… and Showed it With Three Hits Off Andy Pettitte in 2nd Major League Game
BY PATRICK “PACKY” MADER
The youngest of three sons, Robb Quinlan grew up in Maplewood, Minnesota, and would be joining the ranks of other St. Paul and Gopher stars playing in Major League Baseball (MLB), Jerry Kindall, Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, and – soon after Robb – Jack Hannahan.
Robb played golf and tennis recreationally in addition to hockey and baseball at Hill-Murray High School where his older brothers, Tom, and Craig, had starred in both sports. “I loved all of the sports, but baseball was definitely my best sport,” he admits. His brothers had great success in athletics and were drafted by both the NHL and MLB. Robb broke the string, however, and was drafted solely in baseball when he graduated in 1995. “I let the family down,” he says with self-deprecating humor.
Starting to receive recruitment letters after his sophomore year, Robb had decided early he “always wanted to be a Gopher,” so outside of the University of Minnesota (U of M), only Purdue pursued him strongly. Robb believes he developed a lot the summer between his junior and senior years when he was named Summer Legion Player of the Year which led to being Minnesota Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year honors as a senior. He was drafted in the 33rd round (900th overall) by the California Angels.
Robb started at third base and left field as a true freshman at the U of M, moved to shortstop as a sophomore, then played primarily first base and outfield his junior and senior years while being named to the conference All-Star teams. “I moved around quite a bit,” he explains. “I didn’t mind it; it created flexibility for the team.” A highlight was beating rival Illinois to claim the Big Ten Tournament his junior year in 1998.
The versatile 6’1” athlete is prominent in Gopher record books: leader in career runs (249), RBIs (230), hits (345), doubles (79), home runs (45 – six more than power-hitting Tom Steinbach of New Ulm), total bases (617 – more than 150 over Luke Appert in second place), and 3rd in batting average (.381) behind Mark Merila and Brent Gates.
Despite the impressive statistics through his junior year, Robb says, “I was getting some attention from scouts, but not a huge outpouring.” He was not drafted, but it didn’t affect his perspective. “I was having a blast; I was not disappointed.” Robb mentions playing with talented teammates and friends, particularly Matt Scanlon (a high school teammate too) and Cretin-Derham Hall graduates Craig Selander and Jack Hannahan. However, being named Big Ten Conference Player of the Year following his senior year in 1999, did catch much more than passing interest and Robb was drafted in the 10th round, again by the Angels (now known as the Anaheim Angels).
2008 Topps Heritage (with misspelled name on front)
Robb rose steadily through the minor leagues, advancing every year with his right-handed bat consistently productive. Following a promotion in 2001 to Arkansas in AA when he batted .295 and had 54 extra-base hits, Robb believed he had a realistic chance of someday making the major league club. He was even more successful at the AAA level in Salt Lake City in 2004 when he hit a robust .333 with 112 RBIs, earning him the Angels’ Minor League Player of the Year Award.
The dream debut occurred in July of 2003 when he faced the Oakland A’s Barry Zito, the reigning Cy Young Award winner as best pitcher in the American League. “His first pitch was a curve that started over my head and came across for a strike,” Robb recalls, chuckling. “I said, ‘Guess this is the majors.’” While he went 0-for-3 in the game, Robb redeemed himself against another dominant pitcher the next night in front of more than 43,000 fans when he got three hits off Yankees’ pitcher Andy Pettitte, a 21-game winner that year.
Robb had a solid 7-year major league career with a batting average of .276 and 25 home runs and a notable 21-game hitting streak in 2003, an Angels’ rookie record. “You were fighting for your job every day. You had to be mentally prepared and physically prepared every day.” A playoff game vs. Chicago was particularly memorable as Robb made a pair of outstanding defensive plays and then blasted a home run off Mark Buehrle.
Retiring after the 2010 season, Robb joined the Gophers’ baseball team as a volunteer coach and hitting instructor. In 2013 he became the owner of chiropractic franchises and regional developer for The Joint Chiropractic! They have nine Twin Cities locations. Robb and his brother Tom – who played parts of four seasons in the Major Leagues as an infielder and has a 1992 World Series ring as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays – have a part-ownership interest in the St. Croix River Hounds, a proposed collegiate summer baseball team that would be added to the Northwoods League.
Robb lives in Plymouth, Minnesota, and has a 9-year-old daughter, Caroline.
Brother Tom – 1994 Pacific
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• Originally Published in Nov. 2020 on “MNAthletes.com” •
THIS ARTICLE FROM “MNAthletes.com” WEBSITE IS REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR. IT HAS BEEN RETYPED, BUT NO CONTENT HAS BEEN CHANGED, EXCEPT GRAPHICS.
Patrick “Packy” Mader has written several books, including two large volumes on Minnesotans who were in the Olympic Games or competed in world competitions. To view hundreds of articles on Minnesota athletes, be sure to visit Packy’s website: MNAthletes.com. You can click on the link below:
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