Baltimore Orioles history: Counting down Brooks Robinson’s 10 greatest games

Brooks Robinson, who died this week at age 86, was known as perhaps the premier defensive player of his position during his Hall of Fame career with the Baltimore Orioles.

As a third baseman across 23 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles, Robinson won 16 consecutive Gold Gloves between 1960 and 1975. He was the 1964 Most Valuable Player, playing in 18 All-Star games.

As an offensive threat, Robinson was good but not great. He hit .267 in a generally pitching-dominant era. He hit 268 home runs and drove in 1,357 runs with 100-plus seasons in 1964 (118) and 1966 (100).

He played on World Series winners in 1966 and 1970, when he was the World Series MVP with a .429 batting average and a fielding display that is still talked about.

He was a career .303 postseason hitter in 39 games with five home runs and 22 RBI. He won election to the Hall of Fame in 1983, his first year of eligibility, with 92 percent of the vote.

We are not yet able to calculate Defensive Runs Saved for players of Robinson’s era, but the stats we do have testify to his defensive brilliance. He had a .971 career fielding average across nearly 2,900 games as an Oriole third baseman. He had a Defensive War of 39.1, representing nearly half of his career 78.4 WAR. That’s extraordinary.

This is a look at the 10 best games of Brooks Robinson’s career with the Baltimore Orioles based on the Win Probability Added of each of those games.

It’s an eclectic group of games, spanning 17 seasons and culminating with the last home run Robinson ever hit. It was a game-winner.

5. Sept. 4, 1970, Orioles 8, Boston Red Sox 6. The Orioles again held a late-season death grip on the division title as they met the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Robinson’s second-inning base hit contributed to a three-run inning that tied the game 4-4, his home run leading off the fourth broke that tie, and a three-run home run in the seventh broke a 5-5 tie.

It was enough. Despite a George Scott home run, reliever Eddie Watt nailed down the victory, in which Brooks had scored three times, homered twice and drove in four runs. Win Probability Added: +0.579.

4. Sept. 14, 1960, Orioles 11, Detroit Tigers 10. Robinson was hitless in three at-bats when he came up with one out in a game Baltimore led 7-6 in Detroit. His sacrifice fly drove home Gene Woodling with his team’s eighth run.

But Detroit held a 9-8 lead as the ninth inning started. With two on and two out, Robinson blasted a triple into the vast reaches of right-center field, scoring the tying and go-ahead runs. Ron Hansen followed with a single that scored Robinson and provided just enough margin to offset Charlie Maxwell’s bottom of the ninth homerun. Win Probability Added: +0.650.

3. August 22, 1964, Orioles 4, Chicago White Sox 2. At Comiskey Park, Robinson led off the second inning with a double and scored on Charlie Lau’s sacrifice fly. But Baltimore trailed 2-1 against Joel Horlen entering the ninth.

Jerry Adair doubled to start that inning, and after Horlen fanned Luis Aparicio, Norm Siebern drew a base on balls. That brought up Robinson with the game on the line. He responded with an opposite field home run into the right field lower deck that shot Baltimore ahead 4-2, a lead Stu Miller and Harvey Haddix would preserve in the bottom of the ninth. Win Probability Added: 0.689.

2. August 2, 1967, Orioles 2, Detroit Tigers 1. In the second game of a doubleheader at Memorial Stadium, the Orioles trailed 1-0, having been held to five hits through eight innings by Fred Gladding and Pat Dobson. But after Frank Robinson opened the ninth by drawing a walk, Brooks sent a game-winning home run into the left field seats, scoring Frank ahead of him. Win Probability Added: +0.792.

1 April 19, 1977, Orioles 6, Cleveland Indians 5. Robinson was nearing his 40th birthday and reduced to occasional duty as the 1977 season opened. On this date, he watched from the bench as his replacement, Doug DeCinces, went hitless in four at-bats. Both bullpens were in charge as the game moved to the 10th inning tied 2-2.

In the Cleveland half, hits by Charlie Spikes, Frank Duffy, Larvell Blanks and Rico Carty, intermingled with a couple of walks, gave the Indians a 5-2 lead and seemingly put the game on ice. But when Indians reliever Dave LaRoche allowed a Ken Singleton single and walked DeCinces, Orioles manager Earl  Weaver saw a window. Eddie Murray struck out but Lee May drove one run home with a base hit, then Weaver played his hole card, summoning Robinson off the bench.

The result: a three-run home run, the 268th and last of his career, three RBI and a walk-off winner. Win Probability Added: +0.793.