OAKLAND — Even during his playing days, Bob Melvin knew a good matchup when he saw one. So he privately fumed upon arriving at the ballpark one day in 1989 to see Manager Frank Robinson had left out him of the lineup against a pitcher he hit well.
Melvin resolved to march into Robinson’s office. But it took him a while to summon the courage. Melvin paced outside Robinson’s office for so long that the famously fearsome Baltimore Orioles manager finally snapped.
“Hey, do have something to say to me?” Robinson said.
“I do, as a matter of fact … sir,” Melvin replied.