Brooks Robinson: Best, Worst, Outliers, and Oddities

A different type of profile of Brooks Robinson (RIP, 1937-2023), one that looks at the pitchers who did the best/worst against him, his results vs. teams, in stadiums, and more interesting trivia.

October 01, 2023

Issue #123

Several players with good major league careers have passed away so far this year, including Sal Bando, Dick Groat, Tim McCarver, and most recently, Tim Wakefield. But also lost a Hall of Fame player in Brooks Robinson (see Wikipedia page and Baseball-Reference page), who at the age of 86 passed away on September 26th.

As I did last year, soon after Gaylord Perry passed away, I did a little digging into Brooks’ career numbers. So this is finally a second installment in what I intend to be a series of player profiles (not only at moments of players’ deaths) that I’m calling “Best, Worst, Outliers, and Oddities.”

Standard Numbers and Accolades

Before I get to that more unique analysis, here are some of the standard numbers and accolades that reviews of Brooks Robinson’s playing career usually include:

  • Robinson is best known for the work he did at third base and as a hitter. But he was also a broadcaster, a businessman, a philanthropist, and past president of the Major League Players Alumni Association.

  • Robinson had a 23-year major league career, from 1955-1977, playing all for the Baltimore Orioles. This is tied with Carl Yastrzemski (Red Sox) for the most seasons in an MLB career with one franchise. 17 of his 23 season were full seasons, i.e., over 100 games.

  • He was an All-Star in 15 consecutive seasons from 1960-1974 (18 total selections, as he made it both times in 1960-1962).

  • Most well known for his defense at third base, he won the AL Gold Glove Award 16 consecutive times, every year from 1960-1975. Only pitchers Jim Kaat (16) and Greg Maddux (18) have tied surpassed Robinson’s GG total.

  • He won the AL MVP Award in 1964, when in addition to his outstanding defense he had his best offensive season with 28 HR, 35 doubles, an AL-leading 118 RBI, a .317/.368/.521 slash line, and 145 OPS+. He was in the top-10 in MVP voting in six other seasons.

  • He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983, in his first year on the ballot, with 92% of the vote. See Robinson’s page at the HOF.

  • The Orioles retired his jersey #5 in 1978.

  • Very durable, he led the AL in games played five times during his prime, with almost all of his games coming at 3B (he played in 25 games at 2B and 5 at SS).

  • According to Baseball-Reference.com, he ranks third in Defensive WAR (Wins Above Replacement) with 39.1, behind only SS Ozzie Smith at 44.2 and and Robinson’s teammate SS Mark Belanger at 39.5.

  • Defensively at 3B, he still ranks 1st all time in both putouts (2,697) and assists (6,205). He led the AL in 3B putouts three times, and 3B assists 8 times.

  • He led the AL in 3B Fielding Percentage an impressive 11 times. His .971 career 3B fielding percentage ranked first all-time when he retired, and still ranks fifth, behind Placido Polanco, Mike Lowell, Matt Chapman, and Nolan Arenado (though Robinson played around twice as many games at 3B as Lowell and Arenado so far, and four times as many games at 3B as Polanco.)

  • Given his longevity, he also ranks 16th in career games played (2,896) and 17th in at-bats (10,654)

  • His career slash line was a more modest .267/.322/.401, as was his OPS+ of 105. Notable offensive career totals include:

    • 2,848 hits

    • 268 HR

    • 482 doubles

    • 1,232 Runs

    • 1,357 RBI

  • He generally upped his game in the post-season, ending his career with a .303/.323/.462 slash line with 5 HR and 8 doubles in 39 postseason games. He particularly stood out in 1970 when he went 7-12 in the ALCS against the Twins and then took home World Series MVP honors after playing great defense and going 9-21 with 2 HR and 2 doubles as the Orioles beat the Reds.

