Rottin' Robin

(An epitaphany shared by Jon and Mark)
Robin Roberts, who cursed generations of fans to suffer the idiotic ramblings of Joe Morgan, has died at the age of 84. Debuting in 1948 after dominating the Interstate League, Roberts led the 1950 Phillies – the Whiz Kids – to the NL pennant their only playoff appearance between 1915 and 1976. Starting 3 games in the last 5 days of the season, Roberts beat the Dodgers to secure the pennant on the last day of the season for his 20th win, the first 20-win season by a Phillie in 33 years. Roberts was a notorious workhorse who threw strikes, leading the league in complete games 5 times, completing 28 consecutive games, and completing 305 of his 609 career starts, never walking more than 77 batters in a season. He led the NL in wins from 1952 to 1955, topped by 28 wins in 1952. Among his more memorable games was a May 13, 1954 game against the Cincinnati Redlegs in which he allowed a lead-off home run, then recorded 27 consecutive outs. Roberts still holds the record for most homers allowed with 505. After leaving the Phillies, Roberts bounced to the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros, where he committed the unpardonable sin of helping Morgan work out kinks in throwing from second base to first, keeping in the majors and starting the Hall of Fame career that he never stops talking about.