Former Cardinal Kerry Robinson named to SEMO Board of Governors

Gov. Mike Parson appointed former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Kerry Robinson on Monday, July 3, to fill a vacancy on Southeast Missouri State University's board of governors.

Kerry Robinson

Kerry Robinson

Robinson, 49, a 1996 SEMO graduate, is a resident of Ballwin, Missouri, in St. Louis County.

He has served as a scout for the Redbirds since 2010 and most recently represented the team at a Cardinals Caravan event Jan. 16 at Cape Girardeau's Osage Centre.

Terms on the board of governors are for six years.

While Robinson's appointment is subject to Missouri Senate confirmation, according to boards.mo.gov, a gubernatorial appointee may begin service immediately.

Parson's most recent appointee to the governors' board, Vivek Malek, resigned after Parson named him as state treasurer.

Background

Robinson played for five major league teams in his career, mainly as a reserve and, before his 2006 retirement, logged time with the Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres.

Robinson was inducted into Redhawks Hall of Fame in 2008 and was a Southeast Salutes Recipients Award winner in 2014.

His final statistics as a player showed a career batting average of .267 with three home runs and 56 runs batted in.

Robinson wore the number zero while a member of the St. Louis squad.

He is generally credited with persuading Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III to return to the use of powder blue jerseys.

An alumnus of Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis, Robinson pinch hit for Mark McGwire in the last game of the latter's career, Game 5 of the 2001 National League division series.