Splits

Many of Brooks Robinson’s career splits were not surprising to see:

  • As a right-handed batter, he was more effective against LHP (.279/.336/.416) than RHP (.262/.316/.394)

  • He hit better at home (.273/.329/.410) than on the road (.263/.316/.392).

  • He hit pretty consistently between night and day games, and in the first half vs. second half of seasons.

Robinson most often hit 6th or 5th in the lineup, but frequently batted cleanup (mostly from 1964-67) or third too (mostly from 1960-62).

Best and Worst Team Opponents

Brooks hit pretty consistently against most teams, with only a few standouts:

  • He hit pretty well against the Royals (.287 average), which is interesting since it was later in his career (1969-77).

  • His highest slash line numbers came against the Senators/Rangers franchise: .294/.350/.427

  • The only opponent that really stands out with noticeably lower numbers was the Brewers franchise, against whom from 1969-77 he slashed only .248/.319/.336.

Best and Worst Stadiums

As noted earlier, Robinson hit a little better at home (Memorial Stadium) than on the road. Part of why he did well against the Senators/Rangers franchise was he did well at their stadiums:

  • Washington’s Griffith Stadium: 50 games, .274/.318/.451

  • Washington’s RFK Stadium: 88 games, .293/.350/.430

  • Texas’ Arlington Stadium: 26 games, .327/.360/.427

Those numbers at the Rangers’ ballpark are particularly solid since they occurred late in his career from 1972-76.

Brooks also hit well at Boston’s Fenway, with 23 HR, 9 triples, and 35 doubles in 668 at-bats, with a .281/.327/.464 slash line.

On the other hand, these road stadiums generally game him trouble:

  • Detroit’s Tiger Stadium: 163 games, .235/.288/.353

  • California’s Anaheim Stadium: 72 games, .241/.320/.357

  • Oakland Coliseum: 56 games, .245/.300/.407

  • Chicago’s White Sox Park: 152 games, .247/.301/.377

Best and Worst Pitching Opponents

Over Robinson’s long career, he batted the most often against Mickey Lolich, Jim Perry, Catfish Hunter, Jim Kaat, and Whitey Ford. But who did he do the best and worst against? Here are the pitchers he hit really well (70+ PA):

  • Mickey Lolich: 171 PA, 9 doubles, 4 HR, .290/.343/.426

  • Jim Kaat: 153 PA, 3 HR, .324/.359/.458

  • Bill Monbouquette: 108 PA, 6 HR, .288/.296/.567

  • Dean Chance: 107 PA, 6 HR, .301/.321/.544

  • Camilo Pascual: 102 PA, 1 HR, .396/.444/.538

  • Mudcat Grant: 95 PA, 1 HR, .318/.368/.432

  • Tommy John: 73 PA, 3 HR, .309/.356/.485

In fewer plate appearances he also seemed to have these pitchers figured out pretty well: Jack Kralick (.443 average in 67 PA), Phil Regan (.400 in 49), Dave Morehead (.467 in 48), Ken Holtzman (.475 in 43), Bob Locker (.467 in 34), Gene Conley (.429 in 32), and Eli Grba (.429 in 31).

On the other hand, the pitchers who he rarely won the battle against include (70+ PA):

  • Jim Perry: 158 PA, 0 HR, .224/.280/.238 - ouch, that slugging percentage is not good! He had 32 hits against Perry, but only two extra-base hits (both doubles).

  • Catfish Hunter: 156 PA, 5 HR, .215/.260/.340 - an even lower average and OBP, but at least he connected for five homers.

  • Earl Wilson: 122 PA, 3 HR, .191/.256/.300

  • Luis Tiant: 109 PA, 1 HR, .214/.248/.311

  • Sonny Siebert: 106 PA, 1 HR, .202/.245/.283

  • Sam McDowell: 104 PA, 3 HR, .202/.298/.393

  • Joe Coleman: 100 PA, 1 HR, .216/.300/.284

  • Lee Stange: 88 PA, 3 HR, .195/.241/.341

Though in fewer plate appearances, he really struggled against George Brunet (.118 average and no extra base hits in 60 PA), Jim Slaton (.089 in 48), and Dave Boswell (.083 in 41).

