ROBINSON, BROOKS, JR.

born May 18, 1937, Little Rock, Ark., U.S. in full Brooks Calbert Robinson, Jr. American professional baseball player who in 23 seasons as a third baseman with the American League Baltimore Orioles won the golden glove (fielding) award 16 times and set career records for a third baseman of 2,870 games played, a .971 fielding average, 2,697 putouts, 6,205 assists, and 618 participations in double plays. Robinson was at his best in postseason games, having a .986 fielding average and a .303 batting average (.267 regular season). Robinson began playing baseball at the age of six and graduated from Midget League (9-year-olds) play to American Legion baseball during his high school years at Central High School (Little Rock), which had no baseball team. He batted and threw right-handed. After graduation, he signed a contract with the Orioles and played on their minor league teams in 195557, during which time he played part of each season with the parent club. He was a regular by 1958, though he spent part of the 1959 season in the minors. He was a player-coach in 1977 and retired thereafter. He played in four World Series (1966, 1970, won; 1969, 1971, lost); he hit .583 in the playoffs preceding the 1970 series and .429 in the series itself. As a fielder he was superb on batted balls that were difficult, often seemingly impossible, to play. After his retirement as a player, he did television commentary for Orioles games (197879), worked for an oil company, and was employed in a management consultant company thereafter. He became a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.