65. Robin Roberts
Robin Roberts had an incredible peak before falling off in the second half of his career. Even though he was not the same type of pitcher. Roberts was still productive enough to put together a Hall of Fame career.
From 1950 through 1956, few pitchers were the equal of Roberts. He was an All-Star in each of those seven seasons, finishing as high as second in the 1952 MVP vote. During that time, he went 157-96 with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.113 WHiP, leading the National League in wins and innings pitched four times, and twice leading the league in strikeouts.
Outside of that peak, Roberts was a fairly average pitcher. Yet, he still performed well enough to win 286 games (against 245 losses) with a 3.41 ERA and a 1.170 WHiP, striking out 2,357 batters in his career. Saddled with being on some fairly putrid Phillies squads during the 1950’s, one has to wonder what his career would have looked like on another, more competitive, team.
While he is remembered for his time in Philadelphia, ROberts bounced around a bit towards the end of his career. After a disastrous 1-10 season with a 5.85 ERA in 1961, Roberts was purchased by the Yankees, who released him before he ever took the mound for them. He then went to the Baltimore Orioles, before ending his career with the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs.
Unlike most pitchers who had such a brilliant, and brief, peak, Roberts managed to pitch for 19 years. Yet, it was that peak that made him a Hall of Fame pitcher, and one of the best to ever take the mound.
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