Lee Lowenfish

Everything you have read about Brooks Robinson is true.  There never was a more modest and genuine athlete and person than the Orioles Hall of Fame third baseman who died in Baltimore on Tu Sep 26 at the age of 86.  The sad news arrived as the Orioles were on the verge of clinching their first AL East divisional title since 2014. 

 

On Monday Oct 2, Camden Yards hosted a public memorial for a man who truly believed that his admirers were "not fans but friends." Maybe the late AP sportswriter Gordon Beard said it best on "Thanks, Brooks" Day in August 1977 just after he retired. Reggie Jackson might have a candy bar named after him in NYC (briefly), but Gordon said that in Baltimore people name babies after Brooks. And Brooks made it a point to keep in touch with most of his namesakes.

 

In one of the touching remembrances that have poured out since Brooks' passing, Baltimore writer Michael Olesker remembered that Brooks' mother,

Ethel, told him that he grew up across the street from a school for children with disabilities.  He always played with those kids as if they were his equals. 

 

When I was working in the late 1970s on my book about baseball's chaotic labor relations THE IMPERFECT DIAMOND, I talked to Brooks about his role as an important leader in the nascent Players Association. One of the big reasons for my Oriole fandom that began in the late 1960s was that their great teams were not just excellent on the field but they had leaders in the MLBPA like Brooks and shortstop Mark Belanger. Even manager Earl Weaver didn't spew the owners' line of death to the game if the perpetual reserve system was reformed. 

 

Brooks told me the story about how he was signed after his high school graduation in 1955 by the Orioles.  The Birds' major domo Paul Richards had played in the minor leagues with Lindsey Deal, an Arkansas area scout for the club who projected Brooks as the future real deal at third base. 

Brooks' father, a fine semi-pro player who was now a fire department captain, was able to negotiate a major league contract and a $4000 bonus, just small enough to keep his son from being forced on a major league roster (under the bonus rules from 1953-1957). 

 

The Cincinnati Reds cried foul, claiming more money had been slipped under the table.  Brooks remembered that after he was flown to commissioner Ford Frick's office in New York, he had to put his hand on a Bible and swear that he didn't accept any additional money.

 

As the Players Association developed muscle starting in 1966 under Marvin Miller's leadership, Brooks emerged as one of the leaders wanting to get the players a fair deal. During the 1972 strike over payments to the players pension fund, Brooks offered his home to Miller for a meeting with the

entire team to explain the union's position. 

 

He would call that period "the worst ten days of my life" and he was even booed when the season started 10 days late. But that ill-feeling among the fans  couldn't last.  He was always so likable and genuine. Along with Baltimore Colts football quarterback John Unitas, he became one of the most revered people in the city.  And unlike Unitas, Brooks wound up playing his entire career in Baltimore. 

 

There has long been no other player wearing a #5 in a Baltimore uniform.  But his spirit will certainly be felt as the Orioles take on the powerful

Texas Rangers this weekend in the best-of-five ALDS (divisional series).   Fortunately I don't have to predict for a living and I just hope there is some memorable baseball ahead for us.  Because as I often say, "The only reason to play baseball is to keep winter away."

 

In closing, here is a link to a Zoom conversation about my new book on scouting BASEBALL'S ENDANGERED SPECIES.  I will be having it with Bruce Markusen of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on Thursday Oct 12 at 7p EDT.  

https://baseballhall.org/events/virtual-author-series-lee-lowenfish

 

It is a free Zoom, but you must register in advance. lf there is a problem with the link, go to baseballhall.org - Click Visit, then Events, then

Virtual Authors Series. 

 

As always, take it easy but take it, and stay positive, test negative.   I did test positive a couple of weeks ago but I'm on the mend but being more

cautious in public places.  Keep those masks handy! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want an understanding of what baseball purism is all about, check out Gunnar Henderson's second double of the game in yesterday's (Sun Aug 20) rout of the lowly Oakland A's.  Seemingly all the broadcasters and even most of his teammates wanted him just to get a single to complete a cycle, having already gotten the triple, homer, and double.

