It's just been reported that former Phillies pitcher Robin Roberts died today of natural causes at the age of 83.
Roberts made a huge impact on the Phillies in his time in Philadelphia from 1948 to 1961. He was a part of the 1950 "Whiz Kids" team that won the NL pennant. Roberts started 3 games in the last 5 days of that season to help them secure the pennant.
Two seasons ago, the Phillies honored Roberts at one game that I was lucky enough to attend. His career numbers are incredible, but he also just seemed to be a great guy. He gave a speech before the game which basically consisted of him telling old baseball stories. My favorite story that he told was something along these lines:
Late in his career with the Phillies, Roberts gave up a home run to left field in a game they were losing. The shortstop, whoever it was at the time, started walking toward the mound and looked angry. Robin yelled to him as he got halfway to the mound, "Get your ass back to shortstop and jump higher next time!"
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