Brooks Robinson, 1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated MVP Collection #2

If you see Brooks Robinson today, go ahead and wish him a happy 73rd birthday. Did you know that Brooksie's career batting average was .267 and his career home run total was 268? If he had gotten just two more hits in his 10,654 career at-bats, the two stats would have matched. Most people don't think about the legendary defensive-minded third baseman as a power hitter, but when you play for 23 years, you have plenty of chances to do something interesting with the longball. Here are some more pointless home run tidbits about the Human Vacuum Cleaner:

-He hit his 268 home runs off of 166 different pitchers. He most frequently victimized Bill Monbouquette and Dean Chance (six times each).

-Robinson hit 12 homers off of fellow Hall of Famers, including five against Catfish Hunter and three vs. Whitey Ford.

-37 of his homers were against the Red Sox, with 23 coming in Fenway Park. Those were his most frequently targeted team and opposing ballpark.

-He hit his only leadoff home run on September 1, 1961 against Barry Latman of the Indians. That's right, Brooks used to hit leadoff.

-Brooks hit one home run on his birthday. It was a two-run homer in 1971 against Fritz Peterson of the Yankees, and it gave Baltimore a 3-1 lead in the 4th inning. They won 6-2.

-He totaled eight walkoff homers, including a 14th-inning clout to top the Angels in 1962 and a 10th-inning grand slam in 1970 to frustrate the Yankees and give Mike Cuellar a complete-game victory.

-The final home run of his career was a walkoff shot - a three-run pinch-hit homer to down the Indians in the 10th inning on April 19, 1977! It was the only pinch HR of his storied career. If he had a real flair for the dramatic, he would have retired right then and there. But that wasn't Brooksie's style.