Robin Roberts (baseball)

Robin Evan Roberts (September 30, 1926 – May 6, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball starting pitcher who pitched primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies (1948–1961). He spent the latter part of his career with the Baltimore Orioles (1962–1965), Houston Astros (1965–1966), and Chicago Cubs (1966). A workhorse pitcher, Roberts won over 15 games in seven of his first eight years in the league, which saw him lead the National League in wins in four straight seasons (1952–1955) along with games and innings pitched multiple times; he topped out in wins with 28 in 1952, where he finished second in the MVP voting. In the "Whiz Kids" year of 1950, he went 20–11 with a league-leading five shutouts while pitching ten innings in the final game of the season to clinch the pennant for the Phillies, which was their first since 1915. Roberts subsequently started Game 2 of the World Series in his only postseason appearance for his career as the team was swept. A seven-time All-Star from 1950 to 1956, he departed the Phillies in 1961 with franchise records of 234 wins, 1,871 strikeouts, 529 games played and 3739+1⁄3 innings pitched and had his jersey retired the following year as the first Phillie to receive the honor; he still holds the franchise record for innings pitched and games played. He signed with the Orioles in 1962 and pitched the better part of four years with the team before spending the 1956 and 1966 seasons with two different teams. He retired in 1966 with 286 victories, tenth most in MLB history at the time. He was also the leader in home runs given up by a pitcher (505) until he was passed by Jamie Moyer decades later. Roberts was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976. After retiring...