 

Gunnar's baseball instincts, though, took over. His smash down the right field line "looked double," he said after the game almost sheepishly. He just couldn't turn off his highly competitive and wonderful-to-watch jets. 

 

Now, listen, I am not against any change in baseball.  I'm all for the pitch clock and the end of the infield shift that turned the right side of the baseball diamond into a grotesque facsimile of a football backfield. 

 

But if purism means endorsing playing the game hard, smart, and well, running out every at-bat, and hitting the cutoff man on outfield relays, call me a purist. And after sweeping the lowly Oakland A's to finish a West Coast trip with a solid 6-3 record, the AL East-leading Orioles got to enjoy the Monday off-day, three games ahead of (and four games in lost column) Tampa Bay. 

 

Tomorrow (Tu Aug 22) the Birds open at home their last series of the year with division rival Toronto. Although nine games out of first place with 38 to play, the Blue Jays still look formidable to me. They are coming off an impressive road series victory over the surprising Cincinnati Reds. Toronto's outstanding young shortstop Bo Bichette is back from a leg injury and he is always a bundle to deal with. 

 

Because of the so-called "balanced schedule" that downplays intra-divisional play, the Orioles finished with the Yankees at the end of July and now Toronto before end of August.  At least there are four left with Tampa Bay in Baltimore from Sep 14-17. 

 

One thing the Orioles should be proud of is their consistency which, of course, is the most hallowed hallmark in any sport. As a wise sports psychologist once said, "If consistency were an island, it would be lightly populated. 

 

The Birds have not been swept in any three- or four-game series since mid-May 2022, a record that is the fifth longest in MLB history.  Not coincidentally, the streak started at almost the same time as the MLB arrival of deservedly-touted switch-hitting catcher Adley Rutschman. 

 

I can here former Oriole manager Earl Weaver grousing from the Great Baseball Beyond, "What's the big deal? You are supposed to win most of your games if you are a good team."  That is true, Earl, but the stat does speak to keeping one's focus on each and every game.  And realizing that Nothing Is Guaranteed. 

 

It looks like there will be plenty of drama throughout MLB in the final weeks of the season.  It seemed likely that the runner-up in the AL West would be the second of the three wild cards, but this weekend both the Rangers and Astros were swept at home by the Brewers and Mariners, respectively. 

 

Despite losing to suddenly potent Milwaukee, leaders of the NL Central, Texas still has a four game lead on defending World Series-champion Houston. But Seattle spanked the Astros and is on a roll to at least capture the third wild card over Toronto.

 

The Mariners came on strong last season and made the playoffs and certainly they look tough with possibly the best starting pitching in baseball and a red-hot young star in Julio Rodriguez. The Red Sox cannot be counted out after sweeping the reeling Yankees on the road. 

 

The National League has quite a wild card race going on, too, with two surprising teams, the Cubs and the Reds, vying with defending NL champion Phlllies for post-season play.  The Braves and Dodgers have sewed up their NL East and NL West titles and the Brewers with less breathing room seem to have at last the NL Central under control.

 

I'm not the biggest fan of the expanded wild cards but as long as the teams are somewhat over .500 I can reluctantly accept them.  With Cleveland now 8 games under .500 and Minnesota four over, it looks like the AL Central is close to being settled. 

 

I must remind myself that the calendar still says August.  Yet there is that lack of dramatic intra-divisional matchups in September because of the so-called "balanced" schedule (sigh). 

 

In closing, a tip of the cap to three Rutgers baseball players who led the Bourne Braves earlier this month to their second straight Cape Cod Baseball League championship. They are outfielders Josh Kuroda-Grauer, the championship series MVP; Pete Cuifffreda, an incoming graduate transfer; and catcher Hugh Pinkney. 

 

It was the second consecutive year that 3 Scarlet Knights played for champion Bourne.   

 

That's all for now.  Always remember:  Take it easy but take it, and stay positive test negative.