Transactions
Acquired: On October 16, 1961, Robin was purchased from the Philadelphia Phillies.
Released: On May 21, 1962, Robin was released from the
Yankees without having appeared in a game.
Trivia
- Robin's final victory of his career came against the Atlanta Braves. By beating the Atlanta Braves, he became the only pitcher in Major League history to beat the Boston Braves, Milwaukee Braves, and the Atlanta Braves.
- Robin's Hall of Fame plaque does not make any indication of his brief
tenure with the Yankees. Only the Phillies, Orioles, Astros and Cubs
are named on his plaque.
Notes
Following a 1-10 season with a 5.85 ERA and some lost zip on his fastball, Phillies Manager Gene Mauch decided to part ways with
Roberts, the long time Phillies ace, six-time (in a row) 20 game winner
(1950-55), seven-time all-star and winner of 234 Major League games to that
point. The Yankees were concerned that they may lose Ralph Terry and/or
Bill Stafford to military service and took a chance on Roberts. He pitched
well in spring training and came north with the Yankees. However, a number
of early season off-days and rain outs, coupled with the fact that neither Terry
nor Stafford were drafted and Jim Bouton's call-up from the minors, the Yankees
felt there was no room for a old, finesse pitcher in the Yankee bullpen.
Roberts was released on May 21st and immediated signed by the Baltimore Orioles
where he immediately joined their starting rotation.
What at the time seemed like a potentially uneventful and sad ending to what
turned out to be a Hall of Fame career (inducted in 1976), Roberts proved he
could still be an effective pitcher. In 1962, he turned out to arguably be
the best starter on an up-and-coming Oriole team with a 10-9 record and 2.78 ERA
in 25 starts and 191.1 innings. The 10 wins were second only to Milt
Pappas' 12 and the stellar ERA led all Oriole starters. It would be the
first of four double digit winning seasons for Roberts as he went 14-13 with a
3.33 ERA in 1963, helping the Orioles improve from 77-85 in 1962 to 86-76 in
1963. He followed with a 13-7 mark with a 2.91 ERA in 1964 for a 97-win
team that finished in third place, two behind the pennant winning Yankees.
In 1965 at the age of 38 and a roster of young starters, Roberts began the
season in the bullpen. He still managed 15 starts filling-in for a sore
armed Milt Pappas and in a four start stretch from April 23 to May 6, hurled
four straight complete game wins, including a 5-0 shutout of the Yankees on May
2nd. Unfortunately, that stretch was followed with six straight losses.
Coupled with Pappas' return and the emergence of rookie and future Hall of Famer
(and Roberts' roommate) Jim Palmer, the clock was ticking on Roberts. His
5-7 record at the time, coupled with a 3.38 ERA was not enough to save him from
being released on July 31st. He was signed by the Houston Astros on August
6th where he got off to a fast start, throwing two shutout wins in his first two
starts. In total, Robin won four of his first five starts in Houston and
finished the final two months with a 5-2 record (giving him 10 total wins on the
year between the two teams) and a 1.89 ERA with Houston.
1966 started out well with an opening day start (a 3-2 loss to the Dodgers),
but elbow problems following offseason surgery to remove bone chips was a
harbinger of what was to come. After a shutout win over the Cubs on May
4th, Robin's effectiveness plummeted with a 1-2 record and 5.52 ERA in his next
eight appearances and was released on July 4th. It wasn't the end of the
road as the Chicago Cubs signed him nine days later and he once again came out
punching with a complete game win in his first start against the Pirates.
In his first three starts he pitched to a 2.25 ERA and that lone victory, but
only managed one more win down the stretch, coupled with a 11.51 ERA in his
final eight games for a 103-loss Cub team. His final victory (in a relief
appearance) on September 3rd gave him 286 career victories.
Robin was released after the season, pitched in the Phillies' minor league
system for a bit in AA Reading, hoping to pitch well enough to catch the eye of
another MLB team. He pitched well, but there was no forthcoming offers and
Roberts retired.
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Some Yankee historians speculate that had the Yankees kept Roberts, they may
have won at least one more championship. This is unlikely. The
Yankees won the World Series in 1962, the year he was released. They lost
the World Series in 1963 because they simply didn't hit, batting .171 in the
series with two home runs. 1964 might be the best argument. After
Whitey Ford was unable to pitch after Game One, the rotation went Mel
Stottlemyre, Jim Bouton, Al Downing, Stottlemyre, Bouton for games two through
six. Without a definitive starter for Game 7, Berra tapped Mel Stottlemyre
on three days rest, skipping Downing and completely ignoring Ralph Terry.
It could be argued that Bunning, assuming he was as effective as he had been for
Baltimore, would have been the ideal choice.
The other argument could have been Bunning out of the bullpen in Game Seven
rather than Al Downing. However, Downing pitched well in Game Four, making
one mistake in allowing a grand slam from Ken Boyer that gave the Cardinals a
4-3 lead (after shaking off Elston Howard and insisting on throwing a change-up
instead of his dominating fastball) which turned out to be the final score.
Why wouldn't Berra have still turned to Downing's young, fresh arm in Game Seven
after Stottlemyre was knocked out in the 5th and they needed innings?
As for 1965's collapse and end of the Dynasty, it wasn't pitching that killed
them. It was injuries and age in the starting lineup that brought on the
downfall. Coupled with the fact that, unlike past Yankee teams, there was
nobody in the minors ready to step into those shoes. Roy White and Bobby
Murcer both made their debuts, but were still a few years away from becoming
impact players. Bunning might have done better than Bouton's 4-15, 4.82
ERA, but he wasn't going to turn around a team that lost 85 games unless he
suddenly learned to hit.
Memories
John W. from Lawrence wrote: Roberts was one of my favorite pitchers and in that 1964 season he pitchied four shutouts for the Orioles. He was very good that year, but streaky at times. He was really rolling up the wins late in the season ending up with 13 after getting off to a 6-3 start.
I remember after he was traded he pitched those two four hit shutouts and was still very effective. He had 45 lifetime shutouts. My wife and
I saw him pitch in an old-timers game at Houston in 69(?) He was pitching well in that last year in the minors with some shutouts mixed in there.
