1957
Born June 8, 1957
Ashland, KY, USA
Don Robinson Marquee
b. June 8, 1957 · Pittsburgh Pirates 1978–1987, San Francisco Giants 1987–1991, California Angels 1992, Philadelphia Phillies 1992
Don Robinson won three Silver Slugger awards, which is a strange line on a pitcher's record and reflects a man who hit thirteen home runs and batted .231 in an era when most pitchers were an automatic out. He was used as a pinch hitter more than once.
The pitching career was solid and interrupted: fourteen wins as a Pittsburgh rookie in 1978, then arm and knee trouble that pushed him into the bullpen for several years, then back to starting after a 1987 trade to San Francisco, where he won twelve games for the 1989 pennant winners.
Born in Ashland, Kentucky in 1957, Robinson won a championship with the 1979 Pirates, took the Hutch Award in 1984, and finished 109-106 with 57 saves across fifteen seasons.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Silver Slugger | 3 | 1982, 1989, 1990 |
| Hutch Award | 1 | 1984 |
| Player of the Week | 1 | 1978 |
| The Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year | 1 | 1978 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | PIT | 35 | 85 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0 | .235 |
| 1979 | PIT | 29 | 49 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 0 | .204 |
| 1980 | PIT | 30 | 57 | 4 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 0 | .333 |
| 1981 | PIT | 17 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .250 |
| 1982 | PIT | 43 | 85 | 10 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 3 | 22 | 0 | .282 |
| 1983 | PIT | 10 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .154 |
| 1984 | PIT | 53 | 31 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 0 | .290 |
| 1985 | PIT | 44 | 21 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 0 | .238 |
| 1986 | PIT | 50 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .667 |
| 1987 | PIT/SFG | 69 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .222 |
| 1988 | SFG | 52 | 52 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 0 | .173 |
| 1989 | SFG | 40 | 81 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 23 | 0 | .185 |
| 1990 | SFG | 31 | 63 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 0 | .143 |
| 1991 | SFG | 35 | 40 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 0 | .150 |
| 1992 | CAL/PHI | 13 | 18 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .389 |
| Career | — | 551 | 631 | 47 | 146 | 23 | 0 | 13 | 69 | 16 | 168 | 0 | .231 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | PIT | 14 | 6 | 35 | 32 | 1 | 228.1 | 203 | 88 | 57 | 135 | 3.47 |
| 1979 | PIT | 8 | 8 | 29 | 25 | 0 | 160.2 | 171 | 69 | 52 | 96 | 3.87 |
| 1980 | PIT | 7 | 10 | 29 | 24 | 1 | 160.1 | 157 | 71 | 45 | 103 | 3.99 |
| 1981 | PIT | 0 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 38.1 | 47 | 25 | 23 | 17 | 5.87 |
| 1982 | PIT | 15 | 13 | 38 | 30 | 0 | 227.0 | 213 | 108 | 103 | 165 | 4.28 |
| 1983 | PIT | 2 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 36.1 | 43 | 18 | 21 | 28 | 4.46 |
| 1984 | PIT | 5 | 6 | 51 | 1 | 10 | 122.0 | 99 | 41 | 49 | 110 | 3.02 |
| 1985 | PIT | 5 | 11 | 44 | 6 | 3 | 95.1 | 95 | 41 | 42 | 65 | 3.87 |
| 1986 | PIT | 3 | 4 | 50 | 0 | 14 | 69.1 | 61 | 26 | 27 | 53 | 3.38 |
| 1987 | PIT/SFG | 11 | 7 | 67 | 0 | 19 | 108.0 | 105 | 41 | 40 | 79 | 3.42 |
| 1988 | SFG | 10 | 5 | 51 | 19 | 6 | 176.2 | 152 | 48 | 49 | 122 | 2.45 |
| 1989 | SFG | 12 | 11 | 34 | 32 | 0 | 197.0 | 184 | 75 | 37 | 96 | 3.43 |
| 1990 | SFG | 10 | 7 | 26 | 25 | 0 | 157.2 | 173 | 80 | 41 | 78 | 4.57 |
| 1991 | SFG | 5 | 9 | 34 | 16 | 1 | 121.1 | 123 | 59 | 50 | 78 | 4.38 |
| 1992 | CAL/PHI | 2 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 60.0 | 68 | 34 | 7 | 26 | 5.10 |
| Career | — | 109 | 106 | 524 | 229 | 57 | 1958.1 | 1894 | 824 | 643 | 1251 | 3.79 |
On this day & linked events
1978
Major-league debut: Don Robinson
Don Robinson made a major-league debut on April 10, 1978.
1990
Terry Mulholland's No-Hitter
Terry Mulholland threw a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies against the San Francisco Giants on August 15, 1990, winning 6–0.
1992
Final major-league game: Don Robinson
Don Robinson played a final major-league game on July 12, 1992.
Image: Pittsburgh Pirates, public domain