https://www.detroitathletic.com/blog/2016/04/08/dave-roberts-pitcher-detroit-tigers-1976/
Lefty Dave Roberts teamed with Fidrych for a potent one - two punch in 1976.
Detroit Athletic
The name of ?Dave Roberts? causes too much confusion in baseball. When you say that name, you need to specify whether you?re talking about the current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who happens to be the first African-American skipper in the history of the franchise. Or perhaps you?re referencing the former utilityman who played for the San Diego Padres in the 1970s and could play just about any position, including catcher, third base, and the outfield. Or maybe you?re discussing the obscure first baseman/outfielder of 1960s vintage.
In this case, we?re not writing about any of those ?Dave Roberts.? No, the Dave Roberts being discussed here is the accomplished left-handed pitcher who once toiled for the Detroit Tigers. He?s the only one of the four Dave Roberts who pitched in the major leagues?and that?s something that he did quite well for much of the 1970s.
As well traveled as he was, Roberts appeared on only two Topps cards as a member of the Tigers: in 1976 and 1977. The first appearance was part of the 1976 ?Traded? series, which came out later in the summer. The actual photograph, which was taken sometime during the 1975 season, shows Roberts wearing the garish and gaudy colors of the Houston Astros. But those colors, along with the cap and the logo, have been obliterated in favor of the more conservative uniform preferred by the Tigers. For some reason, the artist at Topps decided to airbrush the Tigers? road logo onto his cap, instead of the more popular white one used for home games. I?ve never cared much for that red road logo, but whatever the reasoning, it was an attempt to update Roberts? 1976 team as efficiently as possible.
Some players look happy on their cards; other convey a serious, businesslike expression. In Roberts? case, I can detect no tangible expression. He?s not happy, sad, angry or otherwise. In a way, he simply looks numb. Given his frequent changes of address in the 1970s, when he was traded or sold four different times?that kind of a look might be the most appropriate.
Roberts? winding journey to Detroit began way back in 1963, when the Philadelphia Phillies signed him as an amateur free agent. The Phillies reportedly had interest in Roberts not only because of his talent, but because of his Jewish heritage. The Phillies wanted to attract more Jewish fans?and hoped that Roberts would help in that regard.
Roberts never made it to Philadelphia. After only one season in the Phillies? system, he was selected off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates, pitched two seasons in the Bucs? system, and was then taken by the Kansas City A?s in the Rule 5 draft. But before he could even make an appearance with the Athletics, he was returned to the Pirates? organization.
Roberts pitched two more seasons in Pittsburgh?s farm system, bringing his minor league career to six full seasons, all without a sniff of a major league game. Elbow problems forced him to undergo surgery after 1966, but Roberts bounced back. He was brilliant in 1968, good enough to earn minor league Pitcher of the Year honors, but the Pirates would not promote him. He needed a break?and it came via expansion. The San Diego Padres selected Roberts in the 1968 expansion draft. As a left-handed pitcher with loads of minor league experience, Roberts appeared to be a favorite to make San Diego?s Opening Day roster in 1969. But then came more disappointment: another spring training demotion to the minor leagues.
In truth, Roberts struggled with elbow and shoulder pain throughout the spring, but refused to tell the Padres about it. So he went back to Triple-A and worked through the pain. The situation finally changed in July, when the pitching-poor Padres summoned Roberts from Triple-A and used him as a spot starter and long reliever for the balance of the season. He didn?t pitch particularly well, striking out only 19 batters in 48 innings and posting an ERA of 4.81. But he wasn?t terrible either, offering the Padres enough promise to be included on the Opening Day roster in 1970.
Pitching creditably for the Padres in 1970, Roberts displayed pinpoint control, limiting opponents to just over two walks per nine innings. Then came the breakthrough of 1971. Mixing in a good but not overpowering fastball with an effective change-up and screwball, Roberts won 14 games, a Herculean task for a poor Padres team that was still mired in last place in the National League West. Roberts? ERA of 2.10 was better than every fulltime starter in the league except for Tom Seaver, the Cy Young Award winner. Roberts himself finished sixth in the Cy Young balloting.
As well as Roberts pitched for the Padres in 1971, the team needed help everywhere. So when the Astros offered a package of three players, the Padres decided to accept the offer. At the price of right-hander Bill Greif, infielder Derrel Thomas, and an obscure minor leaguer, Roberts moved on to the Astros. On the surface, the trade looked like a good career move, with Roberts joining a better team and now having the chance to pitch half of his games in the batter?s tomb known as the Astrodome.
