Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles

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 American League. He has spent his entire professional career with the Orioles organization and made his Major League debut in 2001.

College baseball career
Roberts lived in Salinas, CA, as his father was the baseball coach at Palma. He graduated from Chapel Hill High School. During his freshman year in 1997 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Roberts hit .427, with 102 hits, 24 doubles, 47 SB and was named to the NCBWA Second Team and the Collegiate Baseball Third Team. His sophomore year, he hit .353, 13 HR, 49 RBI, 21 doubles, 63 SB and was named to the NCBWA 1st Team, The Sporting News 2nd Team and the Collegiate Baseball 2nd Team.

His 63 stolen bases was 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-America.

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 South Carolina 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-America and was a member of the All-SEC team.


Minor League baseball 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 (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

Major League Baseball career

Breaking into the Majors
He made his Major League debut in 2001 and played 75 games for 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 and stole 23 bases on 29 attempts (tied for eighth in American League).


2004
The Orioles 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 .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, Jr.) and the single-season AL record for doubles by switch hitters.

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