Brooks Robinson---1968
Scout Tales...... Brooks Robinson
Visiting with my old friend Lou
Fitzgerald who was a long-time scout
and minor league manager, he told
the following story of how his buddy,
former Orioles manager Paul
Richards had a little fun with the
media one spring day.
It was back in the early 1960s as
Richards was preparing his Baltimore
Orioles for another season. Training
in sun-drenched Miami, the club was
going through the daily morning
routine of batting practice, while
pitchers did their running in the
outfield and coaches hit fungos to
the infielders.
A new Baltimore area baseball writer
approached Richards as he was
standing around the batting cage,
looking for a story for the next day’s
edition. The inquisitive young scribe
asked Richards if there were any
good words for the day.
Well Richards told the young man
that a piece hadn’t really been written
about one of his coaches who was off
to the side hitting fungos. Curiously,
the writer asked what was so special
about the coach, for which Richards
responded, “Don’t you see, he’s one
of the best fungo hitters ever in the
game. If you watch him, you will see
that every fungo he hits will go into
that fielder’s glove. It really helps give
our young fielders confidence.”
The writer watched intently as ground
ball after ground ball came to rest in
the fielder’s glove. Of course it really
wasn’t the coaches ability to fungo,
as the fielder was a young Brooks
Robinson.
*******************************************
Robinson would win 16 consecutive
Gold Gloves (1960-75) during his
Hall of Fame career.
Visiting with my old friend Lou
Fitzgerald who was a long-time scout
and minor league manager, he told
the following story of how his buddy,
former Orioles manager Paul
Richards had a little fun with the
media one spring day.
It was back in the early 1960s as
Richards was preparing his Baltimore
Orioles for another season. Training
in sun-drenched Miami, the club was
going through the daily morning
routine of batting practice, while
pitchers did their running in the
outfield and coaches hit fungos to
the infielders.
A new Baltimore area baseball writer
approached Richards as he was
standing around the batting cage,
looking for a story for the next day’s
edition. The inquisitive young scribe
asked Richards if there were any
good words for the day.
Well Richards told the young man
that a piece hadn’t really been written
about one of his coaches who was off
to the side hitting fungos. Curiously,
the writer asked what was so special
about the coach, for which Richards
responded, “Don’t you see, he’s one
of the best fungo hitters ever in the
game. If you watch him, you will see
that every fungo he hits will go into
that fielder’s glove. It really helps give
our young fielders confidence.”
The writer watched intently as ground
ball after ground ball came to rest in
the fielder’s glove. Of course it really
wasn’t the coaches ability to fungo,
as the fielder was a young Brooks
Robinson.
*******************************************
Robinson would win 16 consecutive
Gold Gloves (1960-75) during his
Hall of Fame career.