Roberts? first season in Houston brought mixed results. Surprisingly, his ERA ballooned to 4.50, more than double what it was the previous season. But with better run support, he won 12 games against only seven losses. In 1973, he blossomed, winning a career-high 17 games and lowering his ERA to 2.85. He remained a workhorse in 1974, pitching effectively while again logging over 200 innings, before undergoing a bit of a downturn in 1975. On the whole, Roberts provided some much needed balance to the Astros. They had plenty of talented right-handers, but Roberts was their lone left-handed starter for long stretches in the mid-1970s.
Roberts? time in Houston went smoothly, at least until the 1975 season. Early that summer, he left the team, publicly citing a general discouragement with the game. Privately, Robert did not like the way he was being handled by Astros manager Preston Gomez, who continually shuffled his starting rotation.
Roberts eventually returned to the Astros. But his decision to leave the team, coupled with his turning 30, may have been factors in the organization?s decision to include him in a seven-player blockbuster. At the winter meetings, the Astros dealt Roberts, fellow left-hander Jim ?Catfish? Crawford, and catcher Milt May to the Tigers for a quartet that included slugger Leon Roberts, catcher Terry Humphrey, and two right-handed pitchers.
With Mickey Lolich gone via trade and Joe Coleman coming off a bad season, the Tigers needed pitching in the worst way. They didn?t yet know what they had in Mark ?The Bird? Fidrych, and were counting on several other young right-handers, including Vern Ruhle and Ray Bare, to fill the breach. In his first game with the Tigers, Roberts sparkled. He fired a two-hit shutout against the California Angels. Manager Ralph Houk would lean on Roberts heavily that summer. Houk gave Roberts a team-high 36 starts and watched him tally 252 innings, the second highest total of his career. Pitching for a fifth-place club, Roberts won 16 games, lost 17, and posted a respectable ERA of 4.00.
While Fidrych earned most of the publicity that summer, Roberts more than carried his share of the load. A start by Roberts lacked the pure entertainment value of Fidrych, but came to be appreciated by baseball diehards, who enjoyed watching Roberts artfully mix his fastball with his change-up and screwball. Without Roberts, the Tigers might well have finished last in the American League East. `
Unfortunately, the 1976 workload took a major toll on Roberts. Diagnosed with an arthritic knee, he had to undergo surgery during the winter. While the surgery took care of his legs, his left arm became a concern. He pitched poorly to start the 1977 season. With his ERA rising above 5.00, the Tigers decided to make a move. At the end of July, the Tigers sold Roberts to the Chicago Cubs, receiving only cash in return.
The transaction stunned Roberts, who had come to like living in the area. ?I really wanted to stay in Detroit. I felt settled with the Tigers. I bought a home in Detroit last year, my family liked it there,? the left-hander told Jim Hawkins of The Sporting News. ?I had a two-year contract and getting traded was the farthest thing from my mind. Maybe that was my problem. I relaxed and got fat and didn?t do my job.?
In making the move from Detroit to Chicago, Roberts began to transition to the bullpen. He would remain a reliever for the rest of his career, which included a stint with the 1979 world champion Pirates. Roberts pitched well in situational relief, helping to give Chuck Tanner a lockdown bullpen during the team?s successful run toward a championship.
By the time Roberts retired after a short stint with the New York Mets in 1981, he had played for 11 different organizations during his journeyman career. As he once said philosophically, ?The way I look at it, either I?m a bum or everybody wants me.?
After his playing days, Roberts remained in baseball, but not at the professional level. He became an assistant coach at Potomac State (West Virginia), serving in that role during the 1990s. Sadly, he soon developed lung cancer. It was not caused by smoking, but rather by a wintertime job that he had worked during his early days in baseball. Roberts had once been employed at a boilermaker plant, where he was exposed to asbestos. Long-term effects of asbestos poisoning resulted in the onset of cancer, which took Roberts? life in January of 2009. He was 64.
It?s easy to forget about a player like Roberts. He played only two seasons in Detroit, and for one of those seasons, was overshadowed by the wonderful antics and success of the legendary Fidrych. But for one season, Roberts and Fidrych formed a terrific one-two punch in the Motor City. And for that one season, they both certainly did their part in making the Bicentennial Tigers a lot more enjoyable to watch.
