Frank Robinson (original) (raw)

Frank Robinson (born August 31, 1935) was a Major League Baseball player and is currently (2003) the manager of the Montreal Expos. Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.

Robinson had a very successful career with five teams: Cincinnati Reds (1956 - 1965), Baltimore Orioles (1966 - 1971), Los Angeles Dodgers (1972), California Angels (1973 - 1974) and Cleveland Indians (1974 - 1976). He was a member of two teams that won the World Series, the 1966 and 1970 Baltimore Orioles. Robinson was named MVP of the 1966 series. He was named Most Valuable Player twice, in 1961 with the Reds and again in 1966 with the Orioles, becoming the first player to win MVP awards in both leagues. In 1966 he hit for the Triple Crown, leading the American League with a .316 batting average, 49 home runs and 122 runs batted in.

Robinson's final career totals included a .294 average, 586 home runs, 1812 runs batted in, and 2808 games played.

Frank Robinson became the first black manager of a Major League Baseball team, when he was a player-manager with Cleveland in 1975. He managed the Cleveland Indians (1975 - 1977), San Francisco Giants (1981 - 1984) and Baltimore Orioles (1988 - 1991) and became manager of the Montreal Expos before the 2002 season. Robinson's managerial record coming in to 2002 is 680-751, a .475 record. He was awarded the American League Manager of the Year Award in 1989 for leading the Baltimore Orioles to an 87-75 record, a huge turnaround from their previous season in which they went 54-101.

In 1982, Frank Robinson was inducted into the United States Baseball Hall of Fame.