Naming The Best “Robert” On Each NL Franchise

On Monday, I listed

the best players named “Robert” (or Bob, or Bobby, etc.) in each AL franchise’s history. Today, I tackle the NL.

First, a brief recap of the criteria: I looked only at a player’s listed name, not his real name. Any player with a listed 1st name of Robert or any of its common variants (Bob, Bobby, Rob, Robby, or Roberto) is eligible. Players are largely ranked by Baseball-Reference’s WAR, using only their time with that franchise.

Below, each of the NL franchises are listed in order of the quality of their best Robert.

St. Louis Cardinals

Best Robert: Bob Gibson

 (85.6 WAR with Cardinals), 1959-1975

Other Notable Roberts: Bob Caruthers

(29.9 WAR), Bob Forsch  (21.3 WAR), and Bobby Wallace  (13.6 WAR)

What else is there to say about Gibson? In his Hall of Fame career, spent entirely with the Cardinals, he won an MVP & 2 Cy Youngs, made 8 All-Star Teams, and won 9 Gold Gloves. His legendary 1968 season is one of the best ever: a 1.12 ERA (258 ERA+) and 13 shutouts in over 300 innings. That season was worth nearly 12 WAR on its own, which would be enough to lead several of these lists. Gibson’s WAR is the most for a pitcher in Cardinals history, and the 4th-most overall, behind Stan Musial

, Rogers Hornsby , and Albert Pujols .

Pittsburgh Pirates

Best Robert: Roberto Clemente

 (83.8 WAR with Pirates), 1955-1972

Other Notable Roberts: Bob Friend

 (49.9 WAR), Bob Veale  (26.8 WAR), and Bob Elliot (24.4 WAR)

Man, the Pirates are loaded with Roberts. Friend would lead most franchises’ lists–in fact, he’s the top pitcher in Pirates history by WAR–yet he ranks a distant second to one of the greatest Robert(o)s of all time, Clemente, who has the 2nd-best WAR in Pirates history behind Honus Wagner

.

Philadelphia Phillies

Best Robert: Bobby Abreu

 (46.6 WAR with Phillies), 1998-2006

Other Notable Roberts: Bob Boone

 (13.4 WAR), Bob Allen  (11.2 WAR), and Robert Person  (5.6 WAR)

One of the supremely underrated players of his era, Abreu consistently excelled in his 9 years in Philly, hitting .303 / .413 / .516, making 2 All-Star Teams, and even winning a Gold Glove. He had an OPS+ of at least 126 in every full year with the team and led the league in double and triples once each. His WAR ranks 5th among Phillies hitters and 8th overall.

San Francisco/N.Y. Giants

Best Robert: Bobby Bonds

 (36.9 WAR with Giants), 1968-1974

Other Notable Roberts: Robby Thompson

 (31.0 WAR), Bobby Thomson  (25.1 WAR), and Bob Brenly  (14.1 WAR)

The elder Bonds made 2 All-Star Teams and won 3 Gold Gloves in his years with the Giants. Despite high strikeout totals, he was consistently an offensive asset, posting an OPS+ of at least 116 in every year with the team. In 1973, Bonds led MLB in runs, total bases, and strikeouts, which is certainly a strange combination. Bonds ranks 15th in position-player WAR in franchise history, and 21st overall. I went with Brenly over Bobby Bolin

 (14.3 WAR) mainly because of Brenly’s managing experience with the franchise.

Chicago Cubs

Best Robert: Bob Rush

 (33.5 WAR with Cubs), 1948-1957

Other Notable Roberts: Bob O’Farrell

 (12.3 WAR), Bob Buhl (9.9 WAR), and Bob Wicker  (8.9 WAR)

The right-handed Rush was a mainstay of the Cubs’ rotation for a decade, making 2 All-Star Teams. Because most of those Cubs teams were dreadful, Rush’s win-loss totals tended to be unimpressive, but he was a quality pitcher. His best trait was an ability to limit home runs; he led the NL in HR per 9 innings twice. His best year came in 1952, when he posted a 2.70 ERA in 250 innings. His WAR ranks 9th in Cubs history among pitchers (ahead of Greg Maddux

!) and 27th among all players.

