Editing Robin Roberts (section)

== Later Career and Legacy ==

Roberts' later Phillies seasons coincided with franchise decline, his individual excellence insufficient to lift teams that lacked the supporting talent the Whiz Kids had assembled. His trade in 1961 ended a Philadelphia career that had produced franchise records while demonstrating the limitations of individual pitching excellence on poorly constructed teams.<ref name="jordan"/>

His Hall of Fame induction in 1976 recognized a career that had established him among baseball's greatest pitchers. The Phillies retired his number 36, honoring a player whose contributions extended beyond statistics to encompass the work ethic and durability that the franchise values. Roberts remains the standard against which Phillies starting pitchers are measured, his career representing the possibility of sustained excellence that current pitching approaches might preclude.<ref name="westcott"/>