Frank Robinson hospitalized with rapid heartbeat

[January 14, 2011]  PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) -- Hall of Famer Frank Robinson was hospitalized Thursday because of a rapid heartbeat and dizziness, and later returned to a hotel to meet with baseball executives.

The 75-year-old Robinson said doctors at Scottsdale Memorial Hospital told him he was "a little dry, not dehydrated, but a little dry."

Otherwise, he said, they could find no reason that his heart rate jumped to 190. The typical rate for a healthy man is 60 to 80.

Robinson planned to go back to his Los Angeles home Thursday night and see his doctors there.

"I got checked out very thoroughly today and they gave me a clean bill of health," he said, "but I'll do it as a backup myself for my own satisfaction. I know my doctor will be calling me tonight telling me to get in there tomorrow. And I know my family will be after me to go."

Commissioner Bud Selig said tests on Robinson were negative for any serious problems.

Robinson is senior vice president for baseball operations for the commissioner. He began feeling ill during a meeting with owners and general managers.

"It started about 10 minutes after I sat down there for the meeting," Robinson said. "I kept hoping that it would stop and go down and be normal. After about a half an hour it wasn't going down and I decided, "I should get out of here.'"

Robinson said he had never had never felt his heart race like that before. After being released from the hospital, he sat in for 45 minutes on a meeting of the special committee formed by Selig to explore possible changes in the game.

Although he felt fine, Robinson said he won't take his condition lightly.

"When the big motor starts ticking around," he said, "you leave it up to the doctors."

Said Selig: "It really shook me up badly."

"Frank and I have worked very closely together the last couple of years and I have enormous respect for him as a person and friend," he said.

[Associated Press; By BOB BAUM]

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