Happy Birthday to third baseman, Hall of Famer, and career Baltimore Oriole Brooks Robinson (b. May 18, 1937, in Little Rock, AR), who won sixteen consecutive Gold Glove awards as the best defensive player at his position from 1960 to 1975. This is tied with pitcher Jim Kaat for the most consecutive Gold Gloves in major league history. Robinson’s remarkable streak of excellence is a testament to his consistency, reliability, durability, and persistence. In a 2002 oral history interview, he spoke about how he wanted to be remembered. He stated: “I’d like to be remembered as someone who had a dream, never wanted to do anything in his whole life except be a professional baseball player and loved the game with all his heart . . . I’m in the Hall of Fame because I think my love for the game overruled everything else. I don’t have the ability that a lot of guys had but I just think that the fact that I went out there and got better and worked hard and my love for the game put me in the Hall of Fame.”
Citations: Theo DeRosa, “The Longest Win Streaks in Gold Glove History,” MLB.com, November 5, 2023, https://www.mlb.com/news/most-consecutive-gold-glove-award-wins; Brooks Robinson, “Brooks Robinson Oral History Interview,” by Vincent Fay, January 15, 2002, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (Cooperstown, N.Y.), Part 8, 8:38-9:08, https://sabr.org/interview/brooks-robinson-2002/; Dan H. and Norman Rockwell, “Norman Rockwell – Brooks Robinson World Series MVP 1970,” advertisement (c. 1970), Creative Commons, https://flic.kr/p/7WYSQ3.