by Mike Miller

Created on: May 07, 2009   Last Updated: May 09, 2009

The third baseman in baseball is the first line of defense against right handed batters. In the history of baseball no one was better defensively at the "hot corner" than Brooks Robinson.

Usually, extravagant statements like the above provoke cries of disagreement from partisan fans, must be abridged, get rebuffed from all sides, suffer endless qualifications, amendments, or are unceremoniously abandoned completely in a hail of criticism. Such, however, is not the case when it comes to discussing the exploits of Brooks Robinson with the glove. There are only knowing nods all around....

"The Human Vacuum Cleaner," as he was called, has humbly offered that Yankee third baseman, Cletus Boyer, was the better fielder. Boyer was great no doubt. Not the hitter Robinson was, Boyer had a stronger throwing arm, and was a bit more acrobatic diving for the ball. Boyer, however, didn't cover the bunt as well as Robinson. Boyer's fielding percentage wasn't as high as Robinson's indicating his hands were not as sure as Brooks' were. And though Boyer's signature play was diving to his right and throwing to first while in a sitting position, I would venture to say that Boyer's total range to his right was not as great as Robinson's - he didn't get the "jump" on the ball that Brooks did.

Sadly, video clips that might document these comparisons are hard to come by. The baseball Hall of Fame (http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/index.jsp) does have some nice clips of Robinson's play, but the clips are just bare highlights, not preserved for purposes of documenting or showcasing his skills, but merely as mementos.

One needs to talk to Oriole fans old enough to remember Brooksie in his prime. - You can also ask the Cincinnati Redleg players who "left their jocks on the field" when they saw Robinson in action during the 1970 World Series. (Adding to the Red's disbelief was the Oriole's casual attitude about it: Brooksie turned in gems like this all the time.) ...And this was Brooks's 15th season with the Orioles!

The effect Robinson's presence had on the opposing offence was to reduce the area of the playing field they felt confident hitting toward. Right handed hitters no longer wanted to pull the ball: Brooks was there - they would be out. The immense impact his defensive skill had on other teams offences is difficult to measure, but it was so great that whenever you see a baseball diamond, the name Brooks Robinson is there, forever linked to third base.

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