Brian Roberts

Brian Michael Roberts (born October 9, 1977 in Durham, North Carolina) is a second baseman in Major League Baseball. The switch hitter initially signed with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to play shortstop for his father, Mike Roberts. He then transferred to the University of South Carolina for the 1999 season and was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the first round of the MLB amateur draft that summer. He made his major league debut in 2001.

College career

He had an outstanding freshman year in 1997, setting 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 he 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.

UNC relieved Mike Roberts of his coaching duties after that 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.

Professional career

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 with the Gulf Coast Orioles, hitting .310 in nine games. He also played 48 games with Single A Club Frederick hitting .301.

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 78 games with the Orioles and batted .227. He stole 22 bases on 26 attempts. He also played 38 games 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, 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).

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 had 50 doubles, leading the American League and finishing third overall in the majors. He also broke the franchise record previously held by Cal Ripken and the AL record for switch hitters.

In 2005, Roberts began the season red-hot, hitting .379 with 8 HRs, 26 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases. His OPS was 1.185. He led the AL in both SB and OPS. Since 1900, only four other players have ever led their league in stolen bases and OPS in the same season – Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Willie Mays and Rickey Henderson.

Brian Roberts' at-bat music is Mystikal's "Shake it Fast".

External links

• Template:Baseball-reference
• Brian Roberts' Career Statistics from The Baseball Cube (http://www.sports-wired.com/players/profile.asp?ID=1439)
• Roberts' player page (http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/player.jsp?player_id=406878) on the official Orioles web-site