Brooks Robinson, Baseball Hall of Famer, Dead at 86: ‘Great Player, Great Guy’

Robinson played several memorable games during his tenure as a third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles and helped lead the team to two World Series Championships

Baseball Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson has died at the age of 86.

His family and his former team The Orioles announced his death in a joint statement Tuesday shared on the Major League Baseball’s (MLB) website.

“We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Brooks Robinson,” they wrote. “An integral part of our Orioles Family since 1955, he will continue to leave a lasting impact on our club, our community, and the sport of baseball.”

Following the announcement, fans mourned the baseball great by gathering around his 9-foot bronze statue inside Camden Yards in Baltimore. Additionally, the Orioles also held a moment of silence before their game against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night with the teams lining up outside their dugouts to pay their respects, per the Associated Press.

After Baltimore’s 1-0 victory against the Nationals, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters, per ESPN, that he thought a lot of the team members “played with a heavy heart” following the news of Robinson’s death.

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“He's an icon in this game and an icon in this city,” he added. “There's not many of those.”

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred also regarded Robinson as “one of the greats of our National Pastime,” according to the AP. He also described Robinson as a “model of excellence, durability, loyalty and winning baseball for the Orioles.”

Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1937 with big dreams of playing professional baseball. He impressed scouts from several teams and ultimately took an offer to play professional baseball from the Baltimore Orioles, per Reuters.

He was a member for the team from 1955 to 1977, and made several memorable plays during that time as a third baseman, including almost single-handedly helping Baltimore defeat Cincinnati in the 1970 World Series.

During his 23-year baseball career, he became one of the most accomplished Baltimore athletes in history, participating in 18 All-Star Games and winning 16 consecutive Gold Gloves, per MLB. He also helped lead the Baltimore Orioles to two World Series Championships and was awarded the title of 1964 AL MVP and the 1970 World Series MVP.

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He ended his career with 268 home runs, 1,357 runs batted in (RBI) and a .267 batting average within 2,896 career games, according to ESPN.

Six years after he announced his retirement, he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Robinson is the all-time leader among third baseman in putouts, assists and double plays, and no other player besides him has played in more games at third base.

He later went on to become a director of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995 and a member of the Pension Committee. He also served as president of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni in his later years.

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“For generations of fans, Brooks Robinson’s talent on the field was surpassed only by his incredible character and integrity,” the Baseball Hall of Fame said in a statement to the AP. “His love of the Hall of Fame brightened Cooperstown, as did his devotion to the Museum as a long-standing and valued member of our Board of Directors.”

Fellow Orioles Hall of Famer Jim Palmer recalled that Robinson was a “great player, great guy on the field, great guy off,” per the AP. He also noted that he was always “respectful” and “kind.”

“You don’t meet too many guys like that. Brooks was a genuine person. There was no acting. Brooks was just a genuine person,” he added.

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