PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Herman Weiskopf

September 12, 1966

"Lots of times I talk to myself when I go up to bat," says Oriole Outfielder Frank Robinson. "I tell myself, 'Make sure it's a good pitch,' and things like that. Nothing fancy." It is opposing pitchers who really have been talking to themselves. They've been mumbling all season long that Robinson, who leads the American League in hitting and home runs and has been flirting with the lead in RBIs, can't possibly keep up the pace. Last week, 140 days after the season began, Frank was still out there, driving for the Triple Crown. The pitchers were tense, but Robinson was relaxed. He ranks among the league leaders in clubhouse towel throwing and in giving hotfoots. When Multimillionaire Jerry Hoffberger, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles, complained that his shoes had become scuffed, Robinson flipped him a quarter and said, "Here, get yourself a shine." He calls his massive teammate, 240-pound First Baseman Boog Powell, "Crisco" and in return is called "Pencils," a salute to the thin sticks that hold up his sinewy torso. In explaining the reasons for his success this season, Robinson principally credits his ability to stay loose. "I don't try to be relaxed," he says, "I just am." About the only thing that makes him uneasy, he adds, is his Baltimore radio show, a five-minute analysis of the day's game. "It's odd being the hero and to have to talk about yourself," he explains. "Sometimes I just leave myself out."