Black History Month continues in MLB, and it’s a fantastic initiative to remember some of the best players who ever stepped on a baseball field.
This time, we remember one of the fieriest competitors the league has ever had: outfielder Frank Robinson.
Robinson is a member of a select list of achievements: only seven players in MLB have hit at least 580 home runs and scored 1,800 runs, and he is one of them.
Frank Robinson is the only player to win MVP in the AL and NL. #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/lCU1EugM6Z
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) February 16, 2022
Additionally, he remains the only player to win the MVP award in both the American League and the National League.
That’s obviously a tough thing to achieve, since not only it requires being the absolute best in the league for two different seasons, but it means he was once the most valuable performer in two different circuits.
A Special Hitter
Robinson was really, really good as a hitter: he slashed .294/.389/.537 with 586 home runs, 1,829 runs, 1,812 RBI, and he even threw in 204 stolen bases.
He played with the Cincinnati Redlegs/Reds (1956–1965), the Baltimore Orioles (1966–1971), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1972), the California Angels (1973–1974), and the Cleveland Indians (1974–1976).
After that, he alternated coaching and managing stints between 1975 and 2006.
As a player, though, he earned just about every award there is to earn: he went to 14 All-Star Games, won two World Series (1966, 1970), was the 1961 NL MVP and the 1966 AL MVP, earned the World Series MVP award in 1966 as well as the Triple Crown, and was NL’s top rookie in 1956.
He also won a Gold Glove.
Robinson, a Hall of Famer since 1982, has a special place among those fans who were fortunate enough to enjoy the game in the fifties, sixties, and seventies.
He is truly one of the all-time greats in MLB.
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