Frank Robinson will not return as the Washington Nationals' manager in 2007, the team announced yesterday, possibly ending the Hall of Famer's 51-year career in baseball.

Robinson was told during the week he wouldn't be back, and made that clear to reporters, but the Nationals didn't make the news official until a few hours before yesterday's game against the New York Mets.

"It's been a good ride for me. It's been 51 years. And the old saying is, 'When you take a manager's job, stay around long enough -- you are going to be fired.' It's been a great run for me, and I mean that sincerely," Robinson said. "I have no bitter feelings or anything like that about the situation."

The regular season ends today, and at 71-89, Washington was assured of finishing last in the N.L. East for the third consecutive year. Robinson will be in the dugout for the finale, when the Nationals plan a tribute to him -- the team will hold a more elaborate ceremony next season.

"Anytime that you're looking at the end will be emotional," Robinson said.

While teams who are letting managers go usually will say so a day or two after the season, Nationals president Stan Kasten said Robinson requested an earlier announcement so he'd have a chance to say goodbye.

"It's, I hope, a reflection of our great depth of personal feeling we have for Frank and the respect we have for Frank," said Kasten, who didn't appear at the news conference.

Instead, general manager Jim Bowden sat awkwardly next to Robinson, who wore his uniform. Neither Kasten nor Bowden would say why Robinson is leaving; Bowden called it "a decision that we think is in the best long-term interest of the franchise and the direction that we're going in."

Bowden said a search for a new manager would begin tomorrow.

ROUNDUP ALOU WINDING DOWN: Felipe Alou all but confirmed yesterday that he will not return to manage the San Francisco Giants for a fifth season in 2007. The 71-year-old Alou's contract expires after the season, and he is clearly disappointed the Giants have waited this long to address his future. He is now ready to return home to Florida and the Dominican Republic. Hired after the club's 2002 World Series season to replace Dusty Baker, Alou is the winningest Latin American manager in major-league history, but San Francisco will miss the playoffs for a third straight year.

BAKER AWAITS WORD: Cubs manager Dusty Baker will find out tomorrow morning whether the organization wants him back, Chicago general manager Jim Hendry said yesterday. Baker's four-year contract is expiring, and the Cubs were tied with Pittsburgh for the National League's worst record at 65-95 after Friday's 5-2 loss to Colorado. "He's been involved in the game in a positive way for a long time," said Hendry, who received a two-year contract extension that runs through 2008 in early April. "He's got a great track record as a player. He's been a good manager for a long time. And I hate to see a lot of the negativity in any way, shape or form. We've all had a hand in the bad season we've had."

ATTENDANCE MARK: Major League Baseball broke its season attendance record yesterday and was on track to finish with the second-highest per-game average in the sport's history. Through Friday night, the 30 major-league teams had drawn 74,922,200, just shy of the 74,926,174 fans who attended games in 2005, and the record was broken when Minnesota drew 46,219 against the Chicago White Sox in yesterday's first game. The average of 31,348 through Friday was on track to be the highest for a full season, topping 1993's 31,337. The only higher average was in the strike-shortened 1994 season, when baseball averaged 31,632 before players walked out in mid-August.