Dave Roberts

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1972-1982)

Dave Roberts was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1982 for 4 teams, including the San Diego Padres, a span of 11 seasons. In 709 career games, he hit .239 with 483 hits, 49 home runs, and 208 RBI.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .239
HR 49
RBI 208
H 483
OPS .644
PIV -2,368
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 215 lb
Born
2/17/1951 in Lebanon, OR, USA
MLB Debut
1972-06-07
Last Game
1982-09-18

Full name: David Wayne Roberts

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Career Batting Statistics

Dave Roberts — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
709 2,017 194 483 77 7 49 208 27 128 361 .239 .286 .357 .644 -2,368

Career AVG .239 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 7.5% below league average.

Career OBP .286 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 11.7% below league average.

Career SLG .357 vs. league average .381 across their career seasons — 6.1% below league average.

Career OPS .644 vs. league average .705 across their career seasons — 8.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Dave Roberts (b. 1951) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1972 SDN NL 100 418 38 102 17 0 5 33 7 18 64 .244 .243 (avg) .310 (-12%) .353 (-9%) .664 (-10%) -710.4
1973 SDN NL 127 479 56 137 20 3 21 64 11 17 83 .286 .256 (+11%) .325 (-5%) .378 (+25%) .703 (+11%) 766.5
1974 SDN NL 113 318 26 53 10 1 5 18 2 32 69 .167 .256 (-35%) .324 (-24%) .369 (-32%) .693 (-28%) -1395.6
1975 SDN NL 33 113 7 32 2 0 2 12 3 13 19 .283 .257 (+10%) .327 (+12%) .374 (-5%) .701 (+3%) 110.8
1977 SDN NL 82 186 15 41 14 1 1 23 2 11 32 .220 .264 (-17%) .329 (-19%) .401 (-20%) .730 (-19%) -596.3
1978 SDN NL 54 97 7 21 4 1 1 7 0 12 25 .216 .257 (-16%) .323 (-4%) .378 (-18%) .702 (-12%) -157.5
1979 TEX AL 44 84 12 22 2 1 3 14 1 7 17 .262 .265 (-1%) .329 (-3%) .397 (+5%) .727 (+1%) 12.0
1980 TEX AL 101 235 27 56 4 0 10 30 0 13 38 .238 .264 (-10%) .326 (-14%) .387 (-1%) .714 (-7%) -291.9
1981 HOU NL 27 54 4 13 3 0 1 5 1 3 6 .241 .255 (-6%) .320 (-15%) .368 (-5%) .688 (-10%) -105.3
1982 PHI NL 28 33 2 6 1 0 0 2 0 2 8 .182 — — — — 0.0
Career · 10 seasons 709 2,017 194 483 77 7 49 208 27 128 361 .239 — — — — -2,368

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Dave Roberts — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Dave Roberts — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1981 NWDIV HOU 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (709 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Dave Roberts — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home3571000902362194.236
Away352101710424728114.243

Last 10 Games — Batting

Dave Roberts — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1982-09-18 PHIPITW 100000001
1982-09-17 PHIPITL 000000000
1982-09-14 PHISTLL 000000000
1982-09-11 PHIPITL 000000000
1982-09-06 PHICHCL 000000000
1982-08-31 PHIATLL 000000000
1982-08-27 PHICINL 100000000
1982-08-22 PHICINW 100000001
1982-08-21 PHICINL 201000000
1982-08-18 PHIHOUW 000000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Dave Roberts — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 28 9 111 9 4 7
2B 61 40 82 101 7 28
3B 386 339 270 708 64 68
C 152 101 543 56 13 3
OF 19 10 14 1 0 0
SS 40 8 26 57 8 12

