Spencer "Herk" Robinson (born 1941) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

front office executive in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

. He served for almost a decade as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

, from October 10, 1990, through June 17, 2000, and was an executive in the Royals' front office for almost 35 years. Robinson attended the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

and

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

. He entered baseball with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

in 1964 as secretary of

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

clubs and switched to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

after the 1968 season. In December 1969, Robinson joined the year-old Royals as assistant director of

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

and began a steady rise through the Kansas City organization, switching from baseball to business operations in 1980. After ten seasons as the Royals' top administrator, he was given the general manager role when

John Schuerholz John Boland Schuerholz Jr. (; born October 1, 1940) is an American baseball front office executive. He was the general manager of Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves from 1990 to 2007, and then served as the Braves president for a decade from ...

departed for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

following the 1990 campaign. However, Robinson's tenure as top baseball executive in Kansas City was marked by the club's continued decline from perennial contender to also-ran in the

American League West Division The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams cu ...

and, after 1993, the

AL Central The American League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from the American League West and two teams from the American League East. Its teams are al ...

. The team's original owner,

Ewing Kauffman Ewing Marion Kauffman (September 21, 1916 August 1, 1993) was an American pharmaceutical entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Major League Baseball owner. Early life and education Ewing Kauffman was born on September 21, 1916, on a farm near Gard ...

, died in 1993, and Robinson presided during a transitional period before the club was purchased by former

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

CEO

David Glass David Glass may refer to: *David Glass (businessman) David Dayne Glass (September 2, 1935 – January 9, 2020) was an American businessman. He was president and chief executive officer of Walmart Stores, Inc. He was also an owner and ch ...

. The Royals recorded only three over-.500 seasons during that period, and lost 90 games or more three times, including in Robinson's final full season,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. After his replacement by

Allard Baird Allard Baird (; born November 8, 1961) is an American professional baseball executive, currently serving as an advisor for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He previously was the vice president and assistant general manager for scouting and player develop ...

, Robinson became the team's

executive vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

and

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

. He retired from that position in May 2004,USA Today, May 16, 2004
/ref> although he began the season still associated with the Royals as a member of the club's

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

References

External links

Baseball America Executive Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Herk 1941 births Living people American chief operating officers Baltimore Orioles scouts Major League Baseball general managers Kansas City Royals executives University of Miami alumni Washington University in St. Louis alumni