"In the age of the glorified closer, the guy who gets all the saves and the recognition, too many people forget about the man who makes all of that glory possible- the setup man. Over the off-season, the Yankees acquired one of the best young setup men in the game in Jeff Robinson.
The right-hander was forced to wear a few too many hats in Pittsburgh last year and his numbers suffered for it. But, as the Yankees predict, Robinson can flourish as a full-time middle man for closers Dave Righetti and Lance McCullers. 'I've adjusted well to that role,' says Robinson, 'and I know I'm going to be a big help for them.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1990 Yearbook
"Jeff was 7-13 with a 4.58 ERA in 50 appearances with the Pirates in 1989. He was 5-7, 3.53 (102 IP) in 19 starts and 2-6, 7.32 (39.1 IP) with four saves in 31 relief outings. He allowed 161 hits and 14 home runs, and walked 59 and fanned 95 over 141.1 innings [1.56 WHIP]. For his career, Jeff is 27-23, 3.51 with 35 saves in 259 relief appearances (402 IP) and is 12-2, 3.20 in 53 starts (464.2 IP).
He started the 1989 season in the bullpen, making 12 relief appearances in April while posting a 2-3 record with four saves and a 4.40 ERA. He was used exclusively as a closer in April, finishing all the games he pitched.
Jeff took a loss on Opening Day in Montreal, allowing three earned runs over 1.2 innings pitched, but did not allow a run in his next four appearances (3 IP) and allowed one earned run over his next nine appearances, April 9-22 (9.2 IP). He earned his first win on April 11 against the Mets with one scoreless inning. Jeff posted two back-to-back save outings, accounting for his four 1989 saves: April 13 and 15 against New York and Montreal, and April 18 and 19 at St. Louis.
He appeared in nine games in May, all in relief, and was 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA, bringing his two-month totals to 2-5, 5.26. He took a loss on May 15 at Cincinnati, allowing a season high (for relief appearances) five earned runs on five hits; if one were to take away that outing, Jeff's ERA for May would have been 2.89.
Jeff appeared in 11 June games, including two starts, and posted a 2-1 record with a 6.57 ERA. He made seven relief appearances (10 IP) and had made 28 for the season before making his first start on June 17. His last prior start was on August 21, 1986 as a member of the Giants, 194 straight relief appearances between starts. Jeff earned the win (5.0 IP, 1 ER) at St. Louis, his first since April 22.
He made two more relief outings before winning his second start on June 28 at Chicago (7 IP, 0 ER). He won again in his third start at Los Angeles, recording a season high six strikeouts.
Jeff went 1-3 in July (5 starts, 1 relief appearance) with a 4.66 ERA and was 5-7, 5.05 at the break. He made his final relief outing on July 19 (1 IP). In his first three starts, he was 3-0, 1.42 (19 IP, 3 ER), then lost his next two starts (10 IP, 2 ER). Through July, Jeff was 5-3 in nine starts with a 1.62 ERA (50 IP).
He made six starts in August, posting a 1-2 record and 4.50 ERA. He went six-plus innings in three of his six starts. His only win of the month came on August 25 at Cincinnati (6.2 IP, 3 ER) and snapped a 0-5, 3.59 ERA slump going back to July 8.
Jeff was 1-2, 4.50 in August, identical to September, with his win coming at home against Philadelphia. He ended the season with consecutive losses at Chicago (4 IP, 2 ER) and in Pittsburgh against New York (5 IP, 2 ER). On September 9 in New York, Jeff hit the only home run by a Pirate pitcher in '89.
He pitched a season high seven innings on four occasions. He had a .229 opponents' batting average against, best on the Pirates' pitching staff. As a hitter, Jeff started the season 0-for-21 before finishing 8-for14 (.571) to finish the season with a .229 (8-for-35) average. His 19 starts were his most since starting 33 in 1984 with the Giants. Jeff was 20-19 with 17 saves and a 3.78 ERA with Pittsburgh over two-plus seasons.
Jeff was acquired by the Yankees along with pitcher Willie Smith from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for catcher Don Slaught in December 1989. He signed a two-year contract in 1989. The contract extends through the 1990 season.
Jeff was signed by the San Francisco Giants (scout Bob Miller) in the second round of the June 1983 free agent draft. He had previously been drafted by Toronto (1979) and Detroit (1982). That year he pitched six straight complete games for Class-A Fresno from July 24 to August 18. Jeff was named to Baseball America's first-year all-star team.
In 1984, Jeff made the jump from Class A to the majors in just his second pro season. He won his major league debut on April 7 against St. Louis, going six innings to combine on a 7-hit shutout. He recorded his only complete game, a 5-hit shutout against Pittsburgh on June 29. Jeff tied for the major league lead for starts by a rookie with Ron Darling, Mark Langston and Ron Romanick and tied for the NL lead in hit batsmen (7).
Jeff won six of his first seven decisions with Phoenix (Giants' AAA) in 1985, including a 3-hit 1-0 shutout of Calgary on April 26. He tied for the Pacific Coast League lead in games started. Jeff made eight appearances with San Francisco after his September 19 recall.
He was converted to a relief role in 1986 and recorded his first major league save with four scoreless innings against San Diego on April 20. He faced the minimum number of batters (31) during a 10.1 scoreless innings streak covering five outings from May 30 to June 14. Jeff's only start came on August 21 against Philadelphia (he had no decision in the Giants' 7-6 win). He played one game in the outfield, September 28 against Los Angeles, with no chances.
Jeff set career highs in games and saves in 1987. Among National League relievers, he tied for first in innings pitched with the Padres' Lance McCullers, was third in strikeouts and fourth in appearances. Jeff won the Rolaids' Award as the NL's reliever of the month for April, going 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA and four saves.
He was acquired from the Pirates with pitcher Scott Medvin in exchange for pitcher Rick Reuschel on August 21. Jeff struck out the side on nine pitches in the eighth inning at Chicago on September 7, the first Pirate ever to achieve the feat. He hit a ninth-inning game-winning home run on September 9, also at Chicago, off Lee Smith, Jeff's first career extra-base hit.
In 1988, Jeff tied for second in the National League in appearances (75), the most by a Pirate since Kent Tekulve in 1983 (76), and led major league relievers in innings pitched (124.2). He had a career high 11 wins, most by a Pirated reliever since Tekulve in 1982 (12), and second highest among major league relievers (Montreal's Jeff Parrett had 12). Jeff was second among NL relievers in strikeouts (87) behind the Padres' Mark Davis (102), and his winning percentage (.688) ranked as the league's eighth best. He was 9-1, 2.48 with six saves in 34 appearances on the road.
He won a career high six straight decisions from June 23 through August 13. His longest outing came on August 13 when he worked five scoreless innings at Philadelphia to pick up the win. Jeff had scoreless streaks of 14.1 innings covering nine outings from June 26 to July 19 and 11.2 innings covering from August 12 to August 22.
Jeff majored in geography in Cal State-Fullerton where he was 9-4 as a junior, helping his team to a berth in the College World Series. A graduate of Troy High School in Fullerton, CA where he played baseball and basketball, he also played Little League.
Jeff is active in community relations. He enjoys surfing, fishing and watching college basketball, and collects watches. His toughest opponent was Graig Nettles and his favorite entertainer is Jack Nicholson."
-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide
Tied for National League in hit batsmen (7), 1984.
Tied for Pacific Coast League lead in games started (29), 1985.
Tied a major league record by striking out the side on nine pitches, September 7, 1987 (eighth inning).
-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide
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