It?s worked out real well. The Orioles have been terrific about it. We get to play after one of the Orioles games. I know as a kid it was a big thrill for me to go to Travelers Field in Little Rock (Ark.) and work out with the Double-A team every now and them. And for them to come here to the ballpark and hit a home run at Camden Yards, it is something they will remember forever.

Examiner: How many years has Geier (Financial Group) been backing the game?

Robinson: This is the third year. Joe Geier and I have been friends for many, many years. When Crown sold to an out-of-town company, we started looking for someone who would give us financial support, and Joe said, “Hey I would be glad too.” So he has taken it over, and he is right in there working with me to make sure the game turns out great.

Examiner: What is your favorite part of the process in the buildup for this game?

Robinson: Shaking hands with the kids who come here, the senior players, and give them a few words of encouragement. I tell them, “When I was your age, that was my dream. I never wanted to do anything else ? just put on a uniform and be a baseball player.” I tell them that a love for the game means a lot, and my love for the game is the reason I?m in the Hall of Fame. Not because of my ability, but because my love for baseball and my determination overrode everything else.

Examiner: You?re an icon in Baltimore. Do you find that younger players recognize you as much as people did back in your playing days?

Robinson: Oh no. When I walk down the streets in Baltimore I get grandmothers and grandfathers hanging out of their cars saying, “Hey Brooksie, you gave me a ball back in 1960,” or “Hey, you signed my picture.”

Examiner: What was one of your earliest memories of Baltimore?

Robinson: I took my first plane ride out of Little Rock the day after I graduated from high school and flew to Baltimore. I was in awe. I went on a road trip with the Orioles. I was not eligible to play, but I went on the road trip with all the players I had been reading about. There was a guy on the team, George Kell, from Arkansas. And I knew about his career. When you are 18 years old and you set foot in a major-league ball park, it is a dream come true.

Examiner: What keeps you busy now?

Robinson: I play a lot of golf. I chase my grandkids a lot.

I am with a group called Maryland Baseball, Peter Kirk?s group. And we are putting independent-league teams in Waldorf, Md. and York, Pa. They?re scheduled to start next year. We put a team in Lancaster, Pa. last year. They had a wonderful season, drawing over 377,000, and they?re in the Atlantic League. It has been a huge success. The Atlantic League has teams in Nashua N.H. and New Jersey ? Atlantic City, Camden and Somerset.

Sparky Lyle, the great pitcher for the Yankees, is managing a team. Lancaster has Tommy Herr as the manager. He had a great career in St. Louis. Rick Wise is the pitching coach there. I?m involved in helping to pick the coaches and the managers for the teams.

Examiner: Are you involved with the major leagues?

Robinson: No, and I have never been. I worked Oriole games on television,but I?ve never had an affiliation with a big-league team.

Examiner: Do you find that there is distance between you and the Orioles?

Robinson: No, we get along fine. I get down to Camden Yards every now and then. I follow them on television and I pull for them. I have had conversations with the Orioles, but nothing has ever materialized.

Examiner: What do you think about the Orioles this year?

Robinson: The Orioles have to get better. Eight years in a row of losing, that is pretty hard to do. They need some kind of continuity. They have had too many managers, too many general managers. You don?t win that way.

You need a group of guys that you trust, that you put in there and say, “OK, its your job, go to it.” And to be successful in today?s baseball you have to have one or two guys coming up from the minor leagues. You have to get a free agent who is going to help you, and not necessarily the most expensive one.

You need to sign the players who are going to be here for the long run ? guys like [Jay] Gibbons, [Melvin] Mora, [Miguel] Tejada. That is how you are successful. They have not had a good farm system. They have not been able to produce the players.

Examiner: What can you tell me about the Norman Rockwell painting and the display at the Science Center?

Robinson: It was a big thrill going to Norman Rockwell?s studio after I won the Most Valuable Player in 1970. Going to his studio and having him paint my picture, it was one of the last oil-on-canvas paintings he did, and I was thrilled.

The short story is, it went on auction in 1994 at Southeby?s, and I was the high bidder. I brought it home to Baltimore and lent it to the Sports (Legends) Museum, and now it is down at the Science Center at the Rockwell?s America Exhibit.