Happy Anniversary to MLBlogs
Congratulations to the MLBlogs community and MLB.com. It’s been a year since my friend Tommy Lasorda first logged on to mlblogs.com and entered his first blog. I joined in shortly thereafter and it’s been a lot of fun. I enjoy interacting with the fans who post comments. This is my 22nd post and I hope you enjoy it, too.
GLOVES
Luke posted a comment that asked how the early Major Leaguers managed to field with the gloves that had no webbing.
As far as I can remember, in the 1940s and 1950s, gloves were not that good. There was no lace in the fingers to keep them together. The gloves in the ’60s were pretty good. My first glove was a Bob Dillinger glove. Bob played for the St. Louis Browns.
I remember I had my picture taken with Home Run Baker at Memorial Stadium in 1957. He brought along the glove he used. I told him that there was no way I could play with that glove. And don’t forget that the fields weren’t as good.
WHAT I’M UP TO
I’ve been pretty busy this spring. On April 22, I’ll be in Secaucus, N.J. for a signing for MAB Celebrity Shows (www.mabcelebrity.com). They’ll have a lot of Gold Glove winners at the show, including Jim Kaat, who also has 16 Gold Gloves. On April 25, I’ll be in York, Pa., for the Press Conference announcing the new minor league stadium in York. I’m very excited about this. The people in York have been waiting for a stadium for a long time and it has special meaning to me since I started my professional career playing for the York White Roses. I’m a part of Keystone Baseball and we’ll own the minor league team that plays in the new stadium. Keystone Baseball also owns the minor league team that plays in Lancaster, Pa. The team in Lancaster has been a huge success. I’ll be at their Opening Night on April 28.
As always, you can check out my website at brooksrobinson.com for up-to-date information on upcoming appearances.
Brooks Robinson's Hot Corner 
Great Blog,
I’ve always been interested in the behind the scenes of baseball, such as the evolution of gloves and how players prefer to, and do infact use them. Keep up the good work!
By the Way, what do you think Luis Gonzalez’ chances are at being elected to Cooperstown? I know his stats arn’t overwhelming but he has recently become a member of the 300HR-500 Double club and 14 of the other 20 members are already HOFers. I would greatly appreciate your opinion.
Thanks
Julian
Hey Brooks,
You and Graig Nettles were my two favorite third baseman when I was a kid, O’k Nettles first only because I gre up in NY, but they were always comparing him to you. My question to you is about all the infield shifts teams play against extreme pull hitters these days. I was just a kid when you played, but I can’t remember teams doing it as much then (Last week I watched David Ortiz face 6 guys on the right side of the diamond during one at bat). It frustrates me to know end when I see guys like Giambi and Sheffield constantly pull the ball when teams employ this strategy. even a guy as sloew as Giambi would be assured of a base hit if they just learned how to bunt down third when this occurs. At worse teams would back off from doing this if they knew there was the possibility of giving up a gift hit. What would Earl weaver instruct his player to do in this circumstance? Would he get angry at guys who constantly pulled know matter what? What would you do in this case as a hitter?
Carl The Cabbie (Inside Pitch)
http://bestblog.mlblogs.com
Hi Brooks-
I just wanted to say thanks for making a stop in Toronto today. I had tickets to the Jays/Angels game and saw that you were doing a store signing at Legends of the Game so it made our trip up from Buffalo even better.
You couldn’t have been a nicer guy. My father in-law used to “be in the business” and couldn’t believe how nice you were. I totally forgot you had a blog or I would have mentioned it. You’re a great ambassador of the game. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to sign some stuff for us fans. Thanks very much.
I blogged about the experience today. I called the entry “Gee Thanks Brooks.” I thought it was a fitting title. Thanks again. See you in Cooperstown fellow blogger!
Jason
http://boogiedownbaseball.mlblogs.com/
In the name of all that’s good and Holy, what else can go wrong….. Let me ponder…. Hmmmmm,
http://psycho.mlblogs.com/
The best part of MLBlogs is that whether you are a player, fan or journalist it gives you a place to share your thoughts and opinions on not only baseball but just about anything you want to share. The number of people and the places they come from is amazing to see each day! I recently had visitors to my MlBlog from Puerto Rico, the Netherlands, England, Taiwan and several other countries as well as almost all of the 50 states.
John
Check out my MLBlog at http://theballhawk.mlblogs.com and read about the over 4,700 baseballs I have caught at Major league and minor League games in the past 29 years!