Brooks Robinson

Brooks Robinson
Robinson in 1959
Third baseman
Born: (1937-05-18)May 18, 1937 Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Died: September 26, 2023(2023-09-26) (aged 86) Owings Mills, Maryland, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 17, 1955, for the Baltimore Orioles
Last MLB appearance
August 13, 1977, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
Batting average	.267
Hits	2,848
Home runs	268
Runs batted in	1,357
Teams
Baltimore Orioles (1955–1977)
Career highlights and awards
18× All-Star (1960–1974) 2× World Series champion (1966, 1970) AL MVP (1964) World Series MVP (1970) 16× Gold Glove Award (1960–1975) Roberto Clemente Award (1972) AL RBI leader (1964) Baltimore Orioles No. 5 retired Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame Major League Baseball All-Century Team Major League Baseball All-Time Team
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1983
Vote	92.0% (first ballot)

Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. (May 18, 1937 – September 26, 2023) was an American baseball player who played his entire 23 seasons in Major League Baseball as third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977. Nicknamed "Mr. Hoover" and "the Human Vacuum Cleaner", he is generally considered to have been the greatest defensive third baseman in major league history.^[1] An 18-time All-Star, he won 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards, the most by a position player, and tied with Jim Kaat for the second-most of all time, behind Greg Maddux. His 2,870 career games at third base not only exceeded the closest player by nearly 700 games when he retired, but also remain the most games by any player in major league history at a single position. His 23 seasons spent with a single team set a major league record since matched only by Carl Yastrzemski.

Joining the Orioles as a teenager in 1955, Robinson became the centerpiece of the team as they posted the best record in the major leagues between 1965 and 1974, capturing four American League (AL) pennants and two World Series titles. Beloved in Baltimore, Robinson was known as "Mr. Oriole" by the team's fans. He was named the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1964 after posting career highs with a .317 batting average, 28 home runs, and 118 runs batted in (RBIs), leading the AL in the last category. In 1966, he finished second in the MVP voting behind teammate Frank Robinson after again posting 100 RBIs as the Orioles won the pennant, before sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers for the team's first Series title.

In the 1970 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Robinson drew wide attention with his strong defensive play, time after time robbing Cincinnati players of base hits, and drove in runs in the first four games; his performance won him the World Series MVP Award as Baltimore defeated the Reds in five games. In 1971 he became one of just 12 players to earn over $100,000 annually. Robinson led AL third basemen in fielding percentage eleven times and in assists eight times, both major league records, and in putouts and double plays three times each. He still holds major league records for career putouts (2,697), assists (6,205), total chances (9,165), and double plays (618) at third base, with each total being between 13% and 20% higher than the closest player. His career fielding percentage of .971 was a major league record until 2006, and remains the top AL mark.

Upon his retirement during the 1977 season, his 2,896 games and 10,654 at bats each ranked fifth in major league history, behind only Ty Cobb among AL players, and his 2,848 hits ranked seventh in AL history. From 1969 to 1980, he held the AL record for career home runs by a third baseman. He set franchise records for career games, at bats, hits, runs (1,232), RBIs (1,357), doubles (482), total bases (4,270), and home runs by a right-handed hitter (268), all of which were later broken by Cal Ripken Jr. Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983 in his first year of eligibility, a first for third basemen. Following his playing career, he served as a broadcaster for the Orioles and also joined Opening Day Partners, who own several minor league teams. Robinson remained popular with Oriole fans for his kindness and patience with them. "Never has a player meant more to a franchise and more to a city than Brooks has meant to the Orioles and the city of Baltimore," said Oriole historian Ted Patterson.