), doubles (51), on-base percentage (.421), slugging percentage (.624), OPS (1.045), and OPS+ (172). This was the third consecutive season that Robinson led the National League in slugging percentage and on-base plus slugging.

Hindsight is always 20/20, and the trade of Frank Robinson to the Baltimore Orioles following the 1965 season may go down as one of the worst trades in Major League Baseball history. Before the 1966 season kicked off, Robinson was traded to Baltimore in exchange for pitchers Milt Pappas and Jack Baldschun and outfielder Dick Simpson.

What did Frank Robinson do after being shipped to Baltimore? Oh, he just won the Triple Crown and the AL MVP. In 1966, Robinson led the American League in runs (122), home runs (49), RBIs (122), batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.410), slugging percentage (.637), and OPS (1.047). The Orioles won the 1966 World Series and Robinson took home the MVP of the series.

For his career, Robinson was a 14-time All-Star, 2-time World Series champion, 2-time MVP, NL Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove Award winner, and had his No. 20 jersey retired by the Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, and Cleveland Indians for whom he managed from 1975-1977.

In 1975, Robinson became the first ever African-American manager when he was a player/ manager for the Cleveland Indians. Robinson managed four different teams throughout his career and finished with a record of 1065-1176 (.475). His last managing gig was with the Washington Nationals in 2006.

Frank Robinson’s impact on the game was legendary. He has a spot in Cooperstown, baseball’s highest honor. Robinson spent virtually his entire adult life contributing to the game of baseball in some capacity. He finished his playing career with 586 home runs, 1,812 RBIs, and a career-batting average of .294. Baseball, and the world itself, lost a great man last week. Rest in peace Frank Robinson.