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This past week marked the sixty-first anniversary of Frank Robinson’s first MVP award. The 26-year-old became the first Red to win the award since Frank McCormack after the 1940 season. As a tribute to Robbie, I’d like to repost an updated and slightly edited essay I wrote about him back in 2016.
Frank Robinson Wins the 1961 MVP Award!
“When I was managing, I had no trouble with communication…the players just didn’t like what I had to say!” -Frank Robinson
One of the Game’s All-Time Greats
There’s no question that Frank Robinson was one of the greatest players in the history of the game. Robbie is the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues. His career stats are staggering. Over his 21 major league seasons (1956-’76) Robinson had a .294 batting average, with 2943 hits, 1829 runs, 528 doubles, 72 triples, 588 home runs (ninth all-time), 1812 RBIs, .389 on-base percentage, and .537 slugging average. His career 154 OBP+ mark places him among the elites of the game.
In 1956, 21-year-old Frank Robinson was selected as the National League Rookie of the Year by unanimous vote. And what a rookie year it was! Named the All-Star starting left fielder, he hit .290, with a .379 on-base percentage, 122 runs, 27 doubles, and 83 RBIs. His 38 home runs tied Wally Berger’s 1930 record for the most ever by a rookie.
Other career highlights for the Beaumont, Texas native include: 14-time All-Star, two World Series championships (1966 and ‘70), Gold Glove Winner (1958), All-Star Game MVP (1971), and American League Manager of the Year (1989). His No. 20 has been retired by both the Reds and Orioles.
Frank’s Fabulous 1966 Season
Frank Robinson’s great Triple Crown season of 1966 was certainly one of the best individual seasons ever. Reds owner Bill DeWitt sent Robinson to Baltimore on December 9, 1965, in exchange for pitcher Milt Pappas and two others. The trade is considered among the most lopsided in baseball history, especially as Robinson was only 30 years old and appeared to have many productive years ahead of him. To put it mildly, I think it’s fair to say Baltimore got the better end of this deal.
All Robinson did in 1966 is win the American League Triple Crown, leading the American League with a .316 batting average, 49 home runs (the most ever by a right-handed Triple Crown winner), and 122 RBIs. But that hardly tells the story of this remarkable season. He led the American League in virtually every offensive category: 122 runs, .410 on-base percentage, 198 OPS+, and an incredible .637 slugging average. He also led the league in total bases with 367. It’s frightening to think how good the “Big Red Machine” of the 1970s would have been if this deal had never been made.
Led by Robinson, the Orioles went on to win the 1966 World Series and Frank was named the Series MVP. In the Orioles’ four-game sweep of the defending champion Dodgers, Robinson hit two home runs, the second coming in Game Four, the only run in a 1–0 series-clinching victory.
On May 8, 1966, Robinson became the only player ever to hit a home run completely out of Memorial Stadium. The shot came off Luis Tiant against the Indians. Until the Orioles’ move to Camden Yards in 1991, a flag labeled “HERE” was flown at the spot where the ball left the stadium.
Frank Robinson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982. In 1999, he ranked 22nd on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. He was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
So today we gladly shine our baseball spotlight on one of the game’s true greats, 1961 MVP winner, Frank Robinson.
Gary Livacari
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Information: Stats from Baseball-reference.com
