By Marc Katz,

Staff Writer

Updated 11:42 AM Wednesday, November 2, 2011

DAYTON — Frank Robinson works out more at age 76 than he did during his hall-of-fame baseball career, which was marked with many significant milestones.

Robinson was the first black manager in the big leagues, the only player to win the MVP award in both leagues, a Triple Crown winner and the centerpiece in arguably the worst trade in Cincinnati Reds history.

He’ll talk about all of that and more Saturday night during the Schear Family Heart In Sports Community Conversation with hall-of-fame baseball writer Hal McCoy at the Dayton Marriott.

Two recent bouts with a racing heart beat made Robinson a good subject for the Heart In Sports talk, but the guy who slugged 586 career home runs (ninth all-time) while hitting .294 over 21 seasons claimed he did it all with little offseason exercise.

“When I was younger, they had different measurements for you to get in shape,” Robinson said this week from his Los Angeles-area home.

“We didn’t have a lot of offseason training. As a matter of fact, we just kind of took it easy, or we worked (at other jobs) during the off-season. We went to spring training to get in shape.”

Robinson, now an adviser to baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, certainly was in shape in 1956 as a 20-year-old rookie when he hit .290 with 38 homers and 83 RBIs. He led the National League with 122 runs scored.

“I never gave it any thought about longevity in baseball until I was in it for about 10 years,” Robinson said. “My thinking was just try to get five years in. After that, I said, ‘Well, why not 10?’ After that, why not 20? You had to get 20 years in to be fully invested in the pension plan at that time.”

At one point, he thought he’d be with the Reds for life, but on Dec. 9, 1965, he was traded to Baltimore for pitchers Jack Baldschun and Milt Pappas plus outfielder Dick Simpson. Reds owner Bill DeWitt, trying to justify himself, uttered Robinson was “an old 30,” even though he was coming off a season of 33 homers, 113 RBIs and a .296 batting average.

The old guy hit .316 with the Orioles, adding 49 home runs and 122 RBIs to capture the American League’s Triple Crown. He won the league MVP award and helped Baltimore to a world championship.

Robinson wasn’t so old, and he still didn’t work out in the offseason the way today’s players do.

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” he said.

“Players today work in-season, they work offseason. I did a little more when I got to be about 30, but I didn’t do any real weight training at any time. I was pretty well developed as far as my muscles were concerned.

“What I should have done, and I know now, I should have done more stretching. I’m doing a lot more stretching now and I’m doing things with my body I couldn’t do even when I was younger.”

As for the trade, Robinson surmises he might have gained a reputation as a troublemaker. As an elder on the team, he became a spokesman and said he would cover for teammates by telling management any complaints were his.

Otherwise, he was quiet and was overshadowed in the National League by contemporaries Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente.

“Yeah, I’m with those guys,” he said. “But I’m always mentioned fourth. That’s OK. Team goals were more important to me.”

Obtained by the Indians in 1974, Robinson was surprised to be offered a job as player-manager the next season. He wanted to decline, but his agent let him know how important it was to break that color barrier.

The move cost him a chance at 3,000 hits and 600 home runs.

“I didn’t play much as a manager,” said Robinson, who last managed in 2006 (Nationals). “Even today, I don’t regret it. If I hadn’t managed, I would have made it to 3,000 and 600, but that’s OK.”

Qualifier: players will be classified under one position even if they played at more than one.

Johnny Bench:

Legendary Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench led the “Big Red Machine” to their brilliant run of success in the 1970s. A career member of the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983, Bench was a two-time National League MVP, 14-time All-Star, ten-time Gold Glove winner, two-time World Series Champion and a World Series MVP. Bench owns the Reds’ all-time home run record with 389 round-trippers. He ranks second in franchise history in wins above replacement with a 71.3 WAR and he is one of five Reds with 2,000 hits.

Ernie Lombardi:

Hall of Fame catcher Ernie Lombardi played ten seasons with the Reds from 1932 to 1941. Lombardi was an outstanding pure hitter who won two batting titles and went to seven All-Star Games. Over 1,203 games with the Reds, he maintained a 126 OPS+ (league average is 100) with a .311 average, .359 on-base percentage and .469 slugging percentage. Lombardi put together his career year in 1938 when he led the National League with a .342 average, posted a .915 OPS, hit 19 home runs and drove in 95 RBI to win the NL MVP award. He helped the Reds reach back-to-back World Series in 1939 and 1940, winning a championship in the latter year.

Bubbles Hargrave:

Former batting champion Bubbles Hargrave served as Cincinnati’s catcher of the 1920s. Hargrave was an excellent hitter independent of position; factoring in that he played at a defensive-first spot makes his performance all the more impressive. He sported a .310 average, .377 OBP and 122 OPS+ in 766 games in Cincinnati. Hargrave peaked in 1926 when he won a batting title with a .353 average and slugged a career-best .525. His bat was worth 17.8 WAR over eight years with the Reds.

