**** AAABA National Champions 1947, 1956, 1960, 1962, 1986, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 ****
NABF National Champions 1986, 1995 ****
National Baseball Congress World Series 2004, 2006

 

Another Former Senator Gets "The Call"
The road to the big leagues is never easy, but it can be even harder for a player who is selected in the 31st round in the draft. For the Oakland A’s newest reliever, however, that journey was a relatively short one. Three years after being selected in the 31st round out of Birmingham-Southern, Connor Robertson has made the major leagues. We spoke to the A’s rookie one day after his promotion.
A mere three seasons ago, Connor Robertson was setting homerun records as the DH/1B at Birmingham-Southern. Now he is in the major leagues as a member of one of the American League’s top pitching staffs. Robertson, who transitioned from slugger to reliever during his final year of college, was promoted to the big leagues from Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday, replacing Huston Street on the A’s roster.
Robertson has had a lot of success during his minor league career, compiling a career ERA of 2.43 in 211.2 minor league innings. However, despite that success, Robertson was shocked when he received the news that he was headed to the major leagues after Monday night’s River Cats’ game in Des Moines, Iowa.
“I found out after the game [that I was being called up]. I was getting some food and our manager Tony DeFrancesco came in and said ‘Hey, we have a first-time big leaguer. Connor, you are headed to the big leagues.’ I was holding a plate of food and I almost dropped it. It was a big shock to me, but I am glad to have the chance,” Robertson said.
“I had no idea [that I was in-line for a promotion]. I had been pitching pretty good, I think, but I was really just concentrating on having a good year this year and making a good impression. Sometimes things just happen and they need somebody and hopefully I can come up here and fill-in and make an impression, get the job done and help the team out.
Although the A’s prefer to introduce their rookie pitchers in low-pressure situations, as Tuesday night’s game worked into extra innings, it appeared that Robertson might get the call in extra-innings. When the game ended, Robertson was the only available pitcher left in the A’s bullpen.
“I was down there thinking that any time could be the time. I got up a little bit and my heart was definitely pumping and I was just trying to remain calm. Hopefully tonight I’ll get in there and I’ll be able to keep everything under control.”

**** Connor won the AAABA National Championship RBI title with 13 RBI’s in 7 games during the tournament. 2001 CGL Championship Series 3-0, but the Gators late great founder/owner and proponent of the Clark Griffith League, Steve Athey, persuaded the powerful Robertson to play with the eventual champion Senators. *******************
****** Robertson becomes the first member of the 2001 Senator team to reach the MLB, this call up creates a Senator MLB lineage of Major Leaguers that began in 1998 with at least one member of each club making it to MLB. At least one former Senator from the 1998,1999,2000,2001, 2002, 2003 rosters has made it to MLB. The 1996 roster had Shawn Camp (D-Rays) while the 1997 roster is void of a Big Leaguer. Tim Lavigne(VS’97/UVA) currently a RHP for the AAA NY Yankees affiliate Scranton-Wilkes Barre may hold the only chance of extending the lineage to 1995. *******