Major League Career
Robinson made his major league debut for the New York Yankees on May 6, 1943, playing in only one game before leaving to serve in the United States Coast Guard for the remainder of World War II. When the war ended in 1945, Robinson returned to the Yankees, appearing in 50 games. He took over as the Yankees' starting catcher in 1946 with promising results, posting a .297 batting average along with 16 home runs and 64 runs batted in. He also finished third among American League catchers with 25 baserunners caught stealing, and fourth in assists with 50. Robinson finished 16th in the American League Most Valuable Player Award voting.
Robinson began the 1947 season as the Yankees starting catcher, and was named as a reserve player for the American League in the 1947 All-Star Game. However, as the season progressed, Yogi Berra began to take over as the starting catcher. Robinson ended the year with a .270 batting average in 82 games, with 5 home runs and 36 runs batted in, as the Yankees went on to win the American League pennant. In the 1947 World Series, Robinson appeared in three games and started in Games 5 and 7, getting 2 hits in 10 at bats, as the Yankees defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in a seven-game series.
Having a surplus of catchers in 1948 with Berra, Sherm Lollar and Gus Niarhos, the Yankees decided to trade Robinson along with Fred Bradley and Bill Wight to the Chicago White Sox for Eddie Lopat in February of that year. He played in 98 games for the White Sox, but his offensive statistics continued to decline, hitting for a .252 batting average. After only one season with the White Sox, Robinson was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Billy Pierce in November 1948.
Robinson became the Tigers starting catcher in 1949 and 1950, providing solid defense, however his batting continued to decline. During a pennant race late in the 1950 season, Robinson was involved in a critical play during a game against the Cleveland Indians on September 24. The Tigers had been in first place for most of the season and, had just fallen to second place behind the Yankees with one week left in the season. Heavy smoke from a Canadian forest fire forced the Tigers to turn on the lights in Tiger Stadium in a Sunday afternoon game. With the score tied 1-1, Bob Lemon opened the tenth inning with a triple, and two intentional walks followed. With the bases loaded and one out, Luke Easter grounded out to Tigers' first baseman Don Kolloway, who then tagged first base. Because of the haze, Robinson did not see Kolloway remove the force after fielding the ball. Thinking he only had to step on home plate to force out Lemon, he failed to apply a tag, thus allowing Lemon to score the winning run. The Tigers fell two and a half games behind the Yankees in the standings with one week left in the season, and weren't able to recover before the season ended.
By the time Robinson was acquired by the Boston Red Sox in 1951, he was hitting for just a .207 batting average. Robinson retired at the end of the 1951 season.
Read more about this topic: Aaron Robinson
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