Brian Roberts

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For the CEO of Comcast, see Brian L. Roberts.
Brian Roberts
Baltimore Orioles — No. 1
Second base
Bats: Both Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
June 14, 2001 for the Baltimore Orioles
Selected MLB statistics
(through August 31, 2006)
Avg     .280
Hits     701
Stolen bases     133
Former teams

    Brian Michael Roberts (born October 9, 1977 in Durham, North Carolina), nicknamed B-Rob, is a switch hitting second baseman who plays for the Baltimore Orioles in the MLB. He has spent his entire professional career with the Orioles organization and made his major league debut in 2001.

    Contents

    [edit] College career

    During his freshman year in 1997 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Roberts set school records with a .427 batting average, 102 hits, 24 doubles and 47 stolen bases. He was named the national freshman of the year. Although his batting average dropped to .353 in 1998, he added 13 home runs and 49 RBI to his resume. He also stole 63 bases, more than any player in college baseball that year. He became the first Tar Heel to be named ACC player of the year, and was a first team All-American.

    Mike Roberts, Brian's father and head coach at UNC, was fired by UNC Athletic Director Dick Baddour after the 1998 season, and Brian transferred to play for coach Ray Tanner at the University of South Carolina. Roberts started at shortstop for the Gamecocks and was named the best defensive college player by Baseball America. Playing in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), he batted .353, hit 12 home runs, and collected 36 RBI. He still owns the school and SEC record for stolen bases in a season with 67. He again was named an All-American and was a member of the All-SEC team.

    [edit] Professional career

    [edit] Minors

    Roberts was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the first round of the 1999 MLB draft. He played Single A baseball with Delmarva in 1999 where he appeared in 47 games and hit .240.

    In 2000 he started ith the Gulf Coast Orioles (a.k.a. Sarasota Orioles, hitting .310 in nine games. He also played 48 games with Single A Club Frederick hitting .301.

    Brian Roberts also spent time with the Rochester Red Wings and Ottawa Lynx

    Year Team Level Games Avg
    1999 Delmarva Shorebirds Low A 47 .240
    2000 GCL Orioles Rookie 9 .310
    2000 Frederick Keys High A 48 .301
    2001 Bowie Baysox AA 22 .296
    2001 Rochester RedWings AAA 44 .267
    2002 Rochester RedWings AAA 78 .275
    2003 Ottawa Lynx AAA 44 .315
    2006 Bowie Baysox (Rehab Assignment) AA 2 .200

    [edit] Breaking into the Majors

    He made his major league debut in 2001 and played 75 games in Baltimore, batting .253. He also played for AAA Rochester and AA Bowie that year.

    In 2002 he played 38 games with the Orioles and batted .227. He stole 22 bases on 26 attempts. He also played 78 games with the Orioles AAA affiliate in Rochester.

    In 2003 he started for AAA Ottawa, playing 44 games and hitting .315. In late May he was called up for injured second baseman Jerry Hairston, Jr. He hit his first major league grand slam in his second game (and his first in any sort of professional play), in the 9th inning against the Anaheim Angels to win that game. He finished with a .270 average in 112 games, stole 23 bases on 29 attempts (tied for eighth in American League).

    [edit] 2004

    The Orioles started spring training in 2004 with both Hairston and Roberts on the roster. Hairston fractured his finger in the first game, however; and Roberts became the opening day starter. After Hairston returned from the disabled list, he was moved to right field, leaving Roberts at second base. Since this put their competition on hold Roberts became more confident and improved dramatically over the following months. In August he batted .347 with ten doubles in 107 at-bats. During the second week of August, Roberts was named the American League Player of the Week for hitting .531 over a span of six games. He finished 2004 with a .273 average, collecting 175 hits in 159 games. He also hit 50 doubles, which led the American League and was third-best in the majors. His 50 doubles also broke the Orioles single-season record for doubles(originally set by Cal Ripken) and the single-season AL record for doubles by a switch hitters.

    [edit] 2005

    Prior to the 2005 season, Jerry Hairston Jr. was traded to the Chicago Cubs (along with Oriole prospects Mike Fontenot and David Crouthers) for Sammy Sosa, thereby cementing Roberts' position as the Orioles' starting second baseman.

    In 2005, Roberts rewarded Orioles management for their faith in him by beginning the season red-hot, leading the AL in batting average for the first several months of the season. In addition, he showed an incredible increase in power; prior to the 2005 season, he had only 12 career home runs, but by late June, he had already outmatched that total. Fans awarded Roberts explosive offensive first half by voting him the starting second baseman in the 2005 All-Star game. It was Roberts' first appearance in the All-Star game. As the season wore on Roberts slumped heavily and the Orioles were no longer as dominant.

    On September 20, 2005, Roberts dislocated his elbow in a game against the New York Yankees. The injury occurred in a collision with New York's Bubba Crosby at first base in the bottom of the second inning. The injury prevented Roberts from playing the rest of the season.

    [edit] 2006

    Roberts rebounded from his 2005 injury with a strong 2006 campaign. He played in 138 games scoring 85 runs with 55 RBI. He stole 36 bases in 43 attempts and finished the season with a .286 average, hitting seven home runs in the last two months of the season. He spent the beginning part of May on the 15-day DL.

    [edit] Steroid allegations

    On September 30, 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that former relief pitcher Jason Grimsley, during a June 6, 2006 federal raid, told federal agents investigating steroids in baseball named Roberts as a user of "anabolic steroids." The Times reported that Roberts was one of five names blacked out in an affidavit filed in federal court.[1] However, on October 3, 2006, the Washington Post reported that San Francisco United States attorney Kevin Ryan said that the Los Angeles Times report contained "significant inaccuracies."[2] Roberts, along with the other four players named, has denounced the story.[2]

    [edit] References

    1. ^ Pugmire, Lance. "Clemens Is Named in Drug Affidavit", Los Angeles Times, 2006-10-01. Retrieved on 2006-10-01.
    2. ^ a b "U.S. Attorney Says Report Alleging Drug Use Contains 'Inaccuracies'", Washington Post, 2006-10-03, p. E02. Retrieved on 2006-10-04.

    [edit] External links

    Preceded by
    Vladimir Guerrero    		 American League Player of the Month
    April, 2005    		 Succeeded by
    Alex Rodriguez
    Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../b/r/i/Brian_Roberts_c68b.html"
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