Oddities

Born left handed. Consider this anecdote, excerpted from Joe Posnanski’s recent tribute article “Brooksie” at JoeBlogs:

  • “Dad’s favorite ballplayer was born left-handed. Think about that for a minute: Brooks Robinson, the best who ever played the hot corner, was born with the one physical quality that should have prevented him from ever playing third base. All his life he would do everything else left-handed — he shot a rifle lefty, he played tennis and ping pong lefty, he signed autographs left-handed.…When Dad’s favorite ballplayer was in the second grade, he broke his left arm and collarbone in an accident. Neither Brooks Jr. nor his father, Brooks Sr., had time to wait for the injury to heal. There was baseball to play! So Brooks Sr. put a ball in his son’s right hand and taught him how to throw right-handed. He put a sawed-off broomstick in his right hand and taught him how to swing right-handed. By the time the injury did heal, Brooks Jr. was uninterested in relearning the game as a lefty. And, anyway, lefties don’t play third base.”

Triple Plays. According to an article by Marty Noble at MLB.com, Brooks Robinson has the all-time record for hitting into the most triple plays with four. Given how great he was defensively, it is odd that he hit into more TPs than he was part of with the glove (3).

Hitting streaks. Not being a high-average hitter, Brooks Robinson not surprisingly never put together particularly long hitting streaks. That said, he did have a 17-game streak in 1966, and 16-game streaks in 1961 and 1963.

Nicknames. While “Brooksie” and “Mr. Oriole” are obvious ones, five others came from his defensive prowess at third base: “The Human Vacuum Cleaner,” “Mr. Hoover,” “Mr. Impossible,” “Houdini of the Hot Corner,” and “Mr. Perfection.”

Second only to Ripken in… lots of categories. His skills and his longevity with the Orioles means Robinson ranks second to only Cal Ripken in Orioles franchise history in many categories, including games played, at-bats, plate appearances, hits, singles, doubles, total bases, runs, RBIs, sacrifice flies, and double plays grounded into. His 268 HR rank fourth behind only Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray, and Boog Powell.

Other honors. Robinson earned the Commissioner's Trophy (now the Roberto Clemente Award) for exemplifying the game of baseball in 1972, and the Joe Cronin Award for significant achievement by an AL player in 1977.

All-Star Game performances. After going 3-4 with a triple, Robinson won the 1966 All-Star Game MVP Award—even though the AL lost the game 2-1. That wasn’t the only triple he hit during an All-Star game, as he oddly had three triples (but only 1 HR and no doubles) in 45 career All-Star game at-bats. Overall he slashed .289/.319/.489 during these games.

Mentored by another Hall of Famer. Early in his career, Robinson was mentored by another Hall of Famer, George Kell, who was wrapping up a 15-year career in Baltimore after having his best seasons with the Tigers, Red Sox, and White Sox.

The Cycle. Brooks went 5-5 and hit for the Cycle against the Chicago White Sox on July 15th, 1960.

A teenager in the majors. Robinson signed as a teenage free agent in 1955, and he immediately hit well at Class B with a .331/.415/.489 slash line before going 2-22 in a late-season cup of coffee with the Orioles. He played more in the minors than the majors from 1956-1958, but was in the majors to stay by mid-way through the 1959 season.

Particular about some of his equipment. According to his Wikipedia entry, “Robinson was very particular about his glove. He would try the gloves of different players and trade two of his own for theirs if he really wanted it. Once he found one he liked, he would take a year to prepare it. When he felt it was ready for game action, he would use it exclusively during games, using others for batting practice and infield workouts.” Also, Wikipedia notes this: “As a hitter, Robinson's trademark was his custom-made batting helmet with a 1-inch bill that was much shorter than the standard. He would use a hacksaw blade to shorten the bill to keep it from distracting him at the plate.”

