Aug. 22, 1964 - Brooks Robinson (pictured), a one-man pennant threat, gave his Oriole playmates a double thrill today.
The first occurred when the irrepressible Baltimore third baseman blasted a three-run, ninth-inning homer into Comiskey Park’s lower right field pavilion to carry the Birds to a 4-2 victory over Chicago — which, on top of last night’s victory by the same score, boosted Baltimore’s A.L. lead over the White Sox to 1½ games.
The second was transmitted into the Orioles’ clubhouse via video tape during a postgame TV show on which Robinson was the special guest of Chicago announcer Jack Brickhouse.
In high-spirited good humor, the Birds whooped with unguarded glee when their hero connected again in the re-run.
“Where’s my sunglasses? He’s blinding me,” screamed Milt Pappas as Robinson’s beaming face first appeared on the locker-room screen, his receding hairline prominently accentuated by the upstairs press-box lights.
“What was your reaction when you hit that ball?” asked Brickhouse.
“Well, I knew it was gonna be over [Mike] Hershberger’s head, but I was afraid it was gonna bounce off the wall,” Brooks replied. “I didn’t think it had enough on it to reach the seats.”
“And now,” said Brickhouse, “we bring you on video tape the re-creation of Robinson’s game-winning home run — following this important message.”
After a commercial, there stood the Baltimore bombardier, poised at home plate. The count stood at 3-1, and Sox righthander Joel Horlen was set to pitch.
“Walk him, or you regret it!” hollered Luis Aparicio.
“Knock him down!” suggested Jackie Brandt.
“Curve that so-and-so, Horlen, or he’ll kill you!” warned a dripping Steve Barber, muscling in close to the clubhouse screen for a closer look.
“I predict that Brooks will now hit a home run,” quietly predicted a straight-faced Bob Johnson as Hank Bauer pushed into the mobbed Birds from the manager’s quarters.
A split second later came the crucial fastball between the knees and waist. With an inside-out swing, Robinson golfed it over rightfielder Mike Hershberger’s head into the first two rows of the seats, and bedlam prevailed among the Bird-watching Birds.
The mounting impression among newsmen everywhere that Robinson is on his way to 1964 American League MVP honors was brushed aside by Brooks with a self-effacing comment: “We’ve still got five weeks to go, and a lot of other guys are having good years, too. Thirty-nine more games left, you know. I might not get another hit.”
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