Ed Bailey:

Five-time All-Star backstop Ed Bailey spent the 1950s behind the plate in Cincinnati. Bailey played 100 games for the first time in 1956 and he responded by batting .300 with a .385 OBP, 28 home runs and 142 OPS+ to warrant his first All-Star nod. He maintained a .359 OBP and 109 OPS+ over 714 games with Cincinnati. As a Red, he threw out 45 percent of base-stealers overall, leading the league in the category once in 1957.

Johnny Edwards:

Three-time All-Star Johnny Edwards played seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds from 1961 to 1967. In the first-half of the 1960s, Edwards was a league-average offensive player and a winner of multiple Gold Gloves for his work behind the plate. In his four seasons as the full-time starter from 1962 to 1965, Edwards posted a .265 average and .102 OPS+ while averaging 11 home runs and 56 RBI per year.

Honorable mentions: Heinie Peitz, Tommy Clarke, Ray Mueller, Ivey Wingo, Larry McLean, Farmer Vaughn and Pop Snyder.

Sources:

Cincinnati Reds Team History & Encyclopedia, Baseball-Reference.com

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CINCINNATI, Oct. 31 (UPI) — The Cincinnati Reds said Monday they have picked up their 2012 club option on two-time all-star second baseman Brandon Phillips.

Phillips, who logged a career-best .300 batting average with 18 home runs and 82 RBI for the Reds last season, will receive $12 million under the option exercise.

Phillips led National League second basemen in hitting, slugging, on-base percentage, runs, hits and doubles, and ranked second in RBI, MLB.com reported.

The Reds also announced they have declined an option on closer Francisco Cordero for next season, however.

Cordero compiled a 5-3 mark with a 2.45 ERA and 42 strikeouts, 22 walks and 37 saves for Cincinnati in 2011.

CINCINNATI — Bronson Arroyo pitched a six-hitter and the Cincinnati Reds wrapped up their home schedule Wednesday with a 2-0 win over the Houston Astros.

Miguel Cairo homered as Cincinnati finished 42-39 at Great American Ball Park. The Reds drew 2,213,498 this season, an increase of 152,948 over last year’s attendance when they won the NL Central.

The game took only 2 hours, 12 minutes, the fastest of the season for the Reds. There was a 4-minute delay before the fourth inning because of flashing lights triggered by a fire alarm.

Arroyo (9-12), who had been 0-2 over his previous four starts, retired his first 10 batters. He didn’t allow a hit until Carlos Lee led off the fifth with a soft single just over the glove of a leaping Cairo at third base.

Arroyo walked none and struck out two. He needed just 91 pitches in his fourth career shutout and first since beating Washington on Aug. 13, 2009.

The Reds right-hander didn’t allow a home run, keeping his season total at 44, four short of tying the National League record and six short of matching the major league mark.

Houston didn’t get runner to third until the eighth and Arroyo responded by striking out pinch-hitter Brian Bogusevic and Jordan Shafer.

The Reds took a 1-0 lead against Wandy Rodriguez (11-11) in the first when Brandon Phillips led off with an leadoff infield single, stole second and scored on Chris Heisey’s two-out bloop single.

Cairo hit a 410-foot drive into the upper deck in left in the second. It was his career-high eighth homer of the season.

Rodriguez allowed four hits with two walks and four strikeouts in seven innings. He recorded his 1,000th career strikeout by fanning Joey Votto leading off the sixth.

NOTES: The Astros finished their road schedule with a 25-56 record. … Houston RHP Bud Norris’ right shoulder still was sore Wednesday morning after he left his start on Tuesday in the fourth inning. His availability for his next start probably won’t be decided until the team returns to Houston and he can be examined by team doctors, manager Brad Mills said. … Reds C Ryan Hanigan and 3B Scott Rolen won’t play the rest of the season, manager Dusty Baker said. Back spasms have kept Hanigan sidelined since Sept. 15. Rolen hasn’t been able to completely get over arthroscopic surgery performed on Aug. 3 on his left shoulder. … Reds CF Drew Stubbs was scratched from the original starting lineup. Stubbs was hitless in his last 13 at-bats with eight strikeouts to reach 200 for the season. … Houston opens its final homestand of the season Thursday against Colorado. RHP Henry Sosa will face the Rockies for the first time in his career. … The Reds start their final road trip of the season Friday in Pittsburgh with RHP Edinson Volquez seeking his first win in four starts since June 29. He spent most of the second half of the season at Triple-A Louisville.

Posted: 9:02 am EDT August 24, 2011