Phillies Hall of Famer Robin Roberts Dies At 83

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Phillies organization will mourn the loss of Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts, who passed away early Thursday morning in his home in Temple Terrace, Fla. from natural causes. He was 83.

Roberts, arguably the greatest Phillies right-handed pitcher of all time, played 19 seasons in the major leagues from 1948-1961. He spent the first 14 years with the Philadelphia Phillies before pitching for the Baltimore Orioles (1962-65), Houston Astros (1965-66), and Chicago Cubs (1966).

For his career, Roberts had a 286-245 record with a 3.41 ERA pitching in 676 games (609 starts). During his time with the Phillies, Roberts went 234-199 and finished as the team's all-time leader in games pitched (529), complete games (272) and innings pitched (3,739.1). He also held the Phillies record for wins and strikeouts before being surpassed by Steve Carlton.

The Michigan State University graduate had his best season in 1952 when he won a career-best 28 games, and set a Phillies record for win percentage in a season with a .800 mark. He was also Major League Pitcher of the Year by the Sporting News that season.

Roberts played in seven all-star games shares a record with Lefty Grove and Don Drysdale with five career starts.

He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976, and attended the annual induction ceremonies every year since.

The Phillies will honor Roberts by hanging his jersey in the team's dugout for the rest of the season and by wearing a number 36 patch.

Roberts is survived by four sons, one brother, seven grandchildren and one great-grandson. His wife Mary passed away five years ago next month.