Former Major League Baseball legend, Frank Robinson, passed away at the age of 83 today. He passed away today after battling bone cancer for an extended period of time. There were many who spoke highly of him and reflected on his passing talking about how important he was to baseball, and Major League Baseball released an official statement as well.
MLB’s statement on the passing of Hall of Famer Frank Robinson: pic.twitter.com/JeV7JCfAfS
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 7, 2019
Few baseball players were ever tougher than Frank Robinson, less than a dozen were greater players. In the winter of ’73-74 I spent a week w/him in San Juan as he prepared to be 1st A-A manager, and change history. A giant man then, ever.
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) February 7, 2019
Robinson was the first player to ever win an MVP award in both the American and National League. Over the course of his playing career, Robinson accumulated many honors and awards such as the Rookie of the Year award in 1956, two MVP awards in 1961 and again in 1966, a highly coveted Triple Crown in 1966, 2 World Series victories, a Gold Glove, and a Batting Title. As shown above, with the lengthy description of awards, Robinson was one of the elites of those who ever stepped foot on a big league field, he finished his career with 586 home runs, a slash of .294/.389/.537 over the course of a 21-year span.
Besides all of his greatness on the field, Robinson was also player-manager for the Cleveland Indians where he then stepped into a full-time manager’s role and continued to manage. After 16 years of managing, Robinson stepped into a position with the commissioner’s office where he became the honorary president of the American League in 2015. Over the course of his managing career, he was the recipient of a Manager of the Year award in 1989 while managing the Baltimore Orioles. After his MLB career, the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, and Cincinnati Reds all retired his number 20.