Season-by-Season Fielding

Dave Roberts — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1972 SDN 2B 20 17 29 28 2 7
1972 SDN 3B 84 82 62 166 17 20
1972 SDN C 1 0 1 0 0 0
1972 SDN SS 3 0 0 4 2 0
1973 SDN 2B 12 8 15 31 4 6
1973 SDN 3B 111 111 77 245 20 25
1974 SDN 3B 103 89 83 170 12 15
1974 SDN OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1974 SDN SS 3 3 5 10 1 2
1975 SDN 2B 5 4 14 5 1 2
1975 SDN 3B 30 29 23 63 7 5
1977 SDN 2B 2 0 0 1 0 0
1977 SDN 3B 2 0 0 1 0 0
1977 SDN C 63 42 254 24 5 2
1977 SDN SS 1 1 2 4 2 2
1978 SDN 1B 8 1 15 1 0 0
1978 SDN C 41 30 135 13 3 0
1978 SDN OF 2 0 0 0 0 0
1979 TEX 1B 6 0 9 0 0 1
1979 TEX 2B 8 7 15 23 0 9
1979 TEX 3B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1979 TEX C 14 10 45 5 1 0
1979 TEX OF 11 7 13 1 0 0
1980 TEX 1B 4 0 4 0 0 0
1980 TEX 2B 4 0 2 0 0 0
1980 TEX 3B 37 25 19 47 5 2
1980 TEX C 22 18 93 14 3 1
1980 TEX OF 5 3 1 0 0 0
1980 TEX SS 33 4 19 39 3 8
1981 HOU 1B 10 8 83 8 4 6
1981 HOU 2B 3 0 1 0 0 0
1981 HOU 3B 7 2 4 8 1 1
1981 HOU C 1 0 0 0 0 0
1982 PHI 2B 7 4 6 13 0 4
1982 PHI 3B 11 1 2 7 2 0
1982 PHI C 10 1 15 0 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Dave Roberts (b. 1951) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 152
First Base 28
Second Base 62
Third Base 387
Shortstop 40
Left Field 3
Center Field 6
Right Field 10
Designated Hitter 8

College History

Dave Roberts — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Oregon Eugene OR 1970, 1971, 1972

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Dave Roberts (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Benji Gil
    .237 avg, 32 HR
  2. 94
    Andujar Cedeno
    .236 avg, 47 HR
  3. 88
    Tomas Perez
    .240 avg, 24 HR
  4. 86
    Chris Woodward
    .239 avg, 33 HR
  5. 84
    Luis Lopez
    .241 avg, 22 HR
  6. 84
    Rey Quinones
    .243 avg, 29 HR

Dave Roberts: the record in brief

The profile opens with Dave Roberts's first major league game on June 7, 1972; the last one listed came on September 18, 1982. The season rows list, in order, the San Diego Padres (1972 to 1978), the Texas Rangers (1979 through 1980), the Houston Astros (1981), and the Philadelphia Phillies (1982). Listed as a third baseman, Roberts batted and threw right-handed. The recorded size is 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds. Roberts was born on February 17, 1951, in Lebanon, OR, USA. The given name on file is David Wayne Roberts.

Roberts finished with 483 hits from 2,017 at bats in 709 games, which works out to .239, adding 49 home runs, 208 RBI, and 27 stolen bases. Roberts got on base at a .286 rate and slugged .357 (.644 OPS). The league as a whole hit .259 across Roberts's seasons, which puts the .239 career mark 7.5% below average. In OPS terms, Roberts's .644 stands 8.7% below the league's .705. The home run peak was 21 in 1973 with the San Diego Padres. 1973 produced Roberts's most hits, 137 of them for the San Diego Padres.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dave Roberts

What years did Dave Roberts play?
Dave Roberts played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1982.
Was Dave Roberts a pitcher?
No. Dave Roberts was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Dave Roberts hit?
Dave Roberts hit 49 career home runs with 483 hits.
What was Dave Roberts's career batting average?
Dave Roberts batted .239 over his career, with 483 hits in 2,017 at bats.
How many RBI did Dave Roberts have?
Dave Roberts drove in 208 runs in his career.
Is Dave Roberts in the Hall of Fame?
No. Dave Roberts has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.