After all the bitterness and hard feelings, that still exists in Frank Robinson's head, Our First Manager has been rewarded by Major League Baseball with a Front Office Position at MLB--Special Advisor to the Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations. Frank has defiantly claimed he wants to do something special, something of importance in baseball, not be a figurehead. Well, the special assistant to the assistant of the President of MLB, under the Commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig, sure doesn't sound too promising.
And, according to Mark Zuckerman at The Washington Times, Robinson has turned down the final request from General Manager, Jim Bowden, to allow Our Washington Nationals to honor him this final season at RFK Stadium. Dear Frank--Your Day Is FOR US!! Fans!! to recognize YOU!! Its not for The Nationals.
Pretty sad, if you ask me. Frank, I love you. But, you are disappointing me.
I do agree, Frank don't be like many Yankee greats who would not come back to the stadium because they had a "Beef" with the team management.
ReplyDeleteFrank, do yourself a favor and come back to RFK and let the fans thank you for all the hard work you did for this team!
ps: team managemnt, RETIRE Franks #20!
I would like to see Frank Robinson's number retired too, (notwithstanding the naysayers who insist he is just a bad manager) but what would be the point if Frank himself refused to attend the ceremony?
ReplyDeleteBTW, there is this guy on the MLB Nats board I have argued with on two points. First, he thinks that the numbers the Expos retired should stay retired in Washington. Second, he does not think that the OTHER Frank's number---Frank Howard---should be retired since Hondo is not in the Hall of Fame.
(Which is a bit contradictory since not all the players whom the Expos retired numbers for are in the Hall of Fame. Maybe this guy only referred to Gary Carter.)
I don't think that being in the Hall of Fame should be prerequesite to having your number retired. The Yankees certainly don't think so and they have more HoFers than anybody. Frank Howard means so much more for Washington baseball, especially for the generation who remembers the last Senators teams before they left for Arlington in 1972.
Eventually, the Nats will have new players for whom to retire uniform numbers, but I think it's important to honor the past. The Nats Hall of Famers who spent most of their careers in Washington---didn't wear uniform numbers. The exception is probably Bucky Harris, but he's dead. Frank Howard is still alive, and his number should be retired in his lifetime. At a later date, we can honor Harris in the same manner, but it is not a major priority.
Eddie (with major diarrhea of the keyboard)