Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinsonis an American former Major League Baseballoutfielder and manager. He played for five teams from 1956 to 1976, and became the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues. He won the Triple Crown, was a member of two teams that won the World Series, and amassed the fourth-most career home runs at the time of his retirement. Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth31 August 1935
CityBeaumont, TX
CountryUnited States of America
I've been preaching to the guys out there, if you . . . keep making these silly mistakes, it comes back to haunt you in close ballgames, ballgames you should win, ... You're taking away opportunities from yourselves. We're beating ourselves more often than we're getting beat.
Sooner or later, Zimmerman's going to start three or four ballgames in a row, and Short may start two or three, Watson one or two, ... But basically, you're going to see the same guys that have been here finish out the season.
We haven't put everything together for any length of time. Maybe when the bell rings and we start for real, we can put it together. A lot of these guys haven't played together. It's going to take a while for the chemistry to come together, but this team has the ability to do that, to come together as a team. But, again, that comes from winning and enjoying the game.
If they were still here, they wouldn't have done the job. But to lose the guys to replace them, that hurts.
I can't do desperation things, because those guys will lose confidence in me. You have to be very careful this early in the season -- what you do and how you do it.
I can't remember a game called because of lights. It just wouldn't have been right to have those guys sitting around for 40 minutes, 50 minutes, an hour.
We have a better chance, let me put it that way. It just takes a lot of pressure off other people with those two guys in there. It just makes for a better lineup.
You have to understand, number one, the guys that are out there, those people are not going to be out there. We didn't catch the ball in the wind, we didn't make good decisions on plays, we didn't execute fundamentally.
We didn't get him to lead off. But he's going to be there if he's succeeding and the other guys in the lineup are doing their job. Right now he's comfortable there.
We will have experienced guys sitting on the bench this year that have been successful in that role they play. They understand it and accept it and produce in that role. So it should be better.
It wasn't even close. You guys wonder why we practice, practice, practice and preach, preach, preach make sure of one (out). Take your time and make sure of one. They don't have a chance if you don't make a good throw.
It might not last until we get to San Diego. But it certainly should show these guys what they're capable of doing if each individual would go up there and do what he's capable of doing, and think about it being a team effort.
Would it be fair to put him out there ahead of these other guys who have played those positions for quite some time?
A lot of guys said he was off the wall, he's crazy. I found him to be a guy with a lot of energy. He played the game hard. He just wanted to go out and play. Sometimes his emotion got in the way. He would lose control and tear things. I talked to him and reasoned with him. I listened to him. We developed a fondness for each other. I admire him for the way he goes about his work.