[Elvis]

[PARAM]

Growing up a Yankee fan in the mid to late 60's, I watched a lot of baseball. My favorite player was Mickey Mantle (surprise, surprise). Unfortunately I never saw him in his prime. To date myself, there were just 5 guys with 500 homers at the time I started watching baseball religiously. Ruth, Foxx, Teddy Baseball, Mel Ott and Willie Mays. Over the next 6 years six more players would join that list. Mantle and Eddie Matthews (1967), Aaron (1968), Ernie Banks (1970), Harmon Killebrew (1971) and Frank Robinson (1972).

It would take another 15 years for just 3 more guys to join the band.....Willie McCovey (1978), Reggie (1984) and Mike Schmidt (1987). Finally 9 years later, the last untainted member joined the crowd...Eddie Murray, just the 2nd switch hitter to do so. We know the rest. A little Andro, a little cream, a little clear and even schmucks like Rafael Palmiero, Manny Ramierez, Sammy Sosa and Gary Sheffield were joining the crowd.

But back to the mid 60's......Since the Yankees absolutely sucked when I was a youngster sponging up as much baseball as I could, I found other heroes to admire. Frank Robinson(despite playing for a rival) was right up there with Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, Al Kaline, Tony Oliva, Carl Yastrzemski, Dick Allen, Stargell, McCovey, Rico Carty, Killebrew, Frank Howard, etc.

The great pitchers I remember were Sandy Koufax (of course), Bob Gibson (the guy Luis Severino reminds me of), Drysdale, Whitey Ford, Sudden Sam McDowell, Juan Marichal (does anybody remember him clubbing Johnny Rosboro? Mays was the guy who got Rosboro off the field quickly), McLain, Lonborg, Bunning, Fergie Jenkins, Maloney, Seaver, Tiant, McNally, Gaylord Perry and so on.

Robinson was the first (if not the only) player to win MVP in both leagues. He won ROY in the NL and the triple crown (albeit during the dead-bat time before the mound was lowered) in the AL. He was the Orioles leader from the day he joined them. He wasn't a speed demon but he was a smart baserunner. But we get all that. He played in a time the game was played for pride and not TV ratings, ESPN highlights or YouTube videos. And he stood out from the norm. Frank Robinson was old-school great.