Nice guy Brooks Robinson in town
Last updated Monday, July 24, 2006 7:14 PM CDT in Sports
By Harry King
The Morning News
Almost to the parking lot, I thought a baseball nut in the newsroom would treasure a Brooks Robinson autograph.
In the bleachers behind home plate at Lamar Porter Field, it was the Hall of Fame third baseman and stragglers only. He had signed all the baseballs placed in front of him, plus some plastic-protected ancient magazines, and was posing with anybody who asked.
After a camera click, every exit was accompanied by a "Thanks for coming out," from Robinson.
Handed a spiral notebook, he could have done the signature by rote. Instead, he listened to the fact that the autograph was for a huge Pittsburgh fan and he personalized the message with references to the Orioles-Pirates' World Series in 1971 and 1979.
What a human touch by a genuinely nice guy. No wonder so many Baltimore residents named their children Brooks back in the 1960s and 1970s.
During those years with the Orioles, Robinson won 16 Gold Gloves and he is still the standard for judging third basemen. Willie Mays' back-to-home-plate catch against Cleveland in 1954 is the most famous in World Series history, but Robinson's wizardry in 1970 was the finest collection of plays in one Series.
After Robinson was named Series MVP, Cincinnati manager Sparky Anderson said, "I'm beginning to see Brooks in my sleep. If I dropped this paper plate, he'd pick it up on one hop and throw me out at first."
For Robinson, it all started at Lamar Porter -- the ultimate fixer upper -- and he stopped by Sunday to check out the updates. Once a home away from home for many, the 70-year-old field is used for some high school games and an RBI program. Short for Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities, it is sponsored by major league baseball. The Jim Elder Good Sport Fund got things going a few years ago and Robinson's input helped land an $85,000 grant from the Baseball Tomorrow Fund. Almost 75 percent of the money went to Lamar Porter and the city provided the labor.
All dirt when Robinson played, the infield has grass. The big scoreboard, where he once hung up numbers, is gone and a green windscreen fence capped by yellow plastic encircles the outfield. From left center to right center, it is 20 feet high.
Robinson, who had 268 home runs among his 2,848 major-league hits, says his only home runs at Lamar Porter climbed the hill and ran into the pines in right-center. In American Legion, he played second base -- supposedly because he was the only who could pivot on the double play -- and did 50 games at that position at York, Pa. His minor league manager, George Staller, and Baltimore manager Paul Richards collaborated on moving him to third, a position where reflexes are more important than speed.
"At third, it was knock 'em down and throw 'em out," he said.
Signed on the day he graduated from Little Rock Central, he is certain his instincts were sharpened from hours and hours of pickup games. He lived near the Deaf School and the bike trip to Lamar Porter was only minutes. Don Hurst, who dropped by to see Robinson, grew up a couple of miles to the east. At 7, he would ride the city bus to Lamar Porter and call his mother as soon as he arrived.
The games were innovative, particularly when the players were limited.
"Work up -- I don't think kids even know what that is any more," Robinson said, referring to a few players rotating through at bats and defensive positions. "Maybe I'm all wet, but there is a certain instinct you gain from doing that."
Before he got to Legion ball, teams wore jeans and matching shirts. Today, it's all too regimented, he said.
When Lamar Porter is the subject, the first story he tells is about asking his mother to take him to the park where a bubblegum company was staging a competition. He left his bike at home because the one who blew the biggest bubble won a new ride.
Later that day, he pedaled and little brother Gary was on back of the Schwinn.
Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media Group's Arkansas News Bureau. e-mail: hking@arkansasnews.com.
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