Farewell to Baseball Legend Frank Robinson : 無料・フリー素材/写真
Farewell to Baseball Legend Frank Robinson / dbking
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示 2.1 |
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| 説明 | Countdown Begins For Nats' ManagerRobinson Won't Be at Helm Next SeasonSaturday, September 30, 2006He was greeted by a few posters behind the home dugout, by well-wishers, by 'thank yous' and a brief but enthusiastic chant of "We love Frank!" He was met, before the game started, by a father and son who wanted to hand him a picture. Not, this time, for Frank Robinson to autograph, but one they had signed for him, Robinson posing with fans. And on it, according to Washington Nationals' bench coach Eddie Rodriguez, were written "beautiful things.""So many people wanted to tell him," Rodriguez said, "just simple stuff. 'Thanks for the memories.' "Robinson's farewell weekend as the Nationals' manager began last night with a 4-3 loss to the New York Mets, one that leaves just two more games in the Hall of Famer's on-field career. Sources confirmed yesterday what Robinson had made quite plain a day earlier: He was told in meetings with General Manager Jim Bowden and President Stan Kasten that he would not be asked back as manager, and all that awaits is a formal announcement.So the game, very early on, was secondary. The Mets, even with a tissue-thin rotation, are headed to the playoffs as the National League East champions. The Nationals, even as they have played decent baseball over the last month, have the cellar locked up. No amount of emotion can change any of that.But the two remaining games are all Robinson has left on a baseball field, where he has spent his entire working life, 51 years in all. He said after the game that he had no expectations for what his interactions with the fans might be like."Take what comes," he said. "Take life as it comes."Because the Nationals have not formally announced his status, there has been no schedule released for any ceremony honoring Robinson, who has served the last five seasons as the franchise's manager -- three of those years in Montreal -- but made a far greater impact on the history of the game by first becoming the only man to win an MVP award in both leagues and then becoming the majors' first African American manager in 1975.Kasten, who has not publicly acknowledged the fact that Robinson won't be asked back, told reporters at a speech at the National Press Club yesterday that Robinson's career "deserves to be cherished and respected" and that a tribute would happen "at the appropriate time." Indeed, club officials were busy gathering video clips of Robinson, ostensibly for a montage to be shown on the large scoreboard in right field at RFK Stadium during one or both of the season's final two games.Robinson, though, tried his best to make yesterday a normal day, to find his normal rhythm, the one that has kept him in baseball past his 71st birthday. It was no easy task, what with the Nationals completing a game after 2 a.m. yesterday, then returning to the ballpark to face the Mets.So when the game was being played, Robinson leaned against the railing in the dugout, peering out from under his red cap emblazoned with the script "W." He watched his starting pitcher, right-hander Tony Armas Jr., throw an ungodly 112 pitches in five innings, allowing only two runs but frustrating his manager nonetheless."Too many pitches," Robinson said, the refrain he has used time and again with Armas. He pointed out, in typical bluntness, that Armas finds one bad inning when it "seems like he loses all concept of how to pitch."The Nationals, though, hung in on this one, taking a 2-1 lead on Ryan Zimmerman's 110th RBI of the season in the fourth, then a 3-2 lead on Ryan Church's second homer in as many nights in the fifth. But reliever Ryan Wagner allowed the tying run in the seventh, and Jon Rauch gave up the go-ahead run on Shawn Green's sacrifice fly in the eighth.The results still matter to Robinson, as they do to his team. Though the players haven't been told of their manager's fate, they understand what's coming."I hope the last two games, we can go out and get a 'W' for him," Church said.But beyond that, they will be games for Robinson to do things he has never done before. He may, indeed, have the opportunity for a farewell speech, though he's not sure how he'd handle it."Just from the heart, and whatever ad lib comes to my head," he said. "Nothing prepared. That's why sometimes it makes it sound like I'm a little off, and I go off into different directions. But I just try to say what's in my heart, and what I want to say is what comes out. That works best for me rather than trying to prepare something."He was unprepared for what he saw last night. Rodriguez has spent the last three years as Robinson's bench coach, at his side for every pitch of every game. In between innings last night, a fan caught Robinson's attention. He wanted an autograph. An autographed baseball."I've never seen him autograph a ball during a game for somebody, and he did," Rodriguez said. "It's really odd, and really significant."Asked if there was a feeling of finality to it all, Rodriguez said, "You better believe it." And by the break between the eighth and ninth innings, he was turning and directly interacting with the fans, promising them autographs later on. Headed to the bottom of the ninth, he was asking the bat boys for baseballs, rolling them over the top of the dugout to awaiting fans, some of whom snapped pictures.He has two more days in uniform. He says he doesn't know what to expect. Clearly, though, he will relish them.