behind the dugout

Personal: Wife Amanda

at the University of Minnesota

The younger brother of former third basemen Tom Quinlan, Robb was a standout at the University of Minnesota. He obtained a degree in Marketing and Communications in 1999 and was named Big 10 Conference Player of Year and All-League first baseman. He hit .413 with 16 home runs and 84 RBI in 64 games. Before college he graduated from Hill Murray High School in Maplewood, MN.

On June 2nd with the 311th pick of the 1999 Amateur draft the Anaheim Angels selected Robb. Mighty Quinlan would lead the Northwest league in RBI, hits, at-bats and was third in total bases and games. He was named as a Northwest League Baseball America Short-Season All-Star and honored as Northwest League Player of the Week, July 5-11 and Aug. 2-8. To top it off he also was the Northwest League Most Valuable Player.

Robb continued to play solid in 2000. He finished fourth in the California league in doubles, fifth in average and fifth in on-base percentage. In August he was named Angels’ Organization Player of the Month in August, as well as California League Player of the Month and Topps Minor League Player of the Month after hitting .361 with seven doubles, a triple, four homers and 24 RBI. The following season he was selected to play in the Texas League All-Star Game and was named the leagues player of the week for April 16-22. He was the Angels’ Organization Defensive Player of the Month for June.

“Even in college, I never hit the huge home runs. My style isn’t flashy. The part of my game I’ve always taken pride in is if I come to the plate with runners on base, I try to drive in runs, move guys over, whatever the situation calls for. I have to do those types of things if I want to make it to the major leagues some day.” - Robb Quinlan

In 2002 he was named the Angels’ Minor League Player of the Year after career highs in average, games, at-bats, runs (95), hits, triples, home runs, RBI and slugging percentage (.555) Collected two five-hit games, May 12 vs. Edmonton (5-5, 4 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI) and July 28 at Colorado Springs (5-6, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 7 RBI) He also hit for the cycle July 28. From May 29-June 20th he hit .440 while in the mist of a 21 game hitting steak. In July he was named Topps PCL Player of the Month. At the end of the season he was selected to Baseball America’s 2002 Minor League All-Star Team. He was selected as PCL Rookie of the Year and league MVP. In the winter he played with Obregon of the Mexican League, where he was among the leaders in hits and average. Quinlan hit .328 with three homers and 22 RBIs in 51 games; he also said the culture would help him in the future adjust to different conditions he might see in the future.

“To make the club, I just need to work on my defense, that’s why I went to Mexico this winter.” - Robb comment in Spring Training 2003

Despite his steady climb in the Angels farm system Robb found himself back in Triple-A in 2003. He played both first base and the outfield. He was called up on July 27th and was one of six Angel rookies that season. His first hit was a single off of Andy Pettite on July 17th. He finished that game 3-4 with a double. On August 6th at Boston he was on the odd side of history and he played first base but did not receive a single putout, also in that game he recorded his first RBI a ninth-inning single off of Pedro Martinez. Over the season he made 23 starts and had two four-game hit streaks.In 2004 the Angels planned to carry the 27 year old as part of their deep bench. However injuries to Troy Glaus, Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, Darin Erstad and Raul Mondesi pushed Robb into the lineup. Robb had gone well over 100 at bats without a home run before he connected off of Ron Villone July 24th at Safeco field. He went on to hit five homeruns; three of them tied or gave the Angels the lead. His 21 game hit streak from July 7-August 17 set a rookie club record and was the longest streak of any rookie since 2001. He led all rookies with a .407 average and 15 RBIs in July and was selected as the AL Rookie of the Month, the first Angel to receive the award. Robb had gotten a late start on the season but he was making a push for Rookie of the Year. Quinlan had begun playing third base and was turning on the heat. His fielding at third was adequate not spectacular, and he had seemed to find a bit of a power swing. All hopes were crushed when he tore his left oblique during batting practice in August. Later he was placed on the DL on the 17th missing the rest of the season.

Quinlan saw the majority of his time facing LHP and hit .298 with all 5 of his homers coming off southpaws. Of his 37 starts 30 came at third. After a poor first half (.159) Robb rebounded to hit .296 in the second half. On September 16 he collected a game winning RBI single in the 12^th to beat the Tigers. 2005 was the first time Robb was selected to the opening day roster and he started the game at third in place of injuried Dallas McPherson.

2006

Robb William Quinlan married Amanda Lenzmeier on February 10, 2006. Quinlan made the Angels in 2006 and was expected to be used a one of their key reserves. Instead he found his way playing at first base on a regular basis by the end of the season and even made a handful of starts at third. In total he reached a career best 234 at-bats posting a .321/.344/.491 line. He’s expected to be used again as a reliable bench player for 2007.