The MLBAA. In the early 1980s, Robinson was one of the founding members of the MLBAA, the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, an organization created with the mission of promoting baseball, raising money for charity and protecting the dignity of the game through its Alumni players. In addition to helping to create the organization, Robinson was its president for many years.

Quotations

Here are a few clever things said about Brooks Robinson over the years:

  • He was so beloved in Baltimore that sports writer Gordon Beard wrote: “Brooks (Robinson) never asked anyone to name a candy bar after him. In Baltimore, people named their children after him.”

  • Joe Falls of the Detroit News pondered: “How many interviews, how many questions – how many times you approached him and got only courtesy and decency in return. A true gentleman who never took himself seriously. I always had the idea he didn’t know he was Brooks Robinson.”

  • Harold 'Pie' Traynor, the Pittsburgh Pirates' hall of fame third baseman to whom Robinson was often compared, said, "I once thought of giving him some tips, but dropped the idea. He's just the best there is." (Wikipedia)

  • “When fans ask Brooks Robinson for his autograph,” commented Oriole broadcaster Chuck Thompson, “he complied while finding out how many kids you have, what your dad does, where you live, how old you are, and if you have a dog. ... His only failing is that when the game ended, if Brooks belonged to its story – usually he did – you better leave the booth at the end of the eighth inning. ... By the time the press got [to the clubhouse] Brooks was in the parking lot signing autographs on his way home." (Wikipedia)

  • Robinson frustrated the Reds in the 1970 World Series in particular. Here are some quotes from notable Reds (not necessarily from during that series):

    • Sparky Anderson: "I'm beginning to see Brooks in my sleep. If I dropped this paper plate, he'd pick it up on one hop and throw me out at first."

    • Sparky Anderson: "I hope the car they (Sport Magazine who awarded it to the World Series MVP) give him (Brooks Robinson) has an extra large glove box."

    • Sparky Anderson: "He can throw his glove out there and it will start ten double plays by itself."

    • Pete Rose: "Brooks Robinson belongs in a higher league."

    • Pete Rose: "I've never seen anything like him in my life.”

    • Tony Perez: "He has to be the greatest third baseman of all time. I just enjoy watching him play. He's in the right place every time."

    • Johnny Bench: "I will become a left-handed hitter to keep the ball away from that guy."

    • Lee May: "Very nice (play) . . . where do they plug Mr. Hoover in?"

Then here are some interesting quotes attributed to Brooks Robinson himself:

  • “If you’re not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he'll be ready to take your job.”

  • “I'm a guy who just wanted to see his name in the lineup everyday. To me, baseball was a passion to the point of obsession.”

  • “It's a pretty sure thing that the player's bat is what speaks loudest when it's contract time, but there are moments when the glove has the last word.”

  • “I could field as long as I can remember, but hitting has been a struggle all my life.”

  • “I wouldn't mind seeing someone erase my record of hitting into four triple plays.”

  • “He (Hoyt Wilhelm) had the best knuckleball you'd ever want to see. He knew where it was going when he threw it, but when he got two strikes on you, he'd break out one that even he didn't know where it was going.”

  • “I've always said when I broke in I was an average player. I had an average arm, average speed and definitely an average bat. I am still average in all of those.”

  • "I watch baseball today and a third baseman makes a great play, they say 'That's a Brooks Robinson play.' and I ask myself, 'Did I ever do that?'"

For more quotations about and by Brooks Robinson, see his quotations page at The Baseball Almanac.

For More Information

See also these pages, articles, and books:

All data is from Baseball-Reference.com, and also their subscription service Stathead.com. If you are a big sports fan, be sure to check out the latest features at Stathead and the Sports Reference family of sites.

Did you know? I wrote a book with the same title as this Substack newsletter / blog: Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises. It was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports, the publisher of the annual Bill James Handbook and other popular titles. You can learn more about it at www.NowTakingTheField.com, or buy directly at Amazon and other booksellers.

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