Robinson claims Texas Triple Crown
To firmly secure the Texas League Triple Crown, though, which would be the third in the circuit's history and the first since Adam Piatt did it for Midland 11 years ago, he'd need to put some distance between himself and San Antonio's Matt Clark.
Robinson entered the day with 29 homers -- two more than Clark -- and the two were tied with 95 RBIs.
With the Missions taking the field in Corpus Christi 55 minutes before the Naturals' game against the visiting Tulsa Drillers began, it was clear those statistical races would come down to the wire.
In fact, Robinson may not have played at all Monday had he not been in contention for the Triple Crown. Northwest Arkansas claimed a second-half title in the North Division on Sunday, meaning Robinson's team might have wanted him to get rested ahead of the playoffs.
"[Naturals manager Brian Poldberg] called me into his office earlier today," Robinson said. "He told me I would have had the day off, but I was tied for the lead in RBIs.
"He said I had a chance to win the Triple Crown. He wanted me to go out there and give it a shot, and he'd take me out if I got it locked up."
It wasn't news to the 25-year-old native of Jefferson City, Mo.
"I've got friends and family back home who've been whispering in my ear lately," he admitted.
With Clark breathing down his neck in the home run race, Robinson hoped he'd hit another longball. But he also knew he needed to stick with what's worked for him all season long.
"I know I can't go up there and decide to hit a home run and then hit one. That's not really something that I have the ability to do. Otherwise, I'd do it every time," he said.
"I just made sure I put a good swing on the ball, because Matt Clark is a guy who definitely does have the potential to hit two or three home runs in a game."
Clark didn't make it an easy day for Robinson, singling in a run in the first inning and homering to lead off the fourth.
"Guys who weren't playing today were running back and forth between the dugout and the clubhouse," he said. "[They were] checking up on [Clark] with their iPhones and telling me what he was doing."
What impact did it have on Robinson?
"The last game of the season? Everybody is worn out and that made the game a lot of fun today, everybody getting excited about that. [But] I was trying to block it out the best I could."
But it did have an effect early on in the game. With one out and Anthony Seratelli on third base in the first, Robinson said he was too aggressive at the plate.
"My first at-bat -- I'm not going to lie -- with a guy on third," he said, "I swung hard on the first pitch I saw and I got lucky. I got the run in with a sac fly on a pitch I normally wouldn't swing at. After that, I calmed down.
"'Don't be dumb and put yourself into a hole by trying too hard,'" he told himself. "If you try too hard at this game, you're not going to succeed."
Although only two other Texas League players have hit for the Triple Crown, with Del Pratt achieving the feat at age 40 in 1927, another Naturals player had an early shot this season.
Mike Moustakas led the league in all three categories until he was promoted to the Pacific Coast League on July 13. He hit .347 with 21 homers and 76 RBIs over 66 games with Northwest Arkansas, and he wowed Robinson along the way.
"He's so good, if he was here [for a just a little bit longer], he still could have done it," Robinson said. "[But] any baseball player will tell you he'd gladly trade a Triple Crown in Double-A for a promotion to Triple-A."
"It's a newspaper clipping, and it's great to have. But it's not going to help me get to the big leagues any faster. What will help me get there is putting together good, solid at-bats."
Robinson homered in five consecutive games from Aug. 6-12, totaling six over the stretch, and he homered in consecutive games Thursday and Friday. He's the second Minor Leaguer to win a Triple Crown in three years -- Lou Montanez claimed the Eastern League's trifecta in 2008.
The Royals prospect intends to spend the offseason playing in the Puerto Rican Winter Baseball League.
"We've got more work to do here, though," he said.
Josh Jackson is a contributor to MLB.com.