Willis Roberts

Willis Augusto Roberts...Wife's name is Viky...One son; Willis Jr (9/29/98).

1992

Began his professional career with Santo Domingo in the Dominican Summer League.

1993

Led all Bristol (Tigers' A) hurlers in ERA.

1994

Made just four appearances with Bristol (Tigers' A)...Spent time on the D.L. with a broken finger in his right hand.

1995

Spent entire season with Fayetteville (Tigers' A)...Made all but two of his appearances in the starting rotation.

1996

Spent entire season with Lakeland (Tigers' A)...Ranked eighth in the Florida State League in ERA despite spending the final month of the season on the disabled list with a right elbow strain...Ranked second on the staff in wins...Made 10 appearances (56.1ip) before surrendering a home run...Earned his first victory of the season on 4/18 vs. Tampa...Won four straight decisions before losing on 5/26 @St. Petersburg...Whiffed a season-high 10 batters on 5/20 vs. Charlotte...Tossed a three-hitter in complete game for final win of season on 8/2 vs. Tampa...Was ranked as Detroit's fourth-best prospect by Baseball America.

1997

Spent entire season with Jacksonville...Led the Southern League in losses, runs and earned runs...Ranked third on the Suns staff in games started and innings pitched...Tied for second on the team in complete games...Earned back-to-back wins on 5/2 and 5/8...Left the game on 5/8 @Carolina with a no-hitter thru 5.0 innings...Fanned a season-high nine batters on 5/23 against Birmingham...Suffered a seven-game losing streak from 5/13 thru 6/20...Was charged with a balk in five of his six appearances from 5/8 thru 6/5.

1998

Split season between Jacksonville (Tigers' AA) and Toledo...Went 6-4 with two saves and a 3.86 ERA (79.1ip/34er) in 51 appearances between the two clubs...Made 10 of his 12 appearances as a starter with Jacksonville...Was promoted to Toledo on 5/22 and made his first Triple-A appearance that evening @Buffalo...Recorded first save of the season and second of professional career on 6/17 against Rochester...Earned first win with Toledo on 6/20 @Syracuse with 2.0 innings of scoreless relief...Suffered first loss on 7/22 against Louisville.

1999

Spent all but one game with Toledo (Tigers' AAA)...Went 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA (25.2ip/21er) in 19 relief appearances and 5-7 with a 5.83 ERA (66.1ip/43er) in 12 starts...Made first 14 appearances out of the bullpen and did not allow a run in his first four outings (6.1ip)...Was tagged for seven hits and three runs in 2.2 innings of relief on 4/29 @Charlotte...Made first start on 6/7 vs. Ottawa and suffered the loss (5.0ip/6er)...Was recalled by Detroit on 7/1...Made major league debut on 7/2 @Minnesota and allowed four runs (two earned) in 1.1 innings of relief...Was optioned back to Toledo on 7/5...Made two more appearances in relief before moving into the starting rotation for the remainder of the season...Tossed back-to-back complete games on 8/5 vs. Charlotte (game one) and 8/22 @Indianapolis...Walked nine batters in 5.0 innings on 8/11 @Columbus.

2000

Was claimed off waivers by Cincinnati on 2/1 and attended spring training with the Reds as a non-roster invitee...Began season with Chattanooga (Reds' AA) and went 4-0 in five starts with the Lookouts during the month of April...Was promoted to Louisville (Reds' AAA) on 5/5, where he would stay for the remainder of the season...Made his first 12 appearances with Louisville in the starting rotation...Won each of his first two starts...Surrendered a season-high nine runs and dropped second straight start on 5/28 @Scranton/Wilkes Barre...Followed that outing with a four-hit shutout on 6/3 vs. Scranton/Wilkes Barre...Whiffed a season-high eight batters on 6/24 vs. Pawtucket...Served up 13 home runs in his first 10 starts (63.1ip)...Suffered three straight losses from 6/30 thru 7/14...Made one relief appearance (7/8 @Richmond - game two) before returning to the starting rotation...Surrendered eight runs and lasted 0.1 inning in start on 7/14 vs. Rochester...Went 1-3 with a 9.13 ERA (23.2ip/24er) during July...Lost three straight starts from 7/29 thru 8/8...Returned to the bullpen for three more outings from 8/11-19...Allowed one run in 6.0 innings of work and earned the win in start on 8/24 @Toledo...Posted a 3.21 ERA (14.0ip/5er) in his final four appearances (two starts)...Pitched with Estrellas in the Dominican Winter League following the season and went 6-1 with a 1.66 ERA (48.2ip/9er).

