BaltimoreSportsFan interviews Frank Robinson

Camden Chatter BaltimoreSportsFan (aka Jordan Katz) got a chance to ask Hall of Famer Frank Robinson some questions last week at a sports collector show in Pikesville, MD. Well done, BSF!

Frank Robinson Interview

With 586 home runs, two world series titles, and one of the select few in baseball history who led the league in home runs, batting average and runs batted in all in the same season, also known as the Triple Crown, Frank Robinson is a baseball legend. At a card convention on Sunday, October 2nd, 2011, I had a chance to interview this baseball hall of famer.

Which of your two World Series wins did you enjoy more, 1970 or 1966?

'66. Because it was the first year I was traded over to Baltimore, and we won the pennant that year, and that made it very, very special.   

How did you feel being the first black manager and living out the dreams Jackie Robinson wanted?

I felt a lot of pressure, I felt honored that I was the first one to break that barrier. It was nothing near what Jackie had to go through when he broke the barriers as the first player. I give him all the credit in the world, for me being able to have that opportunity.  

How do you feel baseball is different today from when you played?  

Well when I played the owners had the power and the rights and the players had no rights. Today, the players have an awful lot of rights, they control their own destiny. They have free agency now, and they have a lot more to say about what happens and what doesn't happen in the game of baseball.