Robinson not taking anything for granted after breakthrough 2015

VIERA, Fla. - When he arrived back home in Fayetteville, Ark., in October, Clint Robinson could well have been viewed a wholly different man than he was when he left eight months prior. After nearly a decade in professional baseball and 921 minor league games, he had finally broken through as a big leaguer for a full season, a successful one at that.

Anybody who knows Robinson, of course, knows that would never be the case. Because he would never allow it to be the case.

"Everybody knows how hard this game is," he said. "They've seen me in the minor leagues. Whether I was in rookie ball or whatever, my friends and family have always treated me like a big leaguer. So nothing changed. They were just proud of me for sticking with it and getting as far as I have."

Fair enough, but did Robinson at least take a moment at some point to reflect on his season, one that saw him make the Nationals' opening day roster as a non-roster invitee to spring training, then proceed to hit .272 with 10 homers, a .358 on-base percentage and .782 OPS in 126 games, never returning to the minors once?

"Yeah, for a little bit," he said. "When the season's over, I sat back and said to my wife: 'Samantha, can you believe that happened? What a crazy year.' But with as much competition as there is in this league, you can't really sit back and look at that too much. It's a new season. I had to get ready for this one. And I'm going to come into this one just like I did the last one: Fighting for a spot."

By all accounts, Robinson should feel secure about his standing in Nats camp this spring. He proved to be their best bat off the bench as a 30-year-old rookie. He proved capable of stepping in and playing on a regular basis at either first base or left field when Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth were injured. And he proved to be a popular figure within the clubhouse, a true grinder who took the long route to the majors and never stopped appreciating that.

But it's simply not in Robinson's nature to think like that. All those games in the minors, a staggering 419 of them at Triple-A, taught him never to take anything for granted.

"Any time you get comfortable and start relaxing, somebody's going to swoop in and take your job," he said. "It's not like I've got a multi-year, guaranteed contract to rest on. ... I've seen so many guys, not just myself, have decent years and then the next year, just the way the roster's constructed, they get pushed out. So my approach is to make sure I'm not that 24th, 25th guy. Make sure I'm the guy they feel they need to keep around for certain things. I definitely approach spring training with a little sense of urgency."

Though the end result in 2015 was overwhelmingly positive for him, Robinson admits now it took some time before he truly felt like he belonged. He did have 13 games of prior big league experience with the Royals and Dodgers, but those were cups of coffee with few tangible accomplishments on the field.

More than two months into his first season with the Nationals, Robinson had yet to find his groove. He was hitting just .239 with three RBIs, wasn't drawing the walks he always had in the minors. And then he connected with a pitch from Matt Garza in Milwaukee on June 11. As the ball soared down the right field line at Miller Park, landing in the upper deck, Robinson at last felt relaxed as a major leaguer.

"Even though it took a while, that's when I could finally breathe out," he said. "I had been waiting for the home run for a while. So when I got that one, I was like: 'OK, I finally got that one. Now let's just go out and play.' "

Robinson never looked back after that. Over his final 88 games, he hit .281 with 10 homers, 31 RBIs, a .375 on-base percentage and .830 OPS.

Along the way, he learned an important lesson.

"It's the same game," he said. "It's just a little bit bigger stadium, a little bit bigger crowd. But at the end of the day, it's still baseball and you've got to approach it the same way."

Was it hard to come to that realization?

"Absolutely," Robinson said. "I remember my first at-bat, even though it wasn't my major league debut, I was still shaking like it was. Like, 'Oh, man. I'm in the big leagues now. Wow.' But once you get into the groove of the season, get a little success, get comfortable, you realize this is still baseball. They've got to throw it over the plate just like everybody else."

Robinson might have found that important comfort level as his first full season in the majors played out. But make no mistake, he refuses to let any of that success and comfort get to his head.

"Oh, yeah, I can't even fit my head in my locker right now," he said, dripping with sarcasm.

The folks back home in Fayetteville know better. Robinson hasn't changed in decades. And he's not about to now.