Brian Michael Roberts (born October 9, 1977) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Baltimore Orioles in 2001 and played for the team until 2013. He played his final season for the New York Yankees in 2014. He made it in the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 2018.
Early life, education and college baseball career
Roberts was born in Durham, North Carolina, to parents Mike and Nancy Roberts. He grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. At the age of 5, Roberts underwent open heart surgery to repair an atrial septal defect. He graduated from Chapel Hill High School.
Roberts enrolled at the University of North Carolina, where he played college baseball for the North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I. His father, Mike Roberts, was the Tar Heels' head coach. No other Division I baseball program offered Roberts a scholarship.
During Roberts' freshman year in 1997, he batted .427, with 102 hits, including 24 doubles, and 47 stolen bases. His batting average was the second highest in the ACC. He was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's (NCBWA) Second Team and the Collegiate Baseball Third Team. During his sophomore year, he hit .353, with 13 home runs, 49 runs batted in (RBIs), 21 doubles, 63 stolen bases. He was named a first-team All-American by the NCBWA, and second-team All-American by The Sporting News and Collegiate Baseball. His 63 stolen bases were more than any college player that year. He became the fifth Tar Heel to be named ACC player of the year. In 1998, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
North Carolina fired Roberts' father after the 1998 season. After the firing, Roberts transferred to the University of South Carolina, playing for the Gamecocks baseball team. Starting at shortstop, Roberts was named the best defensive college player by Baseball America. He batted .353, hit 12 home runs, and collected 36 RBIs. He still owns the school and Southeastern Conference (SEC) record for stolen bases in a season with 67 and was named to the All-SEC second team. He again was named a second-team All-American.
Roberts was drafted by the Orioles in the first round (50th overall) of the 1999 MLB draft. He played for the Delmarva Shorebirds of the Single-A South Atlantic League in 1999, where he appeared in 47 games and hit .240 with 21 RBIs.
In 2000, he started with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles, batting .310 with a home run and three RBI in nine games. He also played 48 games with the Frederick Keys of the High-A Carolina League, hitting .301 with 16 RBI.
In 2001, Roberts spent parts of the season with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings and the Double-A Bowie Baysox, batting a combined .277 with two home runs and 19 RBI in 66 games.
Roberts made his Major League debut for the Orioles on June 14, 2001 against the New York Mets, starting at shortstop and finishing the game 1-for-4. He played 75 games for Baltimore, batting .253 with two home runs and 17 RBIs.
In 2002, he played 38 games with the Orioles and batted .227 with a home run and 11 RBIs while stealing nine bases on 11 attempts. He also played 78 games with Triple-A Rochester, batting .275 with three home runs and 30 RBIs.
In 2003, he started for Ottawa, playing 44 games and hitting .315 with 15 RBIs. 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 ninth inning against the Anaheim Angels to win that game. He finished with a .270 average, five home runs and 41 RBIs in 112 games, and stole 23 bases on 29 attempts (tied for eighth in American League).
The Orioles season started spring training in 2004 with both Hairston and Roberts on the roster. Hairston fractured his finger in spring training, 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. In August, Roberts batted .346 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, four home runs and 53 RBIs while 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 Jr.) and the single-season AL record for doubles by switch hitters.
Prior to the 2005 season, Hairston was traded to the Chicago Cubs (along with Oriole prospects Mike Fontenot and David Crouthers) for Sammy Sosa, thereby cementing Roberts's position as the Orioles' starting second baseman. In 2005, Roberts led the AL in batting average for the first several months of the season. In addition, he showed an 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 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It was Roberts' first appearance in the All-Star Game. As the season wore on, Roberts slumped and the Orioles slipped in the standings.
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, and resulted in Roberts missing the rest of the season.
Roberts rebounded from his 2005 injury with a strong 2006 campaign. He played in 138 games, batting .286 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs, while also scoring 85 runs. He stole 36 bases in 43 attempts, and hit seven home runs in the last two months of the season. Roberts spent the early part of May on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin. He was activated on May 24.
Roberts played in over 150 games for the Orioles in 2007. Along with teammate Nick Markakis, he finished in the AL top 10 for at-bats, batting .290 with 12 home runs, 57 RBIs, and a .377 OBP on the way to his second All-Star berth. His 50 stolen bases, a career high, was tied with Carl Crawford for the AL lead; Roberts also set career marks in hits and walks.
On June 24, 2008, Roberts went 3-for-5 against the Cubs in a 7–5 victory. His third hit of the game was his 1,000th career base hit. He collected the 250th double of his career on July 28 against the New York Yankees. On September 21, 2008, Roberts grounded into the final out in the history of Old Yankee Stadium.