Former Major League Baseball player Frank Robinson, best known for his all-star exploits as an outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles, earned his place in Cooperstown.
Now, thanks to a generous donation to the Los Amigos High baseball program, Robinson, the executive vice president of baseball development for the MLB and also in charge of the league’s Urban Youth Academies, is a hall-of-famer to athletes and other students at the Garden Grove Unified School District School.
Former Major League Baseball player Frank Robinson, best known for his all-star exploits as an outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles, earned his place in Cooperstown.
Now, thanks to a generous donation to the Los Amigos High baseball program, Robinson, the executive vice president of baseball development for the MLB and also in charge of the league’s Urban Youth Academies, is a hall-of-famer to athletes and other students at the Garden Grove Unified School District School.
On Monday, Nichelle Robinson, daughter of Frank, prsented a $4,000 check on behalf of Major League Baseball to the Los Amigos High School baseball program. Frank Robinson, who heard about the team's plight following the theft of all their equipment recently, contacted Los Amigos High last week to notify the school that he had arranged for a donation.
In short, the team’s season has been saved.
Baseball players at Los Amigos High School in Fountain Valley faced the ultimate shutout as the team issued a community-wide appeal for donations after burglars made off with all player and school-owned gear and equipment.
A locked walk-in storage container situated near the baseball field was emptied of its contents sometime between Saturday night, Sept. 1, and the following morning. On Sunday, a parent volunteer grooming the baseball field discovered the complete loss, which has a replacement value between $3,000 and $4,000.
The investigation by Fountain Valley police continues.
Taken in the crime were bats, gloves, balls, catcher’s gear and a pitching machine. Some of the stolen articles had been purchased with student body and booster club funds, while the balance was personal equipment belonging to the 30 varsity and junior varsity athletes.
According to Robin Patterson, principal, the school lacked resources for new purchases; she also noted that more than 84 percent of Los Amigos students are from economically disadvantaged households.
“It’s a very positive time at Los Amigos as we celebrate the beginning of a new school year,” she said at the time. “We have an increased number of students achieving at higher levels and boosted participation in extracurricular activities. It is unnerving to know that something such as this occurred on our campus, and it will be very challenging to secure the help needed so our athletes can prepare for the 2013 baseball season.”
Appeals for aid were sent to surrounding district schools in hopes of borrowing extra equipment from other teams. The school was exploring fundraising options including hosting a golf tournament at a date and location to be announced.
It can be safely said that nobody expected Frank Robinson, who hit 586 home runs in his career and is the only player ever to win MVP awards in both the National and American leagues, to step in. What can you say? It leaves one rather speechless when touched by a hall-of-famer in baseball who’s also a hall-of-famer in life.
