Brooks Robinson remembered for greatness on and off field

BALTIMORE -- As one former baseball great after another stepped to the lectern -- positioned just beside third base at Camden Yards -- each expressed a similar sentiment Monday morning.

Brooks Robinson was an incredible baseball player. He was easily an even better person, and that will be his lasting legacy.

Robinson, who died last Tuesday at the age of 86, was remembered during a public memorial held at the ballpark in downtown Baltimore. Some of baseball’s all-time greats -- most of whom once played for the Orioles -- shared their memories of Robinson and discussed the impact he had on the sport and the only organization he played for during a 23-year big league career.

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“Brooksie was my man. I’m sure that’s how most kids who grew up in and around Baltimore felt,” said Hall of Famer and Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., who was born and raised in Aberdeen, Md. “We all looked up to him as a great baseball player, which he was. But his greater influence on us came in the form of a role model. He was baseball’s gentleman on and off the field.

“My mom and dad encouraged me to be like Brooks. You might think it was for the way he played, but it wasn’t. It was for the way he handled himself and treated others, and for the way he represented the team and the city. We were so lucky to have him to look up to and to try to model ourselves after.”

Robinson played his final game in 1977. Ripken didn’t debut until ‘81. So their paths never crossed on the diamond. Ripken said it felt like he was stepping on “sacred ground” when he made his first career start on Aug. 12, 1981, at third base.

Most can’t relate to what that must have felt like. But anybody who met Robinson can understand why Ripken -- and so many others who grew up in the 1960s and ‘70s -- idolized one of the most humble professional athletes of all time.

Robinson was kind and polite to every person he encountered, which remained true up to his recent death.

“For those of us who really got to know him, I believe we are here because of the gracious man that he was,” said Doug DeCinces, who replaced Robinson as Baltimore’s starting third baseman in 1977. “He was more unassuming and down to earth than any superstar that I ever met.”

Monday’s public memorial began with Robinson’s speech from his 1983 induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame playing on the scoreboard. He was the first third baseman to get elected in his first year of eligibility.

Then, it became time for baseball royalty to speak to the group gathered on the field -- where a black No. 5 was painted -- and to the many Orioles fans in attendance, seated in the stands behind the third-base dugout.

There was recognition of Robinson’s incredible playing ability. His 16 Gold Gloves are the most won by a position player in AL/NL history. He was a two-time World Series champion (1966 and ‘70), the 1964 American League MVP, the ‘70 Fall Classic MVP and an 18-time All-Star.

“He surely was the best third baseman ever,” said former Baltimore first baseman Boog Powell, who played with Robinson from 1961-74. “But I always admired his work with the bat. Brooks was the best clutch hitter I ever played with. When the game was on the line, he was your man.”

All spoke of Robinson’s high character, something his former teammates got to see firsthand -- even those whose careers only briefly overlapped with “Mr. Oriole.”

“He was really, really a great human being,” said Hall of Fame first baseman Eddie Murray, who was teammates with Robinson for a short time in ‘77.

Among other Baltimore legends in the crowd were Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer and former catcher Rick Dempsey, the 1983 World Series MVP. Several of baseball’s all-time greats who never played for the Orioles, or had any association with the franchise, also came to Camden Yards to honor a legend.

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Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Kaat (who, like Robinson, won 16 Gold Gloves, all consecutively) gave a speech. As did Joe Torre, a Hall of Fame manager who now serves as a special assistant to Commissioner Rob Manfred.

“He’s going to be missed. But let me tell you something -- he has left an impression on so many people,” Torre said. “And in doing so, he’s changed so many lives for the better. He’s still with us. He may not be here in person, but he’s with us in spirit. What a life to look back on and something to be proud of.”

Robinson loved the Orioles. The Little Rock, Ark., native, who never left Baltimore following the end of his playing career, regularly watched the O’s in recent years, and he got to meet much of the team’s current roster on “Thanks Brooks Day” on Sept. 24, 2022.

On Monday, chairman/CEO John Angelos, general manager Mike Elias and assistant GM Sig Mejdal were in attendance. The following Orioles players were also seated on the field: Kyle Bradish, Adam Frazier, Kyle Gibson, Aaron Hicks, Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O’Hearn, Grayson Rodriguez and Tyler Wells.

Members of the Robinson family expressed their great appreciation for the outpouring of love and support from the team and the city over the past week. Now, there’s nothing they’d enjoy more than watching the Orioles -- who will play their first postseason game since 2016 on Saturday -- end a remarkable 2023 season with their fourth World Series championship.

“Rest in peace, dad. We love you. We will miss you,” said Brooks David Robinson, one of Brooks’ four children. “And if there is anything you can do up there to help bring another World Series championship to Baltimore this year, we would greatly appreciate it.”