Question: Why is there very little mention about Frank ‘s Robinson’s extraordinary season in 1966 when he won the Triple crown — 326 average, 49 home runs, 122 RBIs, .410 on-base percentage and 367 total bases. He was also the only player to win the MVP award in both leagues. From: Oscar Nottingham
Answer: Oscar, your question is of particular interest to me because I was recently on a podcast centered on Frank Robinson, and I reviewed his career before the podcast.
Robinson’s magical season was in 1966, and it was 60 years ago, long before most Oriole fans were born.
It shouldn’t be forgotten nor should he. Frank played at the same time as some other all-time great outfielders — Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Roberto Clemente. Baltimore-born Al Kaline also played during that time.
Because of these Hall of Famers, Robinson is often underappreciated, and that’s sad because his stats are so impressive. His 586 home runs were more than Mantle, and had he decided to concentrate on playing another year or two instead of becoming a player/manager, he likely would have had more than 3,000 hits. He finished with 2,943.
Robinson was also important sociologically to the game. Not only was he baseball’s first Black manager, but he helped give the American League its first true Black superstar when he was traded to the Orioles.
Question: Can you please explain what the Arizona Fall League is? Is it open to all levels of the minors? Who selects the players who are sent and how do they choose? How are the teams formed? From: JT Tolley
Answer: JT, the best description I’ve heard for the Arizona Fall League is a finishing school. The Orioles generally send players who’ve missed time during the season due to injuries so they can make up at-bats or innings lost.
The Orioles and four other teams — Cincinnati, St. Louis, Seattle and San Diego — combine to form a 35-player team, the Peoria Javelinas.
The most prominent players they’ve sent this fall are outfielder/first baseman Ike Irish and outfielder Vance Honeycutt, first-round picks in 2025 and 2024 who both missed a chunk of the season to injuries.
Right-handed starters Braxton Bragg and Patrick Reilly, both of whom had Tommy John surgery in 2025, are also on the team.
Infielder Brandon Butterworth, right-handers Kiefer Lord and Teddy Sharkey and left-hander Kailen Hamson are the other players.
Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: [email protected]. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.