Drew Robinson

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Drew Elliott Robinson

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Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Drew Robinson began playing in the Texas Rangers minor league system in 2010. He was taken by the club in the 4th round of the 2010 amateur draft, a couple of picks ahead of pitcher Seth Rosin. He was signed by scout Todd Guggiana.

Robinson had a breakout year in 2012, hitting .273/.409/.444 with 13 home runs, 67 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 123 games for the Hickory Crawdads. He followed that up with 26 doubles and 10 stolen bases for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in 2013. He began 2014 with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders and also played briefly with the AAA Round Rock Express before the end of the year. However, he hit only .198 in 104 games, with 12 homers and 45 RBIs. In 2015, he played for the same two teams, again spending the bulk of his time in AA, and hit .2356 in 133 games, but with 25 doubles, 21 homers and 66 RBIs. Defensively, he moved around a lot during those years, playing solely at third base in 2013, then seeing most of htime in right field in 2014 and at second base in 2015. In 2016 he played 125 games for Round Rock, hitting .257/.350/.480 with 24 doubles, 10 triples and 20 homers. He scored 76 runs and drove in 67, re-establishing himself as an interesting prospect after his 2014 trough. Even though he played almost every day, he was basically a utility player, seeing significant time at five different positions.

Robinson made the Rangers' opening day roster at the start of the 2017 season, taking advantage of the fact that starting 3B Adrian Beltre began the season on the disabled list. He made his debut on April 5th, pinch-hitting for DH Delino DeShields Jr. in the 7th inning and staying on in the game against the Cleveland Indians. He went 0 for 2, grounding out and lining out in his two plate appearances.

On April 16, 2020, he attempted suicide in his home in Las Vegas, NV, putting a gun to his temple and pulling the trigger. He woke up 20 hours later, having somehow survived the attempt, even though he lost an eye in the process. He realized at that point that he wanted to live and called 911. He was able to recover almost fully, and in 2021 returned to baseball as a member of the AAA Sacramento River Cats. His return to the field received a lot of media coverage, as did his first homer of the season when he hit it on May 11th. He played the season's first half, hitting .128 in 35 games, then announced he would be retiring as a player in a few days, but that the Giants had offered him employment as a mental health advocate within the organization. He still had suicidal thoughts, but a new form of therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), worked wonders for him.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Nick Aguilera: "Drew Robinson hits 1st HR in comeback quest", mlb.com, May 11, 2021. [1]
  • Jeff Passan: "Drew Robinson returns to baseball after losing eye in 2020 suicide attempt, goes hitless for San Francisco Giants' Triple-A team", ESPN.com, May 7, 2021. [2]

Related Sites[edit]

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