Dave Roberts

David Arthur Roberts (September 11, 1944 – January 9, 2009) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1969 to 1981 for eight teams. He was second in the National League (NL) with a 2.10 earned run average (ERA) in for the San Diego Padres, after which he was traded to the Houston Astros, where he spent the four most productive years of his career. Roberts was also a member of the 1979 World Series winning Pittsburgh Pirates team. Over his major league career he won 103 games.

Roberts was one of the best Jewish pitchers all-time in major league history through 2010, ranking fourth in career games (445; behind only Scott Schoeneweis, Ken Holtzman, and John Grabow), fourth in wins (103) and strikeouts (957) behind Sandy Koufax, Holtzman, and Steve Stone, and seventh in ERA (3.78).

Early and personal life Roberts was born in Gallipolis, Ohio, and was Jewish. He attended George Washington elementary school, and then started high school at Gallia Academy, finally moving to and in 1963 graduating from Central High School in Columbus, Ohio, where his parents had relocated. In basketball, he was All-Columbus.

Major league career

San Diego Padres After debuting with the Padres in 1969, Roberts was sixth in the NL in walks per 9 innings (2.13) in 1970. He went 14–17 for the last-place 1971 Padres, finishing second to the New York Mets' Tom Seaver with a 2.10 ERA. He was sixth in the voting for the NL Cy Young Award, seventh in walks per 9 innings (2.04), ninth in innings pitched , tenth in complete games (14), and 24th in the voting for the NL MVP Award. He held batters to a .191 batting average when runners were in scoring position. His being traded by the Padres was just prior to the Padres signing another Dave Roberts (see below), who joined the club in 1972. If this trade had not taken place, the Padres' roster would have featured two unrelated players named "Dave Roberts", making this among the few occasions where a team's roster featured two unrelated players with the same name.

In 1972, Roberts was 12–7 for the Astros. In 1973, he recorded a career-best 17–11 record, setting a club record with a career-high six shutouts (second in the NL). Roberts was the August 25, 1974 NL Player of the Week. That season, he finished sixth in the NL in wins and sacrifice hits (12), seventh in games started (36), eighth in complete games (12), and tenth in ERA (2.85) and walks per nine innings (2.24). After a 16–17 season with the 1976 Tigers, in which he was fifth in the American League (AL) in shutouts (4), seventh in games started (36) and ninth in complete games (18),

In 1977, Roberts was the Opening Day starter for the Tigers.

Chicago Cubs In July 1977, the Chicago Cubs purchased Roberts' contract.

1979: Giants and Pirates In February 1979, Roberts signed as free agent with the San Francisco Giants. Combined, in 1979 he had a 2.90 ERA. According to his wife, Carol, he was exposed to carcinogenic chemicals while working for several offseasons as a boilermaker. He is buried at Frostburg Memorial Cemetery, not far from Lefty Grove's grave.