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Nats Officially Part Ways With RobinsonTrailblazing Career Is Likely at an EndBy Barry SvrlugaOctober 1, 2006In 1975, when the Cleveland Indians needed a replacement for Ken Aspromonte as manager, owner Ted Bonda took what was, at the time, a bold step. He named Frank Robinson to the position, the first African American to manage a major league club.Yesterday afternoon, as he formally was removed from a manager's job for the last time in his storied career, Robinson reflected on that status, one that always will be by his name: first black manager."And," Robinson said, making light of the situation, "the first one to be fired four times."The official announcement that Robinson -- a 71-year-old Hall of Famer -- would not be asked back as manager of the Washington Nationals finally came yesterday, and the occasion was marked by remembrances not only of his role in bringing baseball back to the nation's capital, but with nods to his significance in the history of the game. When the Nationals took the field against the New York Mets in their penultimate game of the season, Robinson's counterpart in the visitors' dugout was another African American, Willie Randolph."I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Frank," Randolph said.Yet Robinson's absence will leave the club's most prominent faces -- owners Theodore N. Lerner and his son, Mark; President Stan Kasten; and General Manager Jim Bowden -- all white in a city that is majority black, at a time when baseball is desperately trying to spark interest among young urban African Americans.Robinson has strong views on the importance of black participation in baseball, ones he occasionally expresses. Yet as much as Robinson has served as the face of the franchise since it came to the District last year -- he certainly was its most notable name -- the team didn't promote him as an icon. He admitted that he didn't get out in the city much, traveling between the ballpark and his apartment on Connecticut Avenue NW. His participation in civic affairs largely was low-key, mostly centered around Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Roman Catholic School on Capitol Hill, where he spoke occasionally and participated in various activities.Nationals officials did not go into detail about what qualities they will pursue when the search for Robinson's replacement officially begins tomorrow. But Bowden said the club is well aware of the issue."There'll be diversity in this entire organization from top to bottom," Bowden said. "It doesn't matter if it's scouting, player development, managers, coaches, players. This organization is all about diversity."The ousting of Robinson as manager after five seasons -- three in Montreal, the last two in Washington -- was, Bowden and Kasten admitted, an awkward situation, largely because of Robinson's standing in the game. He ranks sixth on the all-time home run list, is the only man to win the most valuable player award in both the American and National leagues, and has held nearly every position in baseball -- all-star player, coach, manager, front office member, Major League Baseball executive.Robinson was told of the decision on Thursday, in part because he had requested advance notice so that he could, as he said, "say goodbye." The Nationals are planning to pay tribute to Robinson before, during and after today's season finale at RFK Stadium, and they will host a "Frank Robinson Day" next season. Though Robinson and Bowden have discussed the possibility that Robinson would take another job within the organization, no decision has been made. Robinson has been adamant that he would want a job only if it had real, decision-making power.For two days, Robinson had danced around the questions about his future, his eyes watering from time to time. Yesterday, sitting next to Bowden at a news conference in a small room in the bowels of RFK, he tried to sound content."It's been a good ride for me," he said. "Fifty-one years. . . . I never walk away from anything. When I'm hired to do a job, I do the best I can as long as I can."Robinson managed for parts of 16 seasons for four franchises -- Cleveland, the San Francisco Giants, the Baltimore Orioles and the Montreal Expos, who became the Nationals. He never won a division title, and he finished with a winning record just five times.Neither Bowden nor Kasten would discuss the reasons behind the decision, other than to say "it was in the best long-term interest of the franchise," as Bowden put it. But several Nationals officials felt for some time that Robinson didn't keep up with modern statistical analysis and he didn't communicate enough with his players. Robinson, in turn, defended himself as he pursued the opportunity to stay on beyond this season.Robinson has long said he wouldn't truly reflect on his accomplishments until he was out of baseball completely. Now, that time could be here."I want it one day to [be] where an African American or minority manager is hired, and there's no mention of" race, he said. "I think that's when we'll have achieved what we've been trying to achieve all these years in baseball as far as managers are concerned."He understands, though, that Washington is a special case. Alphonso Maldon Jr., a former official in the Clinton administration, is a minority partner in the Nationals' ownership structure, the senior vice president for external affairs. He and Kasten have participated in community meetings in all eight wards in the District, and while he has no say in whom the next manager will be, he said the franchise is acutely aware that the racial makeup of the club's leadership will be noticed in the community."We are going absolutely as far as we have to go to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to experience the Nationals," Maldon said.When Major League Baseball sold the Nationals to the Lerner group earlier this year, it did so only after the group expanded to bring in more racial minorities, and MLB officials at the time said they put such stress on the issue because of Washington's population."I think you have to feel the heartbeat of the city," said third base coach Tony Beasley, an African American who spent his first year in the majors this season. "I know it was a really important issue when they were talking about the ownership. I would think it would be something that would be in the forefront as far as coaches and things of that nature."You have to do your homework on each one of those decisions, but you also have to recognize who your fan base is -- and who you want it to be."Last night, such thoughts were far from Robinson's mind. He had been pondering the end for most of the previous week, if not most of the entire season."Anytime you're looking at the end, it'll be emotional," he said. "How much? I don't know. That's not something you can think about or you can rehearse. They might all pffffff ," and he took his mammoth hands and waved them away from his body, as if the emotions were spewing out.Before the first pitch, Robinson turned to the crowd and tossed out some baseballs. He will do the same again today, when he pulls on a baseball uniform for the final time. He is unsure of what comes next. He knows only one thing for sure."As far as I'm concerned, in my heart and my head, this is it," Robinson said. "Plain and simple." |
| 撮影日 | 2006-09-29 22:01:02 |
| 撮影者 | dbking , Washington, DC |
| 撮影地 | |
| カメラ | Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT , Canon |
| 露出 | 0.017 sec (1/60) |
| 開放F値 | f/5.0 |
| 焦点距離 | 150 mm |