Don Robinson, American baseball player and politician
Don Allen "Donnie" Robinson (born June 8, 1957) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, California Angels, and Philadelphia Phillies, from 1978 through 1992. Nicknamed "The Caveman", Robinson's career record was 109–106 with a 3.79 ERA.
In 1978, as a 21-year-old rookie, Robinson was 14–6 with a 3.47 ERA. His won-loss percentage was second to NL Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry. Robinson was named The Sporting News NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year and was third in overall NL Rookie of the Year. He finished eighth in the Cy Young Award contest.
The next year, he went 8–8 with a 3.87 ERA. He also pitched in six postseason games, winning two and helping the Pirates to the 1979 World Series championship.
Robinson was regarded as one of the best-hitting pitchers during his time, winning three Silver Slugger Awards in 1982, 1989, and 1990. In 1990, Robinson became the first pitcher to hit a pinch-hit home run since 1971 against the San Diego Padres. He hit 13 home runs in his career. He compiled a .231 batting average (146-631) with 47 runs and 69 RBI.
Robinson was the recipient of the Hutch Award in 1984. On April 18, 1987, he gave up Mike Schmidt's 500th career home run. In 1990, pitching for the Giants, he lost the first ever no-hitter at Veteran's Stadium to the Phillies' Terry Mulholland, 6–0.
He made the World Series again in 1989, winning Game 3 of the NLCS against the Chicago Cubs to help the Giants get there. Robinson enjoyed a renaissance with the Giants: from 1987 to 1991, he was 42–33 with a 3.56 ERA, and started a majority of his 170 games with them.
Robinson's parents, Donald and Priscilla Robinson, reside in the city of Kenova, West Virginia, where Robinson served on the city council. Currently, Don Robinson is the pitching coach for the State College of Florida baseball team in Bradenton, Florida.
1957Jun, 8
Don Robinson (baseball)
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Events on 1957
- 9Jan
Suez Crisis
British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden resigns from office following his failure to retake the Suez Canal from Egyptian sovereignty. - 8Mar
Suez Crisis
Egypt re-opens the Suez Canal after the Suez Crisis. - 24Jun
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment. - 6Jul
Paul McCartney
John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles. - 24Sep
101st Airborne Division
President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends 101st Airborne Division troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation.