Clint Robinson Is Having Quite A Year

If you had not been following Clint Robinson‘s season all year long and just followed yesterday’s game between the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and the Springfield Cardinals, you would still be wondering why Robinson is still in Double-A.  He is not the best on defense.  He will admit that, but he will tell you that he is practicing hard every day to improve on his weaknesses.

Last night, Robinson hit a 3-run homerun in the 3rd inning to put his team up 5-0.  It was his 26th homerun of the season, tying a homerun record for the team that was previously held by current Kansas City Royals big leaguer, Kila Ka’aihue.  Robinson was not done for the night.  In the 8th inning, he hit his 27th homerun of the season, breaking Ka’aihue’s record and giving his team an even larger cushion.  He also hit a triple in the game.  Talk to Clint today and he will probably tell you that he is just happy that his team won, and that will be an honest statement.

September call-ups are less than a week away.  Clint Robinson is not currently on the Kansas City Royals 40-man roster.  Until he gets added, he won’t be getting a call-up.  This is the kind of guy you would expect the Royals to protect on the 40, though, especially since he will be Rule 5 eligible in the Winter Meetings should the team not protect him.

Robinson leads the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals in batting average, doubles, homeruns, total bases, walks, runs, RBI, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.  He is also leading the entire Texas League in runs, doubles, homeruns, total bases, slugging percentage, and on-base plus slugging percentage.  One might think that someone like that would also have to be prone to striking out, but that is not the case with Robinson.

And one thing to never forget about Clint is that he is a man full of character.  I love to brag that he is the recipient of the 2009 Mike Sweeney Award, which is awarded to the player that best represents the Royals organization both on and off the field.  He is confident, but not cocky.  Check out a Q&A from a recent interview:

Looking to the off season and a 40 man roster spot in reach…do you have to pinch yourself sometimes to how far you have come as a 25th round draft pick?

No, because this is something I have always expected from myself. My draft status means nothing to me….in my mind i’m just as good as any first rounder.