The Destructive Force of Robby the Robber

AS a boy in Little Rock, Ark., Brooks Robinson used to deliver newspapers to the home of his hero, Yankee Catcher Bill Dickey. One morning, hoping to impress the star with his throwing arm, young Brooks wound up and threw a rolled-up paper at the Dickeys' front porch. The paper landed on the roof. Robinson, now 33, has made few bad plays since. Last week, throwing, fielding and hitting like a man possessed, baseball's premier third baseman led the Baltimore Orioles to a four-games-to-one World Series victory over the Cincinnati Reds with one of the most spectacular performances in the 67-year history of the Series.

The opener in Cincinnati's new Riverfront Stadium set the stage for a classic confrontation. The Orioles, blessed with three 20-game winners, had the stoppers--the best starting pitchers in baseball. The Reds, who slammed 191 home runs during the regular season, had the boppers--the strongest hitting team in baseball. Experts set the odds almost even--11-10 on Cincinnati. As it turned out, the Orioles should have been clear off the board. Determined to avenge last year's shattering Series defeat by the New York Mets, the Oriole pitchers stalled the vaunted Big Red Machine while their hitters reduced it to scrap. And the most destructive force of all was Brooks Robinson.

The Hard Way. In last year's Series, Robinson batted an anemic .053. This year, he more than made amends as he hit .429, scored five runs, batted in six others, and set a five-game Series record for most total bases (17), with two homers, two doubles and five singles. Hitting safely in every game, he also tied several other Series batting marks: most hits (9), most hits in one game (4), most extra-base hits (4), and most total bases on extra-base hits (12). Yet for all his prowess at the plate, it was in the field that Robinson was most devastating. Time and again, just as the Reds began to get hot, Brooks stopped them cold with his brilliant glove work. Even so veteran a baseball man as Casey Stengel was awed. "He's the best third baseman I've seen in 20 or 30 years," said Casey, who offered some sage advice: "Don't hit it to that feller."

Cincinnati's Lee May had to learn the hard way. In the first game the muscular first baseman drilled a sure-fire double down the third-base line--or so he and 51,531 fans thought. In one lightning motion, Brooks whirled across the line, snared the ball backhand and threw off-balance to nip May at first. Next game. May hit another shot down the line that the lunging Robinson speared on one knee and turned into a double play. Rubbing it in, Robby the Robber stole another base hit from Cincinnati in the third game with an incredible diving catch that left the Reds talking to themselves. "That guy can field a ball with a pair of pliers," moaned Rightfielder Pete Rose. "The only way to beat him," added Catcher Johnny Bench, "is to hit it over his head." Bench should know. In the final game, the Reds' cleanup hitter powered a line smash toward left field only to see Robinson make yet another spectacular diving catch. Reds Manager Sparky Anderson summed up the Series in three little words: "Robinson beat us."

Which is not to say that the rest of the Orioles were standing idly by. Baltimore's Big Three--Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally--helped hold Cincinnati's vaunted sluggers to a meager .213 average and only five home runs. And Frank Robinson, Boog Powell and Paul Blair backed a .292 Baltimore hitting attack that accounted for 50 hits and 33 runs. The Orioles' slug ging average of .509 was in fact a record for a five-game Series, as were their ten home runs. Even McNally got into the act as he became the first pitcher in Series history to hit a grand-slam home run.

Though the Orioles were not wanting for heroes, they agreed to a man that Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. was the spark that ignited their attack--just as he has for most of his seasons at Baltimore. Son of a Little Rock fireman, Brooks was a star quarterback in high school who selected baseball over football and, ironically, the Orioles over the Reds, the one other team that was negotiating for him. Signed for a paltry $4,000 at 18, he was so impressive that Umpire Ed Burley remarked after one game: "Robinson plays third like he came down from a higher league."

Lasting Memento. In 16 seasons, Robinson won the Gold Glove award ten times as the American League's best fielding third baseman, and has been elected to the league's All-Star team 13 times in succession. His best year was 1964, when he led the league in runs batted in (118), hit 28 home runs, batted .317, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. This season he hit .276 and led the Orioles in hits with 168. Asked how much of his ability with the glove is acquired, the softspoken, balding Robinson says: "Not a whole lot, really. I mean, what can I or anybody else tell a major leaguer about picking up a ground ball? You either can or you can't."

That Robinson can and does, better than anyone else around, was borne out by the message Baltimore fans inscribed on third base last week: "Brooks plays here." As a more lasting memento, Robinson was asked to turn in his glove so that it could be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Shrugged Brooks: "I guess I'll just have to break in a new glove in spring training."

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