Floyd Andrew Robinson (born May 9, 1936) is a former
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
for the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
(1960–1966),
Cincinnati Reds (1967), and the
Oakland Athletics and
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
(1968). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Early career
He attended
San Diego High School
San Diego High School (SDHS) is an urban public high school located on the southern edge of Balboa Park, in San Diego, California, United States. It is the oldest high school in the San Diego Unified School District, one of the oldest public sc ...
in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
, where he starred in both baseball and football. He was offered a football scholarship to the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
as a quarterback, but chose to sign a professional baseball contract.
He signed directly with the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
of the
Pacific Coast League in 1954, and was acquired by the White Sox when they signed a working agreement with the Padres in 1960.
MLB outfielder
Robinson made his major league debut at age 24 on August 10, 1960 in a 6-0 White Sox home loss to the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
, starting in right field and going 0-for-3 against
Art Ditmar
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
. After batting in double-digit games over a five-week span without a hit, he notched his first career hit on September 18, 1960 in an 8-4 road win over the
Detroit Tigers with a sixth-inning single off
Jim Bunning
James Paul David Bunning (October 23, 1931 – May 26, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher and politician who represented Kentucky in both chambers of the United States Congress. He was the sole Major League Baseball athlete to ha ...
. In his next at-bat, he got his first career run-batted-in with a single off
Dave Sisler that plated
Ted Kluszewski.
Robinson was managed by
Hall of Famer
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
Al López
Alfonso Ramón López (August 20, 1908 – October 30, 2005) was a Spanish-American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Robins / Dodgers, Boston Bees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cle ...
, a man he respected a great deal, for most of his seven-year White Sox career.
Eddie Stanky
Edward Raymond Stanky (born Stankiewicz (September 3, 1915 – June 6, 1999) was an American professional baseball second baseman, shortstop, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston ...
managed the 1966 White Sox, which was Robinson's final year with the team. Stanky was known for prickly relationships with his ballplayers.
His first full year in the majors, 1961, was an outstanding one as he finished tied for third in the
American League Rookie of the Year
In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...
voting. He posted a .310
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
with 11
home runs, 59
runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...
, 134
hits and 52
bases on balls.
In
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
, he finished 10th in the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
MVP voting (
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...
won) and had 187 hits in 600
at bats for a .312 batting average, third in the league. He led the league in doubles that year with 45, and was fourth in RBIs with 109. On July 22, 1962, Robinson became part of baseball history with six hits (all singles) in six at-bats in a nine-inning game. He is one of only 35 American Leaguers to accomplish the feat.
In
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
, Robinson came closer to reaching the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
than he ever would when the White Sox went 98–64, one game behind the 99-63
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
. It was the second of three straight years that his team finished second in the American League. The White Sox had reached the
World Series in 1959, one year before Robinson reached the majors. However, Robinson never played on a team with a losing record.
Robinson's career high in home runs came in
1965 when he hit 14 with 66 RBIs. That was his last major
offensive year.
In December 1966 he was traded to the Reds, for whom he played one season, batting .238 with one home run and 10 RBIs in 55 games. In November 1967 he was traded to the Athletics, for whom he batted .247 with one home run and 14 RBIs in 53 games. On July 31 his contract was purchased by the Red Sox, for whom Robinson played 23 games, including his final career game on September 29, 1968.
A knee injury in 1967 had cut short his career.
In nine major league seasons, Robinson hit .283 with 67
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s and 426
RBIs. He accumulated 140
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* ...
s, 36
triple
Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble":
Sports
* Triple (baseball), a three-base hit
* A basketball three-point field goal
* A figure skating jump with three rotations
* In bowling terms, three strikes in a row
* ...
s, and 42
stolen bases with 458
runs scored. Defensively, in 886 games Robinson committed 30
errors for a .981
fielding percentage.
Off the field
Robinson is a cousin of former major league outfielder
Tommie Reynolds
Tommie D. Reynolds (born August 15, 1941) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He was signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent in 1963, and played for them from 1963 to 1965. He also played for the New York Mets (1967 ...
, who played eight years in the majors for five teams from 1963 to 1972.
After baseball, Robinson and his wife Sandra, whom he married in 1965, were also business partners, investing in real estate and apartment buildings and a small grocery store. They especially take pride in their building of the Golden Age Garden, a low-income senior citizen apartment complex in San Diego. In 2007, they established the nonprofit Floyd Robinson Foundation.
In 2009, Robinson was inducted by the
San Diego Hall of Champions
The San Diego Hall of Champions was an American multi-sport museum in San Diego, California until its closure in June 2017. The Hall of Champions housed the Breitbard Hall of Fame - San Diego's sports hall of fame - which is now located at Petco P ...
into the
Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the field.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
In baseball, a doubles is recorded when the ball is hit so that the batter is able to advance to second base without an error by a defensive player. In Major League Baseball (MLB), the leader in each league (American League and National League) ...
*
List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders
In baseball, a hit is credited to a batter when he reaches first base – or any subsequent base – safely after hitting a fair ball, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice. One hundred seventeen different players have record ...
References
External links
, o
Retrosheet o
SABR Biography Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Floyd
1936 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
Baseball players from Arkansas
Boise Pilots players
Boston Red Sox players
Chicago White Sox players
Cincinnati Reds players
Hawaii Islanders players
Major League Baseball outfielders
Oakland Athletics players
People from Prescott, Arkansas
Rapiños de Occidente players
San Diego Padres (minor league) players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
American expatriate baseball players in Panama
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople
San Diego High School alumni
Salem Senators players