#5 will be Missed

[linedrive]

I never got to see Brooks play. He retired before I became an O's fan. But I still became a huge fan of his, and I was fortunate to have lunch with him one time. Of course it was a great experience, listening to him talk baseball and engaging all of us around the table.

[foxfield]

2 hours ago, foxfield said:

In the first at bat in the history of the Baltimore Orioles without the benefit of a living Brooks Robinson, Gunnar Henderson hit a home run.

Baseball is funny.  On the day that Brooks Robinson passes, I learned he holds the record for most games in MLB history for knocking in the only run in a 1-0 ballgame.  Brooks did it 10 times.

So naturally, on the first at bat after his passing, Rookie sensation Gunnar Henderson homers to give Baltimore a 1-0.  Of course it stands as the only run in the game.

Baseball...

[Number5]

The best.  RIP, Brooks.

[Sports Guy]

Saw this on the Os FB page:

All who wish to remember Brooks Robinson are invited to visit the Brooks statue inside The Yard at Legends Park.

Access will begin tomorrow and continue daily through Sunday from 7:00 a.m. until four hours prior to first pitch. Access to Brooks’ statue will then re-open during regular game hours. Mourners are asked to enter via Camden Street.

[24fps]

20 minutes ago, 25 Nuggets said:

CBS Sports cited an Associated Press reporter in their story:

Quote

So beloved was Robinson that an Associated Press columnist once wrote: "Brooks never asked anyone to name a candy bar after him. In Baltimore, they name their children after him."

This has me thinking - first, any of the older board members remember who wrote this?  And also, I wonder just how many kids in and around Baltimore in the 1970s were named Brooks?

I know Tom Boswell (WaPo) wrote something along these lines a long time ago

 

Edit: I found the quote in a collection of essays by Boswell called The Heart of the Order.  The quote is from The Hoover: Called Up to Cooperstown.

"Around here people don't name candy bars after Brooks Robinson", said the day's master of ceremonies, Gordon Beard, "they name their children after him".

Edited September 27, 2023 by 24fps

[Il BuonO]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

 

Great story.

[oriolediehard]

The Red Sox announcer just said that the first ball Gunnar ever caught was from Brooks!!  I assume he meant warmup tossing??

[Oriole1940]

2 hours ago, foxfield said:

In the first at bat in the history of the Baltimore Orioles without the benefit of a living Brooks Robinson, Gunnar Henderson hit a home run.

And that won the game.

[Billy F-Face3]

I was just thinking and MASN needs to let Jim go attend Brooks' services. I don't know when the service will be, but the franchise might want to consider post poning Jim's 60th celebration if needs it. Friendships and relationships are one of the most important things in this world, and Jim Palmer thinks the world of Brooks Robinson. 

Let Jim go pay respects to his life long friend and his friend's family.

[vab]

I never saw Brooks play so my introduction to him was when he did some of the Orioles road games on TV with Chuck Thompson back in the early 80s. As a kid growing up in the outskirts of Birdland here in SE Virginia those were the only Orioles games we got on TV at the time aside from the rare Orioles appearance on a nationally televised game. I had just started really watching baseball so I didn't know much of the history. I knew Brooks had played but he was so self-deprecating that I thought he had been like a back-up who had played a few years a long time before or something. Of course I found out who he really was as a player and how beloved he was. Just seemed like the genuine article - my condolences, especially to the folks here who grew up watching him.  

[Just Regular]

The 1-0 tidbit fits him like a glove - its consistent with the era he played, and the Orioles' greatness as a run prevention outfit thanks in great part to him.

The baseball gods giving us one tonight is a nifty gift.

I'd missed Brooks interview with Hollander last year, which MASN reran after the postgame show, and noted his story that when signing out of high school it had come down to Cincinnati or Baltimore.     If he'd taken the other fork, he and Frank would have spent their 20's together instead.

[Frobby]

8 hours ago, Malike said:

Thanks to another kind human, I have this print with Brooks' signature. One of my prized Orioles possessions.

Me too.  

[Frobby]

I was an O’s fan for about 11-12 years while Brooks was playing, and saw him make many amazing plays on the baseball field, as exemplified by the 1970 World Series highlights. I don’t think younger fans can fully appreciate how much better Brooks was than his peers at 3B from that era.   It was like watching someone from another planet.  

But my favorite memory of Brooks came 14 years after his career ended.  It was after the last game at Memorial Stadium.  The fans had been told to stick around for a surprise.  The video screen started playing the James Earl Jones speech about baseball from Field of Dreams, with the dramatic music, and after a pause….Brooks came running out of the dugout, in full uniform, glove on, and went into his crouch at 3B, pawing the infield dirt with his feet as he did all those years.  Every hair on my arm and the back of my neck was standing up, and the roar of the crowd was just deafening.  There’s never been a moment like that.  And after a time, Frank Robinson came out in full uniform and ran to RF, and then Palmer to the mound, and on and on until about 40 or 50 great former Orioles were out there.  It was amazing, but for that one moment, Brooks stood alone…as he should.  

If you’ve never seen it, or even if you have, watch the first few minutes of this. 
 

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by Frobby

[Sports Guy]

3 hours ago, Frobby said:

I was an O’s fan for about 11-12 years while Brooks was playing, and saw him make many amazing plays on the baseball field, as exemplified by the 1970 World Series highlights. I don’t think younger fans can fully appreciate how much better Brooks was than his peers at 3B from that era.   It was like watching someone from another planet.  

But my favorite memory of Brooks came 14 years after his career ended.  It was after the last game at Memorial Stadium.  The fans had been told to stick around for a surprise.  The video screen started playing the James Earl Jones speech about baseball from Field of Dreams, with the dramatic music, and after a pause….Brooks came running out of the dugout, in full uniform, glove on, and went into his crouch at 3B, pawing the infield dirt with his feet as he did all those years.  Every hair on my arm and the back of my neck was standing up, and the roar of the crowd was just deafening.  There’s never been a moment like that.  And after a time, Frank Robinson came out in full uniform and ran to RF, and then Palmer to the mound, and on and on until about 40 or 50 great former Orioles were out there.  It was amazing, but for that one moment, Brooks stood alone…as he should.  

If you’ve never seen it, or even if you have, watch the first few minutes of this. 
 

 

For much of the last 25 years, the Orioles have been terrible. During that time, the Ravens have largely been successful. Because of this, I think people have forgotten the love this city and community has had and still has for this team.
 

I’m not sure there is team is all of MLB that has had a more revered group of players. Sure the Yankees, for example, have a larger group of elite HOFers but the Os have guys that not only were great but the connection they had to the city and its fans was something you just don’t see in most cities.

This team and all the players who are here and are coming are about to find out that this is actually more of a baseball town than a football town. 

Now all we need is for JA to not screw things up.

[tntoriole]