Dewey Everett Robinson (born April 28, 1955) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher and current coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox (1979–81), where he appeared in 30

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

. During his playing days, he stood tall, weighing . Robinson spent four seasons as a bullpen coach and

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

in the Major leagues for the White Sox and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. He currently serves in a coaching capacity for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Minor League Baseball (MiLB) organization.

Playing career

A native of Evanston, Illinois, Robinson attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. In 1975, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the Chatham A's of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. Robinson was selected by the White Sox in the 19th round (467th overall) of the

1977 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1977 Major League Baseball draft. Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The White Sox surprised some when they passed on right-handed pitcher Bill ...

. After a sparkling season as a relief pitcher for the Class A Appleton Foxes — 50 games pitched, a 10–3 win–loss record, with 17 saves, 121 strikeouts and a 1.72 earned run average (ERA), in 89

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

"Dewey Robinson Minor leagues Statistics and History"
'' Baseball-Reference.com''. Sports Reference LLC. — he made the 1979 ChiSox' opening day roster. But he was ineffective in two trials and 11 games with Chicago that season, losing his only

decision Decision may refer to: Law and politics * Judgment (law), as the outcome of a legal case *Landmark decision, the outcome of a case that sets a legal precedent * ''Per curiam'' decision, by a court with multiple judges Books * ''Decision'' (nove ...

and posting an ERA of 6.28. In between those stints, however, Robinson had a good season for the Triple-A Iowa Oaks, winning 13 games in relief. Following Robinson's success at Iowa with a strong months to begin , he was recalled to the ChiSox in July and pitched well in

middle relief In baseball, a middle reliever or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League pri ...

. In 15 games through the end of September, Robinson split two decisions and allowed only 26

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in 35

, with an ERA of 3.09. But in , he appeared in only 29 professional games, including four with the White Sox, to conclude his MLB career. However, Robinson's last appearance in the big leagues — on October 4 — was a memorable one. Entering the game in the ninth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...

with the White Sox trailing the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

12–9, Robinson pitched a scoreless inning. Then, when the White Sox rallied for four runs and a walk-off, 13–12 victory, Robinson was credited with the win. All told, in 30 MLB games and innings pitched, Robinson split four decisions, giving up 42 hits and 28

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, with 35 strikeouts, and a career ERA of 4.05. His MiLB playing career ended, following the season in the

' and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

' organizations.

Coaching career

Robinson coached collegiately at Northwestern University (1982–83) and the University of Missouri (1984–86). Robinson spent 10 seasons coaching in the Chicago White Sox

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

. He served two seasons as the White Sox' bullpen coach (1993–1994) and was also the pitching coach at Class A Peninsula of the Carolina League in 1987 and Class A Tampa in 1988. Robinson also served the White Sox as minor league pitching coordinator. Robinson joined the Astros organization in 1997 and was named the club's "Player Development Man of the Year" in 1998. He worked as their pitching coach in and , during Cecil Cooper's term as manager. Robinson was not retained by the Astros following the 2009 season. That October, he agreed to become a minor league pitching instructor for the Rays. Prior to the 2020 baseball season, Robinson assumed the title of "Director, Pitching Development". Robinson spent 12 years as the director of pitching development for Tampa Bay. On December 28, 2021, Robinson was hired by the

organization to serve as a special advisor of pitching development, coaching, and player development.

Personal life

Robinson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He and his wife, Cindy, have two sons, Brett and Greg. Brett pitched for the Astros Short-Season Class A affiliate at Tri-City in 2007 after being drafted in the 27th round in June.

References

External links

Dewey Robinson
Rays Coaching Bio :
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Dewey 1955 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Appleton Foxes players Baseball coaches from Illinois Baseball players from Illinois Chatham Anglers players Chicago White Sox coaches Chicago White Sox players Edmonton Trappers players Houston Astros coaches Iowa Oaks players Knoxville Sox players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Minor league baseball coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Portland Beavers players Southern Illinois Salukis baseball players Vancouver Canadians players