Weather won't influence ceremony for Frank Robinson

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

April 28, 2012, 11:08am

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Because so many fans have asked, the Orioles will unveil the statue honoring Frank Robinson in a ceremony that begins at 5:15 p.m., rain or shine. And it hasn't been decided whether the teams would play a doubleheader tomorrow if weather forces a postponement tonight, but since the Athletics return to Baltimore July 27-29, my guess is we'd have a single game tomorrow. The gates open today at 5 p.m., with the festivities taking place in the bullpen area. The special guests include Hank Aaron, Bill Russell, Earl Weaver, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer and commissioner Bud Selig. Robinson's No. 20 is hanging on the warehouse, and an orange 20 has been painted on the grass in right field. Thanks to todayinbaseball.com, I learned that Frank Robinson hit his first major league home run on this date in 1956 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. He'd wallop 585 more of them before retiring. Free advice: The Orioles need to pitch around Oakland outfielder Josh Reddick. He's a career .359 hitter against them, with six home runs in 24 games. He's hitting .441 (15-for-34) lifetime at Camden Yards. Here's one more look at plate umpire Jeff Kellogg's takedown of the shirtless fan who rushed onto the field last night during the seventh inning stretch: