Remembering Frank Robinson, Giants skipper

SAN FRANCISCO -- Frank Robinson's tenure as Giants manager was short but significant. He and his teams provided hope and promise when both were in short supply around Candlestick Park.
The Giants finished below .500 in 10 of 14 seasons from 1972-85. They never reached the postseason during this span. Two of their four winning years, however, were engineered by Robinson, who succeeded Dave Bristol after the 1980 season.
Robinson, who passed away Thursday at the age of 83, arrived in San Francisco with the distinction of having become the Major Leagues' first black manager in 1975 with Cleveland. Yet Robinson refused to dwell on his status, former pitcher Mike Krukow said.

"He never, ever talked about it," said Krukow, now a Giants broadcaster. "In his mind, he simply did his job, and his job was to be a professional and to teach us how to be professionals. That was, to me, what his legacy was all about.
"And he was smart. Please emphasize that. This guy had intelligence from another level. You knew he was smarter than you when you walked into the room."
• Frank Robinson, legend and pioneer, dies
During a visit to Oracle Park (nee AT&T Park) in Sept. 2017, Robinson recalled being approached by Giants owner Bob Lurie to pilot the club.
"I had been let go in Cleveland and I didn't know exactly when I might get another opportunity, if I ever would. But it came in pretty rapid fashion," Robinson said. "Bob called me. As a matter of fact, I was on the road in Colorado doing an appearance for Miller Lite. He called me and talked to me and said, 'We'd like you to manage this ballclub next year.' I said, 'OK, what are you going to pay me?' He told me and ... I accepted the job."
Under Robinson, San Francisco finished 56-55 during the strike-shortened 1981 season. The 1982 campaign almost was one for the ages, at least in Giants annals.
After trailing first-place Atlanta by 13 1/2 games in the National League West on July 30, the Giants went on a 10-game winning streak in early August to move into contention. They entered the season's final weekend tied for second place with Los Angeles, one game behind Atlanta. But the Dodgers defeated the Giants, 4-0, in the opener of a three-game series that concluded with Joe Morgan's home run that helped the Giants outlast the Dodgers in the season finale. That enabled Atlanta to win the West title.
The Giants finished fifth with a 79-83 record in 1983 and were 42-64 in 1984 when Lurie dismissed Robinson. Despite the 264-277 mark he compiled at the helm of the Giants, he was one of the fiercest competitors in franchise history to occupy the manager's role.
"Frank scared you, because he was such an aggressive guy," said Bill Laskey, a Giants broadcaster who was the team's No. 1 starter (13-12, 3.14 ERA) during that '82 season. "And when he spoke to you, it was either his way or no way."
• Giants' statement on passing of Frank Robinson
Laskey said that Robinson remained positive during the '82 campaign.
"He kept saying, 'Believe in yourself. Believe in this team. Believe that we can accomplish what we came here for,'" Laskey recalled. "He was the type of guy you wanted as a manager because he was a guy with a passion for the game."
Known as one of the most intense players in the Major Leagues during his Hall of Fame career as an outfielder, Robinson occasionally feuded with his own players, such as right fielder Jack Clark, the team's most dangerous hitter.
"He managed like he played," Laskey said. "That's how he wanted all of his players to play. And sometimes that was difficult."
"He was not a pat-on-the-back guy," Krukow said. "He was not a rah-rah guy. If you went out and had a seven-inning performance, struck out 11 and allowed two hits, that was your job. That was what you're getting paid to do. The time you heard from Frank was when you weren't backing up a base or you were stubborn [about throwing] the fastball or you weren't pitching to the situation.
"But he made you better."