Dave
Roberts
 While foreign players seldom
remain more than two or three years in Japan,
Dave Roberts was one of the first to make an
extended stay.
A part-time player with the
Houston Colt '45s and Pittsburgh Pirates in the
mid-1960s, the Panama City native joined the
Atoms in 1967, shortly before the Sankei sold the
team to Yakult.
A powerful slugger, the imported
first baseman led the Atoms in home runs and RBIs
six straight years (1967-72). In his second and
third years with Sankei, Roberts led the team in
batting as well. In 1968, he clubbed 40 home runs
with a .296 average and 94 RBIs. A year later,
the former-major leaguer remained consistent (37
homers, .318 average, 95 RBIs).
Slowing down with age, Roberts
got off to a mediocre start in 1973, was dumped
by the Atoms, and played his final half-season
with the Kintetsu Buffaloes.
In his seven-year career in
Japan, Roberts compiled a lifetime .275 batting
average with 124 doubles, 183 home runs and 492
RBIs.
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