Robin Roberts, baseball player, 1948-1966

Robin Roberts

⭐ Hall of Fame 1976

Born: 9/30/1926 in Springfield, IL, USA

Died: 5/6/2010 in Temple Terrace, FL, USA

MLB Debut: 1948-06-18 | Final Game: 1966-09-03

Bats: B | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: Robin Evan Roberts

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Biography

Robin Roberts was a prominent American professional baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1948 to 1966. Born in 1926, he established himself as one of the leading pitchers of his era, known for his durability and effectiveness on the mound. Roberts finished his career with a record of 286 wins and 245 losses, boasting a commendable earned run average (ERA) of 3.41. Over the course of his time in Major League Baseball, he struck out 2,357 batters and recorded 25 saves, showcasing his ability to both start games and come in for critical relief appearances. Roberts was selected as an All-Star seven times, a testament to his consistent performance and recognition among his peers. His impactful career culminated in his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976, solidifying his legacy in the sport. Playing primarily during a competitive period in baseball history, he navigated the transition of the game from the post-war era into the more dynamic approaches of the 1960s. Roberts remains celebrated not only for his statistical achievements but also for his contributions to the teams he played for, leaving an indelible mark on the game of baseball.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
286 245 676 609 305 45 25 4688.7 4582 1774 505 902 2357 3.41 0

Career ERA 3.41 vs. league average 3.86 across their career seasons — 11.9% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1948 PHI NL 7 9 20 20 9 0 0 146.7 148 52 61 84 3.19 4.10 (+22%) 980.7
1949 PHI NL 15 15 43 31 11 3 4 226.7 229 93 75 95 3.69 4.12 (+10%) 3127.0
1950 PHI NL 20 11 40 39 21 5 1 304.3 282 102 77 146 3.02 4.36 (+31%) 5811.7
1951 PHI NL 21 15 44 39 22 6 2 315.0 284 106 64 127 3.03 4.04 (+25%) 7599.7
1952 PHI NL 28 7 39 37 30 3 2 330.0 292 95 45 148 2.59 3.70 (+30%) 7847.4
1953 PHI NL 23 16 44 41 33 5 2 346.7 324 106 61 198 2.75 4.14 (+33%) 9487.2
1954 PHI NL 23 15 45 38 29 4 4 336.7 289 111 56 185 2.97 3.90 (+24%) 6349.8
1955 PHI NL 23 14 41 38 26 1 3 305.0 292 111 53 160 3.28 4.00 (+18%) 3178.8
1956 PHI NL 19 18 43 37 22 1 3 297.3 328 147 40 157 4.45 3.96 (-12%) 1710.8
1957 PHI NL 10 22 39 32 14 2 2 249.7 246 113 43 128 4.07 3.83 (-6%) -1379.3
1958 PHI NL 17 14 35 34 21 1 0 269.7 270 97 51 130 3.24 3.86 (+16%) 2236.5
1959 PHI NL 15 17 35 35 19 2 0 257.3 267 122 35 137 4.27 3.90 (-9%) 1642.2
1960 PHI NL 12 16 35 33 13 2 1 237.3 256 106 34 122 4.02 3.82 (-5%) 1030.3
1961 PHI NL 1 10 26 18 2 0 0 117.0 154 76 23 54 5.85 4.03 (-45%) -1128.3
1962 BAL AL 10 9 27 25 6 0 0 191.3 176 59 41 102 2.78 3.96 (+30%) 2702.9
1963 BAL AL 14 13 35 35 9 2 0 251.3 230 93 40 124 3.33 3.46 (+4%) -2358.8
1964 BAL AL 13 7 31 31 8 4 0 204.0 203 66 52 109 2.91 3.58 (+19%) 469.4
1965 BAL AL 5 7 20 15 5 1 0 114.7 110 43 20 63 3.38 3.50 (+4%) -1162.8
1965 HOU NL 5 2 10 10 3 2 0 76.0 61 16 10 34 1.89 3.50 (+46%) 2529.0
1966 HOU NL 3 5 13 12 1 1 1 63.7 79 27 10 26 3.82 3.52 (-8%) -265.9
1966 CHC NL 2 3 11 9 1 0 0 48.3 62 33 11 28 6.14 3.52 (-75%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
688 1525 107 255 55 10 5 103 3 135 372 0.167 0.238 0.226 0.464 -8533.1

Career AVG .167 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 34.8% below league average.

Career OBP .238 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — 27.2% below league average.

Career SLG .226 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — 41.5% below league average.

