Which player was most important/significant in O's history?

You could argue for hours which Oriole is the best of them all since the team arrived in Baltimore in 1954. Several players should get legit consideration.

But for me, and today's blog, I asked myself this question: Who is the most important and significant player in Orioles history?

Again, several worthy candidates. But my choice is Frank Robinson. All teams want to be able to make that trade that provides the final piece of the puzzle. To acquire the player that puts them over the top.

Robinson did that in Baltimore. And if you answered Brooks Robinson, you could make a very strong case. Same with others.

But for me, it is hard to get past these numbers: The Orioles have won three World Series and two of those three came during Robinson's six seasons with the club between 1966 and 1971. So two World Series titles in six seasons with Robinson and one in the other 60 seasons he was not on the club as a player. Taking that further, they played in four World Series in his six seasons and two in the other 60 years. They won 100 or more games three times in his six seasons and twice in the other 60 years.

After he joined the team starting in '66, they won 97, 76, 91, 109, 108 and 101 games. Before his passing on Feb. 7, 2019 at 83, Robinson often said he got too much credit for the run of winning that saw the '66 Orioles sweep the favored Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in the World Series. And he was not completely wrong. The Orioles won 97 games in 1964 and were two games out of first. The next year they won 94 and were eight games out. They were pretty close.

But, after the trade of Dec. 9, 1965, things were different for the Orioles. They sent Milt Pappas, Dick Simpson and Jack Baldschun to Cincinnati for Robinson, the 1961 National League MVP.

Not too long after the trade, Bill DeWitt Sr., the owner and general manager of the Reds, was said to have called Robinson "an old 30." There were rumblings of character issues. What were the Orioles getting?

A future Hall of Famer is what they got. A fiery team leader. He got angry if an Oriole talked to an opposing player before the game. After the game, when they won, he put a mop on his head and held the Kangaroo Court. It kept the team loose while emphasizing they needed to do the little things, too.

In Robinson's first Orioles season, he won the Triple Crown, was the American League MVP and was the World Series MVP when the O's completed the sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He played in 11 All-Star Games and was the only player ever to win the MVP Award in both leagues. He was National League Rookie of the Year with Cincinnati in 1956. When his career ended, he had hit 586 home runs, fourth-most at the time behind Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.

But as for his Baltimore tenure, Robinson was the first player to have his number retired by an Orioles club that he served as a player, coach, manager and assistant general manager. So he was also pretty significant beyond his playing days for the Orioles.

He was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1982, going in with an O's logo on his plaque, even though he played longer in Cincy. On April 28, 2012, the Orioles unveiled his statue at Camden Yards. Both the Orioles and Reds retired his No. 20.

The statue is rather well deserved. Other stars and Hall of Famers played longer but have any been more important in O's history?