Frank Robinson (born August 31, 1935) is an former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He played from 1956 to 1976, most notably for the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He is the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues. He won the Triple crown, was a member of two teams that won the World Series (the 1966 and 1970 Baltimore Orioles), and amassed the fourth-most career home runs at the time of his retirement (he is currently ninth). Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.
Robinson was the first African-American hired to serve as manager in Major League history. He managed the Cleveland Indians during the last two years of his playing career, compiling a 186–189 record. He went on to manage the San Francisco Giants, the Baltimore Orioles, and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals.
In recalling his career, Frank wrote:
One day during my first spring training as manager of the San Francisco Giants, a magazine reporter sat down beside me in the dugout and asked me who I admired most as a youngster, which ballplayer I tried most to emulate when I was starting out in baseball. “Frank Robinson,” I replied without hesitation. “C’mon,” he said with a chuckle, “who is it, really?” “Frank Robinson,” I repeated.
The guy cocked his head to one side and stared at me with this blank expression. He knew I was serious, but he wasn’t altogether sure what I meant.
“Look,” I said, “the most important person any player should work to be as good as is himself. Your own excellence, success and greatest pride comes from only one person – you.”
It’s fine to look up to and learn from the best, not only in sports but in anything you’re striving to achieve – in school, in a career or in your relationships with others. But whatever it is, your first responsibility is to be the best you can be. There’s nobody else like you, so why try to be like somebody else?
I’ve lived my life by this principle, and I’ve asked my players to do the same. Don’t try to perform beyond your abilities – but never perform below them. You might be surprised to find out how much better you can be.
Robinson wasn’t promoting the conceit or vanity which seems to be so in vogue in today’s social media society (think “selfies). Rather, he is speaking about self-confidence; that everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. We cannot draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth.”
Good advice!
“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” – Mark Twain
Have an AWE-full Weekend!
William J. “Bill” Bacqué