Chuckie Robinson
Robinson with the Louisville Bats in 2023
Chicago White Sox
Catcher
Born: (1994-12-14) December 14, 1994 (age 29)
Danville, Illinois, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 24, 2022, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
(through 2022 season)
Batting average.136
Home runs2
Runs batted in5
Teams

Charles Robinson III (born December 14, 1994) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Chicago White Sox organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds.

Amateur career

Robinson grew up in Danville, Illinois and attended Danville High School.[1]

Robinson played college baseball for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles for three seasons. He was the team's backup catcher during his first two seasons with the team.[2] After his sophomore season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Ocean State Waves of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.[3] As a junior, Robinson batted .288 with seven home runs and 44 runs batted in (RBIs) and was named first team All-Conference USA.[4]

Professional career

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros selected Robinson in the 21st round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.[5] After signing with the team, he was assigned to the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York–Penn League. Robinson spent the 2017 season with the Single–A Quad Cities River Bandits.[6] He played for the Buies Creek Astros of the High–A Carolina League and batted .239 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs.[7] Robinson spent the 2019 season with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks and hit .217 with seven home runs and 36 RBIs in 103 games played.[8] After the season, he played winter league baseball for the Canberra Cavalry of the Australian Baseball League.[9] Robinson did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]

Cincinnati Reds

On December 10, 2020, the Cincinnati Reds selected Robinson in the minor league phase of the 2020 Rule 5 draft.[11] He spent the 2021 season with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts and batted .248 with eight home runs and 24 RBI in 66 games played.[12] Robinson was assigned to Chattanooga at the beginning of the 2022 season before being promoted to the Triple-A Louisville Bats.[13]

Robinson was promoted to the Reds' major league roster on August 11, 2022.[14] He made his Major League debut on August 24, starting at catcher and going 1–2 with one run scored in a 7–5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.[15] Robinson's debut was the first time that an African-American player had started at catcher since Bruce Maxwell had in 2018.[16] On August 29, Robinson hit his first career home run, a two–run shot off of St. Louis Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas.[17] On October 15, Robinson was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Louisville.[18] He elected free agency following the season on November 10.[19]

On December 5, 2022, Robinson re–signed with the Reds on a minor league contract that included an invitation to spring training.[20] He spent the 2023 season with Triple–A Louisville, playing in 101 games and batting .290/.356/.450 with 13 home runs, 74 RBI, and 7 stolen bases. Robinson elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2023.[21]

Chicago White Sox

On December 7, 2023, Robinson signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox.[22]

Personal life

Robinson's father, Charles Robinson Jr., played catcher in the minor leagues in the Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs organizations. His grandfather, Charles Robinson Sr., was also a minor league catcher in the Chicago White Sox organization.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ Jackson, Marcus (July 22, 2011). "Danville's Robinson makes name for himself". The News-Gazette. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  2. ^ Munz, Jason (February 17, 2016). "USM's Robinson ready for prime time". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  3. ^ "USM catcher on a tear this summer". The Clarion-Ledger. July 6, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  4. ^ Munz, Jason (June 11, 2016). "USM's Winston, Robinson picked in draft". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  5. ^ Holman, Marvin (June 11, 2016). "Robinson selected in MLB Draft by Astros". Commercial-News. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  6. ^ Dare, Chad (August 27, 2017). "Receiving high praise". Commercial-News. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "Woodpeckers: 68 days and counting - 15 from Creek in Astros' camp". The Fayetteville Observer. January 26, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  8. ^ "Chuckie Robinson is patiently waiting for baseball to resume". Commercial-News. April 3, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  9. ^ "Robinson's slam ends tough ABL road trip on high for Canberra Cavalry". The Canberra Times. December 1, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  10. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  11. ^ "Reds take six minor-league players in Rule 5 draft". Dayton Daily News. December 10, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  12. ^ Rosecrans, C. Trent (February 16, 2022). "Getting to know the (Minor league) Reds pitchers and catchers who are actually reporting this week". The Athletic. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  13. ^ "Southern Miss to the Top: Where are Golden Eagles in pro baseball". June 29, 2022.
  14. ^ "Southern Miss baseball product Chuckie Robinson called up for MLB Field of Dreams Game". Hattiesburg American. August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  15. ^ Sheldon, Mark (August 25, 2022). "'Baby Chuck' Robinson realizes 3rd-generation MLB dream". MLB.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  16. ^ "Reds catcher Chuckie Robinson defies the odds on path to MLB debut". Cincinnati Enquirer. August 24, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  17. ^ "Robinson hits 1st homer as trio of rookies go yard in 5th". mlb.com. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  18. ^ "Reds' Chuckie Robinson: Outrighted to Louisville". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  19. ^ "Reds readying for 40-man roster changes, sign Kevin Herget". Cincinnati Enquirer. November 13, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  20. ^ "Reds' Chuckie Robinson: Back with Cincinnati". CBS Sports. RotoWire. December 5, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  21. ^ "2023 MiLB Free Agents". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  22. ^ Marchese, Tony (2023-12-16). "White Sox Sign Catcher Chuckie Robinson to Minor-League Deal". On Tap Sports Net. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  23. ^ "Corpus Christi Hooks: Catcher Chuckie Robinson follows in footsteps of father, grandfather". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. July 21, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2022.

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