Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- Robin Roberts, the tireless Hall of Fame pitcher who led the Philadelphia Phillies to the 1950 National League pennant as part of the famed "Whiz Kids," died Thursday. He was 83.
Roberts died at his Temple Terrace, Fla., home of natural causes, the Phillies said, citing son Jim.
"He was a boyhood hero of mine," team president David Montgomery said. "Then I had a chance to meet him personally. I remember pinching myself knowing I was talking to Robin Roberts. His career and stats speak for themselves. But first and foremost he was a friend and we'll miss him badly."
Robin Roberts topped the NL in wins from 1952 to 1955.
The right-hander was the most productive pitcher in the National League in the first half of the 1950s, topping the league in wins from 1952 to 1955, innings pitched from '51 to '55 and complete games from '52 to '56.
He won 286 games and put together six consecutive 20-win seasons. Roberts had 45 career shutouts, 2,357 strikeouts and a lifetime ERA of 3.41. He pitched 305 complete games, but also holds the distinction of giving up more home runs than any other major league pitcher.
"Workhorse is a weak description," Philadelphia Daily News writer Stan Hochman wrote about Roberts in 2003. "He was a mule, stubborn .... and willing to toil from sunup to sundown."
Long after his career ended, Roberts followed the Phillies closely and was still popular in Philadelphia, drawing boisterous applause from fans each time he came back. A statue of him outside the first-base gate at Citizens Bank Park was adorned with a wreath Thursday, one of several tributes the Phillies planned.
Roberts' No. 36 jersey, which the team retired in 1962, was hung in the dugout before an afternoon game with St. Louis. It will remain there the rest of the seas...
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