L.A./Brooklyn Dodgers

Best Robert: Bob Welch

 (32.8 WAR with Dodgers), 1978-1987

Other Notable Roberts: Bob Caruthers

 (22.9 WAR pitching & 7.3 hitting), Bob Miller  (4.9 WAR), and Bob Ojeda  (4.4 WAR)

In Welch’s decade in L.A., he pitched 1820 innings with a 114 ERA+. He made only 1 All-Star Team and was a bit overshadowed by more famous teammates, but he was generally a very good pitcher. He’d eventually win a Cy Young

 after going to Oakland, but he did most of his best work with the Dodgers. Welch’s WAR ranks 8th in franchise history among pitchers and 23rd overall. Caruthers had the 2nd-best pitching WAR and the best hitting WAR among Dodger Roberts; yes, he played in the 19th century.

Atlanta/Milwaukee/Boston Braves

Best Robert: Bob Elliot

(26.4 WAR with Braves), 1947-1951

Other Notable Roberts: Bobby Lowe

(25.2 WAR), Bob Horner (20.8 WAR), and Bob Buhl (20.5 WAR)

Elliot, one of a long string of excellent Braves third basemen, won an MVP in his first year with the Boston Braves, then followed that up by leading the majors with 131 walks in 1948. He hit a stellar .295 / .398 / .485 for the franchise, making 3 All-Star Teams in 5 years. He ranks 17th in Braves history in position-player WAR and 28th overall. Though perhaps the real “best Robert” in Braves history should be someone who never played a game for the club: legendary manager Bobby Cox.

Houston Astros

Best Robert: Bob Watson

 (25.8 WAR with Astros), 1966-1979

Other Notable Roberts: Bob Bruce

 (12.1 WAR), Bob Knepper  (10.2 WAR), and Bob Aspromonte  (2.9 WAR)

Watson debuted in MLB with 1 PA at age 20 for the 1966 Astros. He would play another 13 years with the club, mostly at 1st base and in left field, and would make 2 All-Star Teams. He consistently posted very good offensive numbers despite playing in the Astrodome. Poor defensive numbers hold his WAR back somewhat, however. He has the 10th-best position-player WAR in Astros history, and the 14th-best overall.

Cincinnati Reds

Best Robert: TIE Bob Ewing

(24.9 WAR with Reds), 1902-1909; & Bob Purkey (also 24.9), 1958-1964

Other Notable Roberts: Bobby Adams

(13.3 WAR), Bob Bescher (13.2 WAR), and Bobby Tolan (11.8 WAR)

I just couldn’t decide between these two pitching Bobs. They had the exact same WAR, in roughly the same amount of time, and both made about the same impact on the team. Purkey made 3 All-Star Teams & had one great year (1962); Ewing also had one great year (1907) and probably would have made around 3 All-Star Teams if they had had those when he played. It’s just too close to call. They’re tied for 14th in WAR among pitchers in franchise history, and tied for 33rd overall. (By the way, Rob Dibble

and his 9.2 WAR missed the cut; can’t say I’m sorry about that.)

Washington Nationals / Montreal Expos

Best Robert: Bob Bailey

 (18.3 WAR with Expos), 1969-1975

Other Notable Roberts: Bob Sebra

 (2.7 WAR), Bob Henley  (1.2 WAR), and Bob McClure (0.8 WAR)

Bailey played for 17 seasons, but he had his best years in Montreal, playing 3 positions (1st, 3rd, and left field) and hitting fairly well. He wasn’t a star, but he was very solid. He’s tied with Rusty Staub

 for 8th on the franchise position-player WAR list, and also tied with Pedro Martinez  for 10th overall.

