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Brooks Robinson
Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. (born May 18, 1937) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977. Nicknamed "the Human Vacuum Cleaner" or "Mr. Hoover", he is generally considered to have been the greatest defensive third baseman in major league history. A 15-time All-Star, he won 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards, setting a record later tied by Jim Kaat and broken by Greg Maddux. His 2,870 career games at third base not only exceeded the closest player by nearly 700 games when he retired, but also remain the most games by any player in major league history at a single position. His 23 seasons spent with a single team set a major league record since matched only by Carl Yastrzemski.
Joining the Orioles less than two years after the franchise relocated from St. Louis, Robinson played a major role in rejuvenating what had been one of the weakest major league clubs. He became the centerpiece of the team as they posted the best record in the major leagues during the decade from 1965 to 1974, capturing four American League (AL) pennants and two World Series titles. He was named the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1964 after posting career highs with a .317 batting average, 28 home runs and 118 runs batted in (RBI), leading the AL in the last category. In 1966 he finished second in the MVP voting behind teammate Frank Robinson after again posting 100 RBI as the Orioles won the pennant, then swept the Los Angeles Dodgers for the team's first Series title. In the 1970 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Robinson drew wide attention with his strong defensive play, time after time robbing Cincinnati players of base hits, and drove in runs in the first four games; his performance won him the World Series MVP Award as Baltimore defeated the Reds in five games. In 1971 he became one of just 12 players to earn over $100,000 annually. Robinson led AL third basemen in fielding percentage eleven times and in assists eight times, both major league records, and in putouts and double plays three times each. He still holds major league records for career putouts (2,697), assists (6,205), total chances (9,165) and double plays (618) at third base, with each total being between 13% and 20% higher than the closest player. His career fielding percentage of .971 was a major league record until 2006, and remains the top AL mark.
Upon his retirement during the 1977 season, Robinson's 2,896 career games and 10,654 at bats each ranked fifth in major league history, behind only Ty Cobb among AL players, and his 2,848 hits ranked seventh in AL history. From 1969 to 1980, he held the AL record for career home runs by a third baseman. He set franchise records for career games, at bats, hits, runs (1,232), RBI (1,357), doubles (482), total bases (4,270) and home runs by a right-handed hitter (268), all of which were later broken by Cal Ripken Jr. Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983 in his first year of eligibility, the first time a third baseman had done so. Following his playing career, he served as a broadcaster for the Orioles and also joined Opening Day Partners, which owns several minor league teams. Robinson has remained popular with Oriole fans for his kindness and patience with them. "Never has a player meant more to a franchise and more to a city than Brooks has meant to the Orioles and the city of Baltimore," said Oriole historian Ted Patterson.
Source: Wikipedia