 Luke Appling – ol Aches and Pains The best I ever saw The righthand-hitting Appling batted .310 in twenty seasons (1930-43 – 45-50) with the White Sox. A leadoff hitter with the ability to foul off pitch after pitch, he won two batting titles, with averages of .388 in 1936 and .328 in…
 When he retired, Luis Aparicio was considered the best defensive shortstop ever. At that time, he had played the most games, had the most assists and double plays, and had the best (they were not invented yet) best Dwar and zone range of any shortstop in MLB history. Since retiring, he has fallen…
On July 31, 1983, Juan Marichal, Brooks Robinson, George Kell, and manager Walter Alston are inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Marichal becomes the first Latin-born pitcher to gain enshrinement in the Hall of Fame. Known as The Human Vacuum Cleaner, Brooks Robinson established a standard of excellence for modern-day third basemen. He…
 On January 12, 1983, the Baseball Writersâ Association of America elects two players to the Hall of Fame: pitching great Juan Marichal, who toiled for the San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers. The pride of both the Dominican Republic and the Giants, Juan Antonio Marichal Sanchez won 243 games…
 On January 28, 1982, the Baltimore Orioles trade third baseman Doug DeCinces – the successor to Brooks Robinson – and pitcher Jeff Schneider to the California Angels for outfielder Dan Ford. DeCinces will have a career year hitting 30 home runs and batting 300. DeCinces was traded to make room for a Rookie…
In front of a sell-out crowd of 51,798 at Memorial Stadium on ‘Thanks Brooks (Robinson) Day’, Red Sox designated hitter Ted Cox goes 4-for-4, tying the big league mark shared by Casey Stengel, Willie McCovey, Mack Jones, and Forest Jacobs for the most hits in a major league debut. The performance is also the start of a historic two-game hitting streak by the rookie DH, who will collect two hits in his first two at-bats in tomorrow’s contest to become the only player to begin a big league career with six consecutive hits.
On August 21, 1977, Baltimore Orioles third baseman and future hall of famer Brooks Robinson retires. Spending his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles, he was nicknamed the Human Vacuum Cleaner and is universally considered the greatest defensive third baseman in MLB history. Brooks won 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards, was an All-Star in 15…
April 19, 1977 At memorial stadium Brooks Robinson’s final home run is a three-run walk-off shot to give the Orioles a 6-5 win over the Indians in the 10th. It is the final homerun of his career. “This was my biggest thrill in a’ long time,” said the 39-year-old Robinson “It’s a day-to-day thing for…
December 23, 1975 George Brett wore #25 his first two seasons in the majors. In 1975 he changed his jersey number from #25 to #5 to pay homage to one of his favorite players (who also played third base), Brooks Robinson.
1975 – Two Orioles standouts, with a combined total of 24 Gold Glove Awards, are each honored for the last time. Brooks Robinson and Paul Blair are the two making swan songs on The Sporting News fielding team, while outfielders Garry Maddox and Fred Lynn both win the award for the first time.