San Diego Padres

Best Robert: Roberto Alomar

(10.9 WAR with Padres), 1988-1990

Other Notable Roberts: Bob Shirley

(5.1 WAR), Bob Miller (2.5 WAR), and Bob Owchinko (1.7 WAR)

Alomar broke into the majors with the Padres at age 20, and made his first of 12 straight All-Star Teams with them in 1990, at age 22. That offseason, he was traded to the Jays with Joe Carter

in exchange for Tony Fernandez and Fred McGriff . He ranks 14th in position-player WAR for the Padres franchise, and 27th overall.

New York Mets

Best Robert: Bob Ojeda

(9.6 WAR with Mets), 1986-1990

Other Notable Roberts: Bobby Jones

 (9.7 WAR), Bobby Bonilla (8.7 WAR), and Bob Apodaca  (5.1 WAR)

Ojeda edges out Jones (the right-handed one this time) based on his excellent 1986 season, which was better than anything Jones put together for the Mets. Jones did throw a 1-hit shutout in the 2000 NLDS, but Ojeda’s overall numbers in the ’86 playoffs are a bit better than Jones’ from ’00. Jones and Ojeda rank 18th and 20th, respectively, in pitching WAR in Mets franchise history.

Milwaukee Brewers

Best Robert: Rob Deer

 (7.1 WAR with Brewers) 1986-1990

Other Notable Roberts: Bob Wickman

(6.7 WAR), Bob McClure  (5.2 WAR), and Bob Coluccio  (3.4 WAR)

I was hoping this would happen. Deer, the big-swingin’, big-whiffin’ slugger, hit .229 in 5 years with the Brewers, yet still posted a 112 OPS+. Sure, he didn’t hit well enough to really justify his poor defense and lack of a proper position, but when he got a hold of one, few players could hit it farther. Deer ranks 35th in Brewers history among position-players.

Miami/Florida Marlins

Best Robert: Robb Nen

 (5.5 WAR with Marlins) 1993-1997

Other Notable Roberts: Bobby Bonilla

 (2.6 WAR); no one else was in positive territory

The Marlins acquired Nen midway through their inaugural season; the next year, he took over closer duties. He accrued 108 saves and a 122 ERA+ in his time in south Florida. While he’ll be better-remembered for his more dominant seasons in San Francisco, he’s not a bad Robert representative for such a young team. His WAR is 11th-best in franchise history among pitchers and 26th-best overall.

Colorado Rockies

Best Robert: Bobby Jones

 (1.6 WAR with Rockies) 1997-1999

Other Notable Roberts: Bobby Estalella

 (0.7 WAR) & Bobby Chouinard (0.2 WAR); no one else was above 0

This is the left-handed-throwing Bobby Jones, not the right-handed one from the same era. It’s kind of funny that Jones is the top Robert in Rockies history, considering that he had a 5.90 ERA with the team. Of course, that 5.90 ERA was good enough for a 92 ERA+ in those pre-humidor, homer-happy years, and a 92 ERA+ isn’t embarrassing at all. His WAR ranks just 40th among pitchers in franchise history.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Best Robert: Bobby Chouinard

 (0.6 WAR with D’backs), 1998-1999

Other Notable Roberts: Bobby Witt

 (0.4 WAR), Roberto Alomar  (0.3 WAR), and Bob Wickman  (0.1 WAR)

Look, D’backs: I know you’ve only been around since 1998, but COME ON. Get a better Robert, ASAP. (No, Ryan Roberts

 doesn’t count.) Other than the fact that he was born in the Philippines, I’m not sure there’s much that’s interesting about Chouinard, a mediocre reliever who pitched in parts of 5 MLB seasons, 2 with Arizona. He ranks just 47th in pitching WAR in the D’backs’ short history. All 3 of the runners-up listed above had several much better stints with other teams.

By the way, this is the 5th team for whom Alomar has finished in the top 4; he also made the lists for the Orioles, Blue Jays (1st), Padres (1st), and Diamondbacks. Nobody else appeared on even 4 different teams’ lists, though a bunch of players made 3 lists.