Four months ago, the idea that Clint Robinson would become a fixture on a major league roster was improbable at best.
Now, after spending the better part of eight years toiling in the minors, Robinson is playing out his rookie season with the Washington Nationals at 30 years old.
“It’s been a little different than what I expected,” said Robinson, who, as the clean-up hitter, went 2-for-3 on Thursday in the Nationals’ 7-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves. “With all the injuries that we’ve had to begin the year, I’ve definitely gotten more of an opportunity than I bargained for.”
The Troy product caught a glimpse of the majors with the Kansas City Royals in 2012. He had four at-bats in as many games, striking out twice and never reaching base.
He waited two years for his next chance, which came with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Despite hitting .333 in nine at-bats, Robinson was back in the minors after 10 days.
Fast forward to Wednesday. The Nationals were at bat in the bottom of the 11th inning in a tie game against the Braves when Bryce Harper ripped a one-out double to right field, bringing catcher Wilson Ramos to the plate. Braves reliever Dana Eveland intentionally walked Ramos to get to the next batter — Robinson — who had yet to reach base despite putting the barrel on the ball several times.
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Robinson fell into an 0-2 hole, but what happened next didn’t follow the prototypical late-inning hero formula. He took a fastball, followed by three 81-mph sliders just outside the zone, and walked to first base, loading the bases.
“I faced Eveland quite a bit earlier in the minor leagues years before,” Robinson said. “I know right there they’re probably not going to challenge me with a fastball. They’re going to try to make me chase right there, try and roll something over. I was just trying to kind of take what he gave me.”
In the next at-bat, Ian Desmond hit a fly ball deep enough for Harper to tag third and make it home for the walk-off win. If Robinson had taken Eveland’s bait, Desmond’s fly ball turns into the third out, and the game starts over in the 12th inning.
It’s not the most glamorous way to be a difference maker in a big time game — Desmond, as the rightful owner of the winning RBI, got the Gatorade bath and chocolate-syrup shower — but it’s emblematic of the type of player Robinson has proven to be for the Nationals this season.
“He’s a simple swing, repeatable swing,” manager Matt Williams said. “That’s why he’s had success throughout his minor-league career. He was fantastic in spring training for us, and he continues to be good in whatever situation we put him in. Whether it’s off the bench, [or] whether he starts in right field or left field or at first base.”
Robinson’s knack for making quiet contributions could be why he didn’t get an extended opportunity in the majors until this season. If the minor league stats can be trusted, Robinson proved he could hit. The Nationals took notice when he entered the free agency pool this offseason.
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“He’s a little bit of a hybrid because he does have a really good eye at the plate. He’s not a true power hitter in my view,” Williams said. “He’s a .300 hitter. It’s been .300 every step of the way, in every level he’s played, so I would view him as a .300 hitter — a guy that has the ability to hit the ball to all fields with power. I don’t see him as a slugger. I see him as a good at-bat when he steps up there.”
Williams’ pregame assessment of the Dothan, Alabama native proved accurate. The same old Robinson showed up in the bottom of the 11th for what Williams would later pinpoint as the biggest at-bat of the inning.
“If we pinch-hit there, then we have nobody left,” Williams said. “Clint just put a nice at-bat on him. Didn’t chase out of the zone, was able to work a walk there to set Desi up. Really nice at-bat.”
Prior to this season, the experience on Robinson’s big-league resume amounted to nine innings of first base and 13 at-bats. In less than half of a season with the Nationals, he’s played more positions than the majority of major leaguers.
“I got my first home run, first major league strikeout, first game started in the outfield,” Robinson said. “The list kind of goes on, because I hadn’t had a lot of experience before this year. I’ve had a lot of stuff on my baseball bucket list that I’ve gotten to cross off.”
In addition to his time at first base and in both sides of the outfield, Robinson has served as a designated hitter against American League teams twice. Though he underplays the significance of it, it bears mentioning that the strikeout Robinson crossed off of his baseball bucket list didn’t come in the batter’s box.
In the eighth inning of the Nationals’ game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 12, Robinson made an unexpected appearance.
With the Nationals trailing, 14-4, rather than further tax a bullpen that had already sent three pitchers to the mound in the game, Williams gave Robinson and fellow utility player Tyler Moore an inning’s notice that one of them might be needed to pitch.
Robinson borrowed reliever Matt Grace’s pitching glove, headed for the batting cage behind the dugout and took it upon himself to be ready for his first pitching appearance since his senior year at Northview High School in 2003.
“I was hoping he’d just throw strikes,” pitcher Tanner Roark said. “He struck out somebody. I think it was his first ever big-league appearance as a pitcher. I can’t imagine him going out there. I have to go up there and hit every now and then so, it’s just, I can’t imagine him going up there trying to throw strikes, maybe mix in off speed up there.”
After giving up a single to his first batter, Robinson kept his composure, striking out the next batter and retiring the following two.
“Calm, cool and collected,” Roark said. “Just smooth.”
“It was a win-win for me,” Robinson said. “I get to pitch in a major-league game. If I do well, I do. We were already getting blown out anyways, so I couldn’t lose. It was fun.”
But Robinson would have rather watched the Nationals add one to the win column than cross a pitching appearance off of his baseball bucket list.
“It’s not one of those things you want to do because that means you’re losing,” Robinson said.
Still, the shutout inning was a part of Robinson’s unexpected ride with the Nationals.
“I’ve had a lot of firsts in my career on this team,” Robinson added. “I’ll take away a lot of special memories from at least this first half-season.”
Robinson will likely have more games at both the major and minor league levels under his belt when September comes around and he gets to cross another item off the bucket list, and not just as it pertains to baseball.
He and his wife, Samantha, are expecting their first child.
Unlike the eight years that Robinson patiently waited for a chance to show what he can do on a big-league baseball diamond, the nine-month wait for his official parenting debut is almost too much to bear.
“I’m terrified. I’m excited. I’m all sorts of emotions,” Robinson said. “I’m ready for it to get here.”
• Dan Roth can be reached at droth@washingtontimes.com.
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