37 years ago today it would've been fun to be at the ballpark
by Matthew Taylor
The present ain't so good, the future's not so bright, so why not relish the Orioles' glorious past?
On this day in 1970 Frank Robinson hit two grand slams for the Birds as the O's defeated the Washington Senators 12-2. Check out the box score for the game, and you'll see the 8 RBIs next to Robinson's name. For his career, Robinson hit eight grand slams.
According to Baseball Almanac, only 12 players have hit two Grand Slams in a game, and three of them were Orioles: Jim Gentile (May 9, 1961); Robinson; and Chris Hoiles (Aug. 14, 1998).
Overall, Robinson batted .306, with 25 home runs, and 78 RBIs in 1970. He had a .398 on-base percentage, and a .520 slugging percentage. He walked just one less time (69) than he struck out (70), impressive numbers for a slugger.
As for the Birds, they won 108 games in 1970, taking the division by 15 games over the Yankees and beating the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. The team featured three 20-game winners (Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar, and Dave McNally), three Gold Glove winners (Brooks Robinson, Paul Blair, and Davey Johnson), three future Hall of Famers (the Robinsons and Jim Palmer) and the AL MVP (Boog Powell).
No comments:
Post a Comment