What a card: This is Don Robinson's card following his first year as a full-time reliever. After six seasons working primarily as a starter, Robinson appeared in 38 games in relief in 1984, saving 10 games, his first year of double-digit saves.
My observation on the front: Robinson really makes that old-time pillbox cap with the hair and the mustache. With the exception of the gold pullover, he looks like he stepped out of 1890.
More opinion from me: Sadly, when Robinson was traded to the Giants, he shaved the mustache. However, I was pleased to read this quote about Robinson's reaction when the Pirates dealt him: "When I was traded to the Giants, I cried."
Something you might know: Robinson was known as one of the better-hitting pitchers when he played. He hit 13 career home runs in 631 at-bats with a .231 batting average.
Something you might not know: Robinson surrendered Mike Schmidt's 500th home run, which was a three-run, ninth-inning shot that gave the Phillies the 8-6 victory. But Schmidt hit just a career .150 (9-for-60) against Robinson.
My observation on the back: This card was issued a year after "Terminator," so using "IBB" to mean "I'll Be Back" hadn't stuck yet.
The blog wants to speak now: The Pop Culture tab is updated.
Don Robinson -- I remember his rookie season well. We all thought that he was on the road to stardom after recording 14 wins. I even had an autographed picture from him. Too bad injuries derailed that promising first campaign. Still, he won 109 games and almost reached 2,000 innings in his career.
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