Comments on: Camden Yards gets statue of “Mr. Oriole,” Brooks Robinson

By: 1historian

1historian — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:15:26 +0000

“Brooks Robinson is the greatest 3rd baseman of all time.”

Why put it in quotes? Because I quoted it from that most excellent of movies – ‘Sleepless in Seattle’

And it’s true

By: bigdogpappad

bigdogpappad — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:58:19 +0000

Brooks was not only a great baseball player and the greatest fielding 3rd baseman but is a great man as well. If you ever bumped into him at the airport he would stop and chat with you for 30 minutes and he always made it about you, not him.Happened to me twice, great moments in time. Saw him make those plays in the 1970 WS and they nick-named him “Mr Hoover” as in the vacum cleaner, unbelieveable series but that is what we saw during the regular season as well for numerous years. Congrats Brooks!

By: APBA Guy

APBA Guy — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:25:03 +0000

Trust me. I’m getting closer to the age that sitting on Calle Ocho all day sipping Cafe Cubano is looking better and better.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:13:35 +0000

you’ve been in the Bay area too long. Radicalism is infecting you.

By: randomdigits

randomdigits — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:03:59 +0000

That is true but the O’s are planning something to commemorate their HoF players this upcoming season to mark the 20th anniversary of OPACY.

By: APBA Guy

APBA Guy — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:20:31 +0000

Every year before school started I’d sit in a car with my dad and do the long drive to see the Orioles and Yankees play at Memorial Stadium. Mel Stottlemyre wasn’t the pitching coach then, he was in the rotation. Mickey was ending his career. I didn’t care about either of them. I was there to watch one guy: Brooks Calbert Robinson. He’s the reason I played 3rd in Little League and high school. I never had any of his talent, but I loved watching him play, even though I recognized that Frank Robinson was all-around the more dangerous Robinson. Still, the 1970 series win over Cincinnati, and the astonished looks on both Johnny Bench’s face and my little brother’s (Bench was his favorite player), made that series doubly memorable.

Why am I not surprised that the Orioles of Angelos had little or nothing to do with this statue to one of their icons? Perhaps because, unlike Angelos, Brooks knows something about baseball and is a classy individual. Or perhaps because Angelos perceived no profit in such a purely nostalgic gesture. After all, no fans go to the ballpark now thanks to him, so who would be there to see the statue. Night and day, those two.

If there’s an “Occupy ” movement in Baltimore, it should first be directed at Angelos. Occupy Camden Yards!

By: Kyle

Kyle — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 17:28:34 +0000

I didn’t know that. That’s pretty unfortunate. The statue is awesome, though. Whoever really made it happen deserves a lot of credit.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:19:45 +0000

Uh-huh. At a university where all PhD’s are addressed as “Mister” instead of “Doctor,” the leveling effect is still in fine fettle. No one ought to stand out – kinda like a perpetual golf handicap. And while you’re pulling down those silly statues, be sure also to pull down that silly monument to the First Pile too: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.visualphotos.com/photo/1×4490853/nuclear_energy_bronze_sculpture_by_henry_moore_d65-310315.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.visualphotos.com/image/1×4490853/nuclear_energy_bronze_sculpture_by_henry_moore&h=519&w=332&sz=37&tbnid=Q5uFo6_W5XCNnM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=67&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dimages%2Bof%2BHenry%2BMoore%2Bsculpture%2BNuclear%2BEnergy%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=images+of+Henry+Moore+sculpture+Nuclear+Energy&docid=d3c_c4RAIYvszM&itg=1&sa=X&ei=qzykToraGOugsQKmosCrBQ&ved=0CCkQ9QEwAw&dur=4760

Yeah, I know that’s a Henry Moore. Why not just pack it off to the Henry Moore sculpture garden in Hakone, Japan, so your campus won’t be plagued with any more unsightly commemorations of anything. When you’re finished planting it in the shadow of Fuji, cross the street from the main gate to the House of Gyoza and enjoy a world-class pigout.

Regardless, if there’s a statue that needs to be removed from someplace, this one is it: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thesportsbrewery.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/bud-selig-statue.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thesportsbrewery.com/the-other-american-sport/mlb-baseball/milwaukie-brewers/did-bud-selig-deserve-a-statue&h=324&w=576&sz=54&tbnid=Cd8X19pbYaOk8M:&tbnh=61&tbnw=109&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dimages%2Bof%2Bstatue%2Bof%2BBud%2BSelig%2Bat%2BMiller%2BStadium%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=images+of+statue+of+Bud+Selig+at+Miller+Stadium&docid=JyKglADv4Klm8M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fT6kTrnUB8qlsQKCx6i7BQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDoQ9QEwCA&dur=248

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:08:49 +0000

Baltimore can congratulate itself on being classier and more appreciative than the clowns and bumblers who have turned this once-great franchise into the statistical vagrant of its division.

As for me, all I can say is that one of the few big advantages to being a broken down duffer is that I got to see Brooks Robinson play third base against the Borg and, in the 1969 Series, against the Mutts. The only other organism I’ve ever come across with reflexes like that is my pet pygmy rattler, Friendo.

By: Gordon

Gordon — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:08:30 +0000

Teams are getting carried away with these statues. At the UC in Chicago, there’s like 4 statues (2 hockey & 2 bball).

By: fellspointbird

fellspointbird — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:55:52 +0000

What will go unpublished is this:

The Orioles had little to do with this. The statue was a result of investors & donations, and was built on state-owned land adjacent to Camden Yards. I have read that the Orioles didn’t provide much of anything towards the effort, which is unfortunate. You’d think they could at least use the PR.