Eddie Robinson Turns 100
Happy 100th Birthday to William Edward Robinson aka Eddie Robinson! If you are unaware of who that is, he is the only living member from the 1948 Cleveland Indians team. Of course, that was the year that the team went onto win the World Series. They have yet to win a Championship since then.
Furthermore, beyond that he is also MLB’s oldest living player. A native of Paris, Texas Robinson made his official MLB debut on September 9th, 1942. That came against the then called Philadelphia Athletics. Following the conclusion of the 1942 season, he did not play in the MLB again until 1946 because he missed three years while serving in the military.
In total, Robinson played in the major leagues for a total of 13 seasons and played first base. Of those, five seasons were spent with the aforementioned Cleveland Indians. In addition, he spent three seasons with the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox, two years with the Washington Senators and Kansas City Athletics, and a season with part of the 1957 season with both the Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers.
Accomplishments During His Career
Overall, Eddie Robinson wasn’t one of the prime players during those years playing big league baseball. Rather, he made an impact in a lesser known way. Over his big league career, Robinson was named an All-Star on four different occasions. Furthermore, he finished in the Top 25 in American League Most Valuable Player Award voting three different times.
His first All-Star season occurred in 1949. At 28 years old, Robinson finished the regular season batting .294/.381/.459 over 603 plate appearances or 143 games. In that sample, he recorded 155 hits, 27 doubles, three triples, 18 home runs, 78 RBI, 67 walks, and 30 strikeouts. In addition, he led the American League in hit-by-pitches that year with seven.
Following that in 1951 and 1952, Robinson ranked in the Top Ten in the American League in home runs (third in 1951 with 29 and ninth in 1952 with 22). Furthermore, he ranked third in RBI in the AL in 1951 with 117 and third in doubles the following season in 1952 with 33. He also did quite well from an on-base perspective in 1952 finishing with the ninth highest OBP (.382) that year.
Postseason Performance for Eddie Robinson
Over the 13 years he spent at the big league level, Robinson played in two Fall Classics. Of course, the first was the aforementioned 1948 World Series. The second came with the Yankees in 1955.
In 1948, over six games he slashed .300/.333/.300 over 21 plate appearances. That performance certainly contributed to the Indians offense in a significant way. Once 1955 rolled around, Robinson performed on the big stage in a big way once again albeit over a much smaller sample. Over six plate appearances, he hit .667/.833/.667 during that series.
Final Thoughts
Eddie Robinson will forever be remembered for bringing the Cleveland Indians and their fans a World Series Championship in 1948. He made a name for himself that year and it really helped to get his big league career off the ground. Robinson might not be the most famous baseball player, but he certainly has achieved a milestone by living to the age of 100. Cheers to you, Eddie Robinson and Happy Birthday once again!
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