Roberts, Robin E.
Baseball
b. Sept. 30, 1926, Springfield, IL
After serving in the Army Air Corps immediately after graduating from high school in 1944, Roberts went to Michigan State University on a basketball scholarship. He also pitched well enough for the school's baseball team to get a $25,000 bonus for signing with the NL's Philadelphia Phillies in 1948.
The 6-foot, 190-pound right-hander played briefly in the minor leagues before joining the Phillies in June, compiling a 7-9 record and a 3.19 ERA. After going 15-15 in 1949, Roberts won 20 or games each of the next six seasons.
He was the pitching leader of the "Whiz Kids" team that won the NL pennant in 1950, when Roberts was 20-11 with a league-leading 5 shutouts. Because he'd worked in three of the last five games of the season, Roberts didn't start until the second game of the World Series, and he lost 2-1 in 10 innings. It was the only World Series he ever appeared in.
Roberts led the league in innings pitched with 315 in 1951, when he was 21-15. He then topped the NL in victories for four years in a row, with records of 28-7 in 1952, 23-16 in 1953, 23-15 in 1954, and 23-14 in 1955.
He was also the NL leader in complete games with 30 in 1952, 33 in 1953, 29 in 1954, 26 in 1955, and 22 in 1956; in innings pitched with 330 in 1952, 346 2/3 in 1953, 336 2/3 in 1954, and 305 in 1955; and in strikeouts with 198 in 1953 and 185 in 1954.
Roberts was named the NL player of the year by The Sporting News in 1952 and 1955, and he was chosen for the All-Star team seven years in a row, from 1950 through 1956.
All those innings pitched caught up to him in 1957, when he had a 10-22 record. He continued to work a lot during the next three seasons, going 17-14, 15-17 and 12-16, but he was traded to the New York Yankees after a 1-10 record in 1961.
The Yankees released Roberts during spring training in 1962 and he joined the Baltimore Orioles. He was 42-36 with them before returning to the NL with the Houston Astros during the 1965 season. He retired after pitching for Houston and the Chicago Cubs in 1966.
In 19 major league seasons, Roberts had a 286-245 record, with 45 shutouts and a 3.41 ERA. He struck out 2,357 hitters and walked 902 in 4,688 2/3 innings.