GuideRail Feature: Robinson Chirinos

RailRiders catcher Robinson Chirinos has experienced a lot in his 21 years of being a professional baseball player, but a season without fans is something he hopes to never see again. Chirinos played in 26 games with the Texas Rangers and New York Mets, but things didn’t really feel right.

“Last year it felt more like a practice game to me,” Chirinos said about playing in front of empty stadiums. “Last year we didn’t have the interaction with the fans and it was really hard. So thank god we have some fans in the ballpark [this year]. I know they’re really happy to be back and we’re super happy to have them back in the ballpark.”

More than his big league career which has spanned nine seasons and taken him to the World Series, Chirinos takes pride in his connection to the fans and the community. While warming up, he usually takes a few extra baseballs to toss to kids in the crowd and will stop to sign autographs. Making those memories for fans is what makes being a professional baseball player special for him.

The 36-year-old catcher has come a long way since he was signed by the Chicago Cubs in July 2000, less than a month after his 16th birthday. He began to play in the US next year, and for the next 10 seasons, he toiled in the Cubs minor league system. Chirinos caught hundreds of games for teams in Boise, Idaho, Lansing, Michigan, and Knoxville, Tennessee – all far cries from his hometown of Punto Fijo, Venezuela.

In all that time Chirinos only played 15 games in Triple-A, but after the 2010 season he got his big break and was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Finally, 11 years after signing his first professional contract, he made his MLB debut on July 18 against the New York Yankees. He doubled against A.J. Burnett in his first big league at-bat and played in 20 games total that season with the Rays, hitting .218.

It wasn’t until the 2014 season with the Texas Rangers that Chirinos established himself as a full-time major leaguer. He spent six years with the Rangers before signing as a free agent with the Houston Astros for the 2019 season. After the stint with Houston, Chirinos returned to Texas prior to the 2020 campaign.

In that time Chirinos has established himself as a solid player both offensively and defensively. Since the start of the 2011 season, Chirinos’ .755 OPS is 12th among all big league catchers and puts him in the same tier as seven-time all-star Brian McCann and nine-time all-star Yadier Molina. Chirinos has gotten even better as time has gone on and his role has grown, posting a .798 OPS in 315 games from the start of 2017 through 2019.

For Chirinos, baseball has always been about more than just the games and the stats. It is about using his platform as a professional athlete to make a difference in the lives of others. That’s why in addition to making his big league debut in 2011 Chirinos also founded The Robinson Chirinos Foundation.

“It was a dream my dad had when I signed,” Chirinos said. “He told me that one day when I make it to the big leagues, he wanted me to start a foundation to give back to the community, especially my hometown Punto Fijo, where I grew up.”

It started out small. Chirinos began donating baseball equipment to kids in need in Venezuela. He wanted the next generation to play and have the opportunities that he has had, but the foundation has morphed into something more.

In 2014, the Texas Rangers began to assist Chirinos in his charitable efforts and helped him host fundraisers. Rangers teammates like Elvis Andrus, Martin Perez, Yovani Gallardo and Jayce Tingler all showed up to Foundation events to help others.

Chirinos now uses the foundation to provide, food, clothing, medicine and school supplies to those in need both in Venezuela and the United States. Until the pandemic made it impossible, he hosted dinners every year in Texas which were well attended by his teammates and Rangers officials to raise money.

Robinson has received multiple awards for his charity work from the Rangers and the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, but he doesn’t do it for the recognition. His motivation is purely to use the blessings he has received to lift up others.

“God has been so good to me and I’m just trying to help people in need and use what I have to use what I have around myself to help people. That’s what my goal has been in everything. I’ve been trying to make people aware of what’s going on in their community and help people really going through a struggle in life.”