2001

Split time between Baltimore's starting rotation and bullpen...Attended spring training as a non-roster invitee with Orioles. ...Went 6-8 with a 5.45 ERA (102.1ip/62er) in 18 starts and 3-2 with a 3.03 ERA (29.2ip/10er) in 18 relief appearances...Made his first six appearances out of the bullpen...Did not allow a run in his first four appearances (6.2ip)...Twirled a career-high tying 4.0 innings and picked up first big-league win on 4/11 @Boston (also whiffed career-high seven batters)...Made first major league start on 4/20 @Tampa Bay and won a 6-3 decision (6.0ip/5h/1r/1er/2bb/4so) over Bryan Rekar...Won final two starts in April to finish the month with a 4-0 record and a 1.95 ERA (27.2ip/6er)...Finished third in American League Rookie-of-the-Month voting for April while also receiving consideration for Pitcher-of-the-Month honors...Became the first Orioles pitcher to start a season with four straight wins since Jimmy Key went 8-0 in 1997...Also became the first Baltimore rookie to win his first four major league decisions since Rocky Coppinger tied a club record after winning his first five big-league decisions in 1996...Went 3-8 with a 6.13 ERA (83.2ip/57er) in his next 16 outings (15 starts) thru July and returned to the bullpen...Lost three straight starts from 5/5-17 while posting a 10.69 ERA (16.0ip/19er)...Snapped three-game losing streak with a win on 5/23 but proceeded to drop his next three decisions...Tossed first career complete game (8.0ip/9h/3r/3er/1bb/5so), but lost a 3-2 decision to Seattle's Freddy Garcia @Safeco Field on 5/29. ...Collected only major league hit on 7/14/01 @Atlanta (bunt single off John Burkett)...Returned to the bullpen after 17 straight starts and tossed 0.1 inning of relief on 7/25 @Texas...Made final start on 7/28 @Anaheim...Made final 11 appearances in relief. ...Did not allow a run in his first seven appearances from 8/3-19 (7.0ip) after rejoining the bullpen...Notched first career save on 8/7 @Kansas City...Picked up a save in four straight appearances from 8/7-15...Posted a 0.93 ERA (9.2ip/1er) during the month of August...Suffered first "blown save" and took the loss on 8/22 @Tampa Bay...Allowed a run in six of his 21 outings after returning to the bullpen..Surrendered two home runs in 1.0 inning of work but picked up his eighth win on 9/21 vs. New York (AL)...Was tagged for two runs and took the loss in his last appearance on 10/5 vs. Boston.

2002

Established a career high in games...Ranked second among Baltimore relievers in innings pitched...Did not allow a run in 11 of his 13 appearances in April...Did not allow a hit or walk in his first five appearances and did not walk a batter in his first 12 outings thru 4/26 (11.0ip)...Allowed first three hits and suffered the loss and his first "blown save" on 4/13 @Chicago (AL). ...Allowed two home runs in 0.1 innings of relief on 4/17 @New York (AL)...Picked up his lone save on 4/20 @Tampa Bay with 2.0 innings of scoreless relief...Retired all five batters he faced and picked up first win on 5/3 vs. Kansas City...Did not allow a home run in 15 straight outings (26.0ip) from 5/21 thru 7/4...Tossed career-high tying 4.0 innings of scoreless relief on 5/24 @Seattle. ...Posted a 2-0 record and 1.89 ERA (19.0ip/4er) during the month of May...Earned third straight victory on 6/1 vs. Seattle...Suffered second "blown save" after allowing all three of his inherited runners to score on 6/11 vs. San Diego...Earned wins in back-to-back appearances on 6/25-26 vs. New York (AL)...Went 3-1 with a 1.23 ERA (14.2ip/2er) in June...Was scored upon in four of nine appearances from 7/5-29 to raise ERA from 1.71 to 2.37...Did not allow a run in seven straight appearances from 8/2-17 (6.1ip)...Served a five-game suspension 9/13-17 for his role in a bench-clearing brawl @Boston on 7/28 (suspension was reduced from seven games). ...Posted a 10.80 ERA (6.2ip/8er) in seven appearances during the month of September...Was scored upon in eight of his final 19 outings (20.0ip/16er), raising ERA from 1.96 to 3.36.

2003

Spent third straight season with Baltimore and his second consecutive campaign as a full-time reliever. ...Made two scoreless outings before suffering loss on 4/9 @Tampa Bay (1.1ip/2er)...Earned win on 4/17 @Cleveland, his first victory since 6/26/02...Went 2-1 with a 2.53 ERA (10.2ip/3er) in his first eight games, but was scored upon in six of his next 11 outings (17.1ip/14er - 7.27 ERA)...Surrendered two home runs and allowed five runs in 1.0 inning of work on 6/21 @Atlanta, the most runs yielded as reliever in career...Posted a 10.29 ERA (7.0ip/8er) in his final four games...Was placed on the 15-day disabled list on 6/29 with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow...Was transferred to the 60-day D.L. on 7/31...Produced a 3.00 ERA (21.0ip/7er) while pitching at home and an 8.84 ERA (18.1ip/18er) on the road.