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June 18, 2009

Anonymous The Daily Star Thu Jun 18, 2009, 08:18 AM EDT

“Say, didn’t you used to be Brooks Robinson?” It’s funny, but some variation of that question has been put by fans to retired players for decades.

“Didn’t you used to be” Willie Mays ... or Duke Snider ... or Juan Marichal?

It’s as if once they left the playing field, they ceased to be the icons fans had come to idolize. Worse yet, with hair turned gray, wrinkles on faces and paunches rather than flat abs, they somehow ceased to be even the same people.

Most retired players understand how important an imprint they planted on the memories of those who watched them play, and have a ready reply to the “didn’t you used to be” question.

“Yes,” they will say. “As a matter of fact, I still am.”

As it turns out, Brooks Robinson is still Brooks Robinson, and he will be appearing with fellow Hall of Famers Bob Feller, Ferguson Jenkins, Phil Niekro and Paul Molitor on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the inaugural Hall of Fame Classic at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown.

Few players ever dazzled baseball cognoscenti the way Robinson did when playing third base for the Baltimore Orioles. The skills are certainly long gone, but what an opportunity it is to see him once again in uniform playing the hot corner.

For that matter, it’s not only a privilege to see the Hall of Famers, but also the other retired players, all of whom made it to “the show” _ the major leagues.

Just about every boy who ever had a catch with his dad dreamed of one day being a major leaguer.

Very few actually attain that dream’s ambition. These guys did.

When Major League Baseball decided last year to do away with the annual Cooperstown exhibition game involving big-league teams, the Hall of Fame could have just done nothing.

Happily, it came up with a plan to replace the game with one involving retired players. The oldest is Feller, who is 90. But the exploits of most of the players who will be gracing Doubleday Field on Sunday remain fresh in our memory.

There are still tickets available. We believe this to be an important event for our area, and the Hall and other organizers should be rewarded for their hard work and enterprise.

If you are a fan, you know that this old-timers event should be nurtured and become a valued part of Father’s Day for many years to come.

“Didn’t you used to be” a fan of these players?