Dave Roberts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the baseball player. For the actor and producer, see Dave Roberts (actor). For the reporter and weatherman, see Dave Roberts (reporter).
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| San Francisco Giants — No. -- | |
| Center Fielder | |
| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| August 7, 1999 for the Cleveland Indians | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2006) |
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| AVG | .270 |
| OBP | .344 |
| HR | 21 |
| Teams | |
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Dave Roberts, born David Ray Roberts (May 31, 1972 in Okinawa, Japan), is a Major League Baseball center fielder for the San Francisco Giants. Previously, he played with the Cleveland Indians (1999-2001), Los Angeles Dodgers (2002-04) and Boston Red Sox (2004). Roberts bats and throws left-handed. He is the son of a retired Marine (Waymon Roberts) and a Japanese mother (Eiko) and was raised in San Diego, California. He is perhaps best known for his steal in the 9th inning of Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. It was such an important play that it is often simply referred to as "The Steal."
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[edit] High School Years
Roberts attended Rancho Buena Vista High School in Vista, California, where he was a standout in football, basketball, and baseball. In football, he was a three year starter at quarterback and as a senior, helped lead his team to the San Diego Section Class 3A championship.
[edit] Major League Baseball Career
Roberts has a good knowledge of the strike zone. He has little power, but is a spray hitter who uses raw speed to get on base and stretch singles to doubles. He is a terror once he gets on base, commonly manufacturing runs by stealing second base, moving to third on a grounder, and coming home on a sacrifice fly. Roberts' weaknesses include being overly aggressive, such as unwisely attempting to extend a hit or steal third base and running into outs, and being extremely injury-prone. Roberts has exceptional range in the outfield, but his below-average arm occasionally allows opponents to take extra bases on him.
Before the 2005 season, Roberts was dealt to San Diego for veteran Jay Payton. The speedy Roberts seemed perfect to roam the spacious outfield at Petco Park.
In December, Roberts was negotiating talks with the San Francisco Giants. Finally he agreed to a 3 year deal with the team.
[edit] 2004 Postseason
- Roberts made a significant number of contributions to the Red Sox's first World Series win in 86 years. The most notable was his stolen base against the Yankees in the ALCS Game 4. Facing elimination in the bottom of the ninth inning down 4 runs to 3, Kevin Millar drew a walk from Mariano Rivera. Roberts, who had not played in 10 days, came in to pinch run. Rivera threw over to first base three times (the last almost picked off Roberts), and on the next pitch, Roberts managed to steal second base. Bill Mueller followed with a single, Roberts scored, and the Sox went on to win in 12 innings and begin their run of eight straight wins culminating in the World Championship title.
- The following night, in Game 5, Roberts ran for Millar again in the eighth inning after Millar walked. The Red Sox were again trailing 4-3 and Tom Gordon was on the mound for the Yankees. Although Roberts never stole second, his presence on first base was enough to split Gordon's attention, and he seemed to focus on keeping Roberts from stealing as he had the night before than in pitching to Trot Nixon at the plate. Nixon singled to center and the speed of Roberts allowed him to advance to third base, where he would score the tying run on a Jason Varitek sacrifice fly. The Red Sox would win the game in the 14th inning on a David Ortiz single. This often-forgotten contribution is overshadowed by the stolen base in Game 4 but was just as valuable and important to the Red Sox comeback. Roberts is sometimes thought of, along with Nippy Jones (See: 1957 World Series) as the most important postseason player ever with no career postseason hits.
- Roberts' heroic post-season steal earned him a place in Red Sox history. In 2006, the event was recognized as a Memorable Moment in Red Sox history and inducted as such into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.
[edit] External links
- Dave Roberts at:
Categories: 1972 births | 2004 Boston Red Sox World Series Championship Team | African American sportspeople | Asian American sportspeople | Boston Red Sox players | Cleveland Indians players | Jamestown Jammers alumni | Japanese baseball players | Living people | Los Angeles Dodgers players | Major league center fielders | People from San Diego | San Diego Padres players | Tokyo Yakult Swallows players
