Former Oriole Jeff Robinson Died

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Robinson played most of his career with the Tigers, where he was part of the 1987 A.L. East champion team.

His best season was in 1988, in which he went 13-6, had a 2.98 E.R.A., 6 complete games, and 2 shutouts in only 23 starts.

The Orioles acquired Robinson prior to the 1991 season, when he was traded for Mickey Tettleton. After pitching one season with the Orioles, Robinson finished his major league career in 1992, splitting time between the Rangers and the Pirates.

Robinson was 52 and-a-half years-old.

Former Tigers Pitcher Jeff Robinson, 52, Dies

(By Tony Paul)

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2014/10/27/former-tigers-pitcher-jeff-robinson-dies/17986035/

RIP Jeff.

Always sad to see someone die young. But, man, that was terrible trade. Robinson was completely done, Tettleton got dumped because he hit .215 and struck out a lot but then went on to a very successful run as a kind of five-corners/DH utility guy with the Tigers. I'd guess it's one of the five or ten worst trades in team history.

Always sad to see someone die young. But, man, that was terrible trade. Robinson was completely done, Tettleton got dumped because he hit .215 and struck out a lot but then went on to a very successful run as a kind of five-corners/DH utility guy with the Tigers. I'd guess it's one of the five or ten worst trades in team history.

As a 9 year old kid I was so pissed about that trade. After that he always seemed to kill us when we played the Tigers and Rangers, too.

In addition to being before his time as a "take and rake" type player, Tettleton got hurt a lot by playing in Memorial Stadium.

As a 9 year old kid I was so pissed about that trade. After that he always seemed to kill us when we played the Tigers and Rangers, too.

In addition to being before his time as a "take and rake" type player, Tettleton got hurt a lot by playing in Memorial Stadium.

I'll say that the Tettleton-Robinson trade couldn't happen today. No current GM would pull the trigger on that. Here's the specifics:

Tettleton was coming off a year where he hit .225 with 160 Ks, but had 106 walks and a 116 OPS+. Worth 2.9 rWAR at the age of 29 and was making $750k.

Robinson was coming off a year with a 67 ERA+, a K:BB ratio less than 1.0, and a 5.96 ERA. -1.1 fWAR, -1.0 rWAR. His only good season was a 1988 where he had an utterly unsustainable .208 BABIP.

I didn't like the trade at the time, but in hindsight it's an F-, even before considering the post-trade outcomes.

I'll say that the Tettleton-Robinson trade couldn't happen today. No current GM would pull the trigger on that. Here's the specifics:

Tettleton was coming off a year where he hit .225 with 160 Ks, but had 106 walks and a 116 OPS+. Worth 2.9 rWAR at the age of 29 and was making $750k.

Robinson was coming off a year with a 67 ERA+, a K:BB ratio less than 1.0, and a 5.96 ERA. -1.1 fWAR, -1.0 rWAR. His only good season was a 1988 where he had an utterly unsustainable .208 BABIP.

I didn't like the trade at the time, but in hindsight it's an F-, even before considering the post-trade outcomes.

But Tettleton struck out a lot, had a low BA, and clogged the bases.

But Tettleton struck out a lot, had a low BA, and clogged the bases.

But Robinson had an ERA of almost 6.00 in an era where the only guy allowed to be called good with an ERA over 4.00 was Jack Morris.

I have this card.

But Robinson had an ERA of almost 6.00 in an era where the only guy allowed to be called good with an ERA over 4.00 was Jack Morris.

But Robinson's record was 10-9. He was obviously pitching to the score! Or some other idiotic explanation.

The Tettleton trade happened the day after the Glenn Davis trade. I was OK with the Davis trade, even though I knew it had the potential to be one of the worst trades of all time. I knew the Tettleton trade was horrible right away.

It's never a good feeling when you know that you're smarter than your team's GM.

The Tettleton trade happened the day after the Glenn Davis trade. I was OK with the Davis trade, even though I knew it had the potential to be one of the worst trades of all time. I knew the Tettleton trade was horrible right away.

Wow, I didn't remember that. If you use "rest of career" as your assumption of value, in two days the O's traded away 159.2 rWAR, in exchange for -0.2 rWAR. You'd be very, very hard pressed to find a worse two-day trading period in any team's history. That's like trading a 23-year-old Babe Ruth for Taylor Teagarden.

Wow, I didn't remember that. If you use "rest of career" as your assumption of value, in two days the O's traded away 159.2 rWAR, in exchange for -0.2 rWAR. You'd be very, very hard pressed to find a worse two-day trading period in any team's history. That's like trading a 23-year-old Babe Ruth for Taylor Teagarden.

Good 'ol Roland Hemond.

Good 'ol Roland Hemond.

I'll always have a little fondness for him for putting together the '89 Orioles, but I'm still not sure how they survived those trades. Imagine those '96-97 teams with Finley, Harnisch, Schilling, and Tettleton.