BALTIMORE -- Orioles manager Buck Showalter didn't hesitate to remind reporters on Wednesday afternoon that it was Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson's birthday.
"Thank God he was born," Showalter said of Robinson, who turned 79. "He's a treasure."
The Orioles' manager marveled at how great Robinson is as a person, and he reminisced about a time when he and his wife were in Baltimore County looking for a home a few years ago. Showalter was driving in an area one day in the rain and spotted Robinson and his wife, Connie.

"I said, 'That's Brooks Robinson.' So I stopped the car and said hello to him, and he came over to the door and started talking about the team and everything," Showalter said. "Now, it started raining harder and harder. And his wife said, 'Brooks we've got to go inside.' And he goes, 'Nah, don't worry about it. I want to stay here and talk baseball.' He stood there, in the pouring rain, talking about the Orioles. It was really cool. And I felt bad, so I got out of the car, standing out there with him."
Robinson spoke to the Orioles before their postseason run in 2014 and set the bar pretty high. Showalter said Wednesday "there was not anywhere to go after that," and he had a photograph of the talk framed and hung up at Camden Yards.
Robinson won 16 Gold Glove Awards and a permanent place in Orioles lore. And even though the Showalters didn't buy a house in that exact area, Showalter said he still goes to the market where Robinson frequents for coffee every once in a while, hoping to spot him.
Showalter has his own birthday coming up, as he turns 60 on Monday.