Brooks Robinson was king of the ‘Hot Corner’

TOKYO — I read with sadness of the recent passing of one of baseball’s all-time greats, Brooks Robinson, known as “The Human Vacuum Cleaner” and “The Greatest Third Baseman of All Time.” He was 87 years old.

Robinson spent his entire 23-year career with the Baltimore Orioles. He participated in 18 All-Star Games, won 16 consecutive Gold Gloves and earned the 1964 AL Most Valuable Player award after batting .318 with 28 home runs and a league-leading 118 RBIs. Retiring in 1977, he finished with 268 homers, drove in 1,357 runs and batted a respectable .267 in 2,896 career games.

Robinson was most remembered for his heroics in the 1970 World Series versus Cincinnati, when he made several sensational plays in the field during Baltimore’s five-game triumph over the Reds. He also hit .429 and homered twice.