Second thoughts

Mr. Hoover has returned to old team

Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, center, laughs with the Orioles bird before the Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins baseball game, Sunday, June 17, 2018, in Baltimore.
Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, center, laughs with the Orioles bird before the Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins baseball game, Sunday, June 17, 2018, in Baltimore.

Baseball Hall of Famer and Little Rock native Brooks Robinson has rejoined his former team, the Baltimore Orioles.

Robinson will be in advisory position with the Orioles, the Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck reported Saturday.

Robinson said he was contacted by Orioles executive vice president John Angelos in June.

"I talked to John Angelos about three weeks ago. ... We had lunch," Robinson told the Sun. "I said I'll do anything, but I don't want to make any decisions about baseball. That has passed me by, to tell the truth."

Robinson, 81, played 23 major-league seasons, all with the Orioles, and was one of the cornerstones of one of the winningest teams of the 1960s and 1970s. He finished his career with 2,848 hits.

He remained with the team after his playing career and was a popular member of the Orioles local television broadcast crew throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.

Though there was a period of estrangement after the team and Robinson could not agree on a way for him to have a continuing role with the club, he has been seen at Camden Yards more frequently in recent years.

Robinson said he had plenty to do as part owner of the York Revolution, a member of the independent Atlantic League, and president of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.

His new role has not been clearly defined, but he told the Sun he expects to be much more visible in the community.

"I'll be trying to get out in the community and do some things to try and promote this club and get people to the stadium," he said. "I mean it's a beautiful ballpark and the Orioles have always been trying to get people in and get involved in the community doing some things."

Flip game

Oakland Athletics slugger Mark Canha grew up a San Francisco Giants fan and felt bad about flipping his bat after hitting a home run at San Francisco's AT&T Park, to the point where the Northern California native took to Twitter to issue an apology.

Then he took it all back.

Canha's go-ahead home run in the seventh inning was the difference as Oakland continued its late-game success, rallying to beat San Francisco 4-3 on Saturday night.

It was Canha's first career pinch-hit home run and helped the A's avoid their first back-to-back losses since a season-high, four-game skid June 12-15.

"People getting offended by bat flips is so silly," Canha said. "I'm not really sorry. It's part of our game. Everybody does it. If someone is going to throw at me because of it, I've got thrown at in the past this season for bat flipping. I clearly didn't learn my lesson. If you're offended by that, I don't care."

Said Tim Kawakami of the sports media website The Athletic: "If you don't want Canha to flip his bat after hitting a 700-foot homer, don't let him hit a 700-foot homer."

He said it

From Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times:

• "Ex-NBA player Charles Oakley was arrested on a gambling-fraud charge at a Las Vegas casino after allegedly getting caught on camera trying to take back a $100 chip from a losing hand. Oakley apologists, though, say it's no more than an over-and-back violation."

• "Sorry about that, World Cup fans, but soccer's save of the year occurred in Thailand, not Russia."

• "England not only lost 2-1 to Croatia in the semifinals, but the team was fined $70,000 for wearing 'unauthorized socks.' Since when has Roger Goodell been in charge of the World Cup?"

SPORTS QUIZ

When was the last time the Baltimore Orioles won the World Series?

ANSWER

1983.

photo

AP/NAM Y. HUH

Oakland Athletics' Mark Canha reacts after striking out on a foul tip during the sixth inning of the second game of a baseball doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago, Friday, June 22, 2018.

Sports on 07/16/2018

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