Career OPS 0.464 vs. league average 0.713 across their career seasons — 34.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1948 PHI NL 21 44 1 11 2 0 1 5 0 6 16 0.250 — — — — -9.4
1949 PHI NL 43 67 2 5 1 0 0 4 0 7 18 0.075 .262 (-72%) .343 (-53%) .384 (-77%) .727 (-65%) -773.0
1950 PHI NL 40 102 1 12 0 0 0 7 0 8 39 0.118 .265 (-56%) .346 (-47%) .401 (-71%) .747 (-60%) -1088.4
1951 PHI NL 44 87 8 15 2 0 0 4 2 20 27 0.172 .260 (-34%) .336 (-1%) .385 (-49%) .721 (-27%) -327.2
1952 PHI NL 39 112 3 14 6 1 0 7 0 11 19 0.125 .252 (-51%) .326 (-36%) .369 (-47%) .696 (-42%) -796.3
1953 PHI NL 44 123 14 22 5 1 1 7 0 7 29 0.179 .264 (-32%) .335 (-32%) .397 (-35%) .733 (-33%) -743.5
1954 PHI NL 45 122 11 15 6 1 0 6 0 5 34 0.123 .261 (-53%) .333 (-53%) .390 (-52%) .723 (-53%) -1169.2
1955 PHI NL 51 107 12 27 9 4 2 13 0 18 18 0.252 .258 (-2%) .332 (+8%) .393 (+19%) .726 (+14%) 256.2
1956 PHI NL 43 100 8 20 2 1 1 8 0 6 13 0.200 .258 (-23%) .331 (-25%) .397 (-32%) .728 (-29%) -531.1
1957 PHI NL 39 80 5 13 4 0 0 6 0 4 16 0.163 .257 (-37%) .323 (-38%) .391 (-46%) .715 (-42%) -592.8
1958 PHI NL 36 99 12 20 5 1 0 9 0 7 15 0.202 .257 (-22%) .324 (-22%) .394 (-31%) .719 (-27%) -455.1
1959 PHI NL 35 89 6 17 5 0 0 3 0 5 23 0.191 .256 (-26%) .323 (-25%) .392 (-37%) .715 (-32%) -475.9
1960 PHI NL 35 79 6 12 1 0 0 4 1 6 26 0.152 .255 (-40%) .323 (-35%) .387 (-58%) .711 (-47%) -614.1
1961 PHI NL 26 33 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 11 0.091 — — — — 0.0
1962 BAL AL 27 52 3 10 1 0 0 2 0 5 13 0.192 .257 (-25%) .326 (-17%) .393 (-46%) .719 (-33%) -278.1
1963 BAL AL 35 79 7 16 1 0 0 8 0 5 12 0.203 .246 (-18%) .308 (-19%) .371 (-42%) .680 (-32%) -386.3
1964 BAL AL 31 68 3 9 1 0 0 0 0 4 21 0.132 .250 (-47%) .312 (-39%) .377 (-61%) .690 (-51%) -548.8
1965 BAL AL 20 35 1 6 2 0 0 7 0 2 9 0.171 — — — — 0.0
1965 HOU NL 10 21 1 5 2 1 0 3 0 4 4 0.238 — — — — 0.0
1966 HOU NL 13 16 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 0.062 — — — — 0.0
1966 CHC NL 11 10 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0.200 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1950 WS PHI 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 2 1 0 11.0 11 2 3 5 1.64

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1950 WS PHI 0 1 2 1 0 11.0 11 2 3 5 1.64

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 676 402 316 601 31 45

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1948 PHI P 20 0 2 17 2 1
1949 PHI P 43 0 10 23 1 4
1950 PHI P 40 0 22 50 2 6
1951 PHI P 44 0 24 37 2 3
1952 PHI P 39 0 26 44 1 1
1953 PHI P 44 0 16 51 3 7
1954 PHI P 45 38 15 38 1 3
1955 PHI P 41 38 19 26 2 1
1956 PHI P 43 37 12 50 2 4
1957 PHI P 39 32 26 38 0 1
1958 PHI P 35 34 17 34 0 0
1959 PHI P 35 35 22 38 1 2
1960 PHI P 35 33 21 24 2 2
1961 PHI P 26 18 6 15 0 1
1962 BAL P 27 25 24 21 2 4
1963 BAL P 35 35 24 31 3 1
1964 BAL P 31 31 9 26 1 2
1965 BAL P 20 15 7 16 2 1
1965 HOU P 10 10 7 5 2 0
1966 HOU P 13 12 2 9 1 0
1966 CHN P 11 9 5 8 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 676

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1962 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1955 TSN All-Star P
1955 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1954 TSN All-Star P
1953 TSN All-Star P
1952 TSN All-Star P
1952 TSN Major League Player of the Year
1952 TSN Pitcher of the Year

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Michigan State University East Lansing MI 1946, 1947

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1956 Most Valuable Player NL 23th 7.0 336 0
1955 Most Valuable Player NL 5th 159.0 336 1
1954 Most Valuable Player NL 7th 70.0 336 0
1953 Most Valuable Player NL 6th 106.0 336 1
1952 Most Valuable Player NL 2nd 211.0 336 7
1951 Most Valuable Player NL 13th 27.0 336 0
1950 Most Valuable Player NL 7th 68.0 336 0