By James G. Robinson
"Whenever I threw a home-run ball, and Lord knows I threw plenty of them, I
usually knew as soon as I saw that full swing what I had done wrong ... That's
why I was never upset by a home run, because I knew immediately what had
happened and was able to correct it."
-- Robin Roberts
In this era of inflated home run totals, it may comfort pitchers around the
majors that the most homered-upon pitcher in baseball history is enshrined in
the Hall of Fame. Robin Roberts, who was inducted into the Hall in 1976,
gave up the 505th -- and last -- home run of his illustrious career to the
Pirates' Willie Stargell 39 years ago today.
Few pitchers have enjoyed the success Roberts
did in his 19 years on the mound, but none have
seen as many of their pitches land behind the
outfield wall. But to be sure, not many pitchers
took the mound as often as the ace of
Philadelphia's "Whiz Kids".
Roberts led the league in innings pitched and
starts each season from 1951 through 1955. And
although he gave up over 20 homers in each of
those seasons (leading the league with 35 and a
then-record 41 allowed in '54 and '55,
respectively) he never won fewer than twenty
games during that glorious half-decade and led
the league in victories four times.
"Almost all of the homers he gave up came when we were way ahead. He'd
get careless," remembered Andy Seminick, Roberts' catcher on the Phil's
memorable pennant-winners in 1950. "Maybe he was trying to save himself
and didn't exert himself."
That carelessness cost him in 1956, when he won 19 games but gave up an
unprecedented 46 homers. The egregious total would stand as a major-league
record until Minnesota's Bert Blyleven surrendered 50 in 1986.
It's amazing that a man considered to be one of the greatest
pitchers of his generation gave up at least thirty homers in a season nine
times and led the league in home runs allowed five times. Yet Roberts' lifetime
ERA stands at 3.90 and by the time he had finished out his career with the
Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs in 1966 (Stargell's home run was one of 15
allowed that season) he had won 286 games. (For the record, Roberts himself
hit just five homers in 1,525 at-bats.)
Roberts surrendered 87 round-trippers in 3 1/2 with the Baltimore Orioles, so
he does not hold the National League record for home runs allowed. That
record (434) belongs to fellow Hall of Famer Warren Spahn.
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