I'm 36 years old, so I have never seen Robin Roberts pitch in person. I never saw Babe Ruth either, but sometimes it doesn't take a genius to figure out that he was one of the greatest there was. So to demonstrate just how great #36 was, here's just a few numbers:
Robin Roberts 20 win seasons : 6 (consecutive!)
Don Drysdale 20 win seasons : 1
Sandy Koufax 20 win seasons: 3
Whitey Ford 20 win seasons: 1
Don Larson 20 win seasons : 0 (in fact, he never won more than 11)
Robin Roberts complete games : 305!
Drysdale: 167
Koufax: 137
Ford: 156
Robin Roberts career ERA : 2.78
Drysdale: 2.95
Koufax : 2.78
Ford : 2.75
The point I'm trying to make here is that among these contmporaries, Robin is just as good (and in most cases, better). Also keep in mind that he pitched for the Phillies, who had mostly piss-poor teams throughout his career, bad defense, no run support. These other guys won multiple WS championships and their names are mentioned in every baseball story ever told, yet most people outside of Philly never heard of him!! Had Robin pitched for LA or NY he would have the most absurd numbers we've ever seen. So fuck Koufax, fuck Ford, long live 36!!
Roberts career ERA was 3.41 not 2.78. He was great but the only thing he had on Koufax was longevity.
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