Shenk: On the Red Red Robin

Robin Evan Roberts

By Larry (Baron) Shenk

Philadelphia Phillies

It only took one minor league start for Robin Roberts to demonstrate he was headed for greatness. Making his pro debut for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the 21-year-old right-hander struck out 17 in a five-hit, complete game victory. A 10-run second inning paved the way for an easy 19-1 win over the Harrisburg Senators before 2,989 fans who braved a damp and chilly season opener at Wilmington Park on April 27, 1948.

Of the first 10 batters he faced, eight struck out. The strikeouts kept coming.

In Robbie’s SABR bio written by C. Paul Rogers III, “He then struck out 14, 12, and 12 in his next three starts, all complete-game victories. On May 18, his fifth start, he pitched all 15 innings of a game that was called a 2-2 tie because of the league curfew, striking out 16. On June 5 he struck out 18 to tie the league record in a 4-1 win over Trenton. By the time he was called up by the Phillies on June 17, Roberts had recorded 121 strikeouts in 96 innings and compiled a 2.06 earned-run average.”

Yes, after a 9-1 record in 11 starts in Class B, he was on his way to a major league career that would one day land him in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Phillies president Dave Montgomery on the day Robin Roberts’ No. 36 uniform is retired.

Twenty-four hours after he reported to the Phillies in Philadelphia, he was on the Shibe Park mound facing the Pirates. He lost, 2-0, allowing five hits in eight innings. He nervously walked the first batter on four pitches.

Two years after his Wilmington debut, Roberts was on the mound in Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field facing the Dodgers who trailed the Whiz Kids by one game in the final game of the season. Dick Sisler’s 10th-inning homer gave the Phillies the pennant. Roberts, making his third start in five days, went the distance, winning his 20th game.

That win began a streak in which he won 20 or more games six consecutive seasons. In each of those seasons, he threw 300 or more innings. He was the starting pitcher on opening day 12 straight years. Late in the 1952 season, the Phillies beat the Boston Braves, 7-6, in 17 innings. He pitched all 17 innings. That game was part of a streak of 28 consecutive complete games over two seasons. Oh, he started five All-Star Games too. He was a workhorse.

Remember him talking about the 17-inning game, “We didn’t count pitches back then, so I don’t know how many I threw. I do know I pitched better in the second game (last eight innings) than I did in the first game,” he chuckled. “I always took a hot shower and ran hot water on my arm. I was told one time that it would increase circulation. I did the same thing my whole career.” Between starts, he threw batting practice.

One of his best friends on the Whiz Kids was coach Maje McDonnell, who loved to talk about Robbie. “On the mound, he’d fight ‘til the end of the earth. Off the field, you couldn’t believe. Perfect gentleman. Went to hospitals on his own without people asking. He would gladly visit a children’s ward. He just didn’t want publicity.

“But, boy, did he hate to lose. There were many times after a loss, Robbie would come up to me, ‘Maje, let’s go.’ We’d walk back to the hotel no matter how far the hotel was from the ballpark. Sometimes, we’d walk the streets until 6 in the morning and then get breakfast. Once in a while, he would mutter, ‘Why did I throw him that pitch?’”

When his 19-year big-league career ended in 1966, he had 286 wins, 245 losses, 4,688 2/3 innings. He made 609 starts and completed 305. That will never be matched.

He’s also the answer to a trivia question: Who’s the only pitcher to post wins against the Braves in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta. His last win game came in his second-last appearance. Pitching in relief for the Chicago Cubs, the 39-year-old picked up the win with seven scoreless innings of a 14-inning game in Atlanta. The Cubs released him after the season.

Believing he could still pitch in the majors, Robbie agreed to a minor league contract with the Phillies double-A team in Reading in 1967. He decided he would pitch until June 15 and then retire if no big-league club called. Robin Evan Roberts began his pro career making 11 starts in Wilmington. It ended after 11 starts in Reading.

Robin’s Nest: Played basketball (captain and leading scorer as a junior) and baseball at Michigan State University ... Signed to a $25,000 bonus by the Phillies in 1947 after a three-day tryout at Wrigley Field ... Two 1950 teammates also played in Wilmington, second baseman Mike Goliat (1948) and lefty Curt Simmons (1947) ... His uniform No. 36 was retired by the Phillies (1961), MSU (1992) and the Blue Rocks (1998) ... He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (1976), Phillies Wall of Fame (1978), MSU Athletics Hall of Fame (1992) and the Blue Rocks HOF (2008) ... 234 wins with Phillies rank second to Steve Carlton (241) ... He won 300 games as a pro, 286 in majors, 14 in the minors ... The ballpark in his hometown of Springfield, IL, is named Robin Roberts Stadium ... Threw out a ceremonial first pitch during the 2009 World Series at Citizens Bank Park, his final appearance in Philadelphia. He died the following May in Tampa, Fla.