Longtime Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, who spent last season with the Yankees, will retire after a productive 14-year career. Roberts himself broke the news in an appearance on the Steve Gorman sports show on FOX Sports Radio (audio link; h/t to the BaltimoreSportsReport.com). Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter that Roberts confirmed his intentions to hang up the spikes.
Roberts, who just turned 37, will always be known for his time in Baltimore. After two years as a solid regular, Roberts broke out with a stellar 2005 season in which he posted 7.2 rWAR and 6.6 fWAR on the back of excellent all-around play. Though he never again reached quite those levels, Roberts was an above-average to excellent performer over each of the next four years.
That track record of consistent production led Baltimore to award Roberts with a four-year, $40MM extension that covered the 2010-13 campaigns. Unfortunately, things turned south the moment the contract began to pay out, as a cascade of injuries conspired to wipe out large swaths of each of his next four campaigns. And Roberts never really regained his form when he was on the field, slashing a meager .246/.310/.359 over just 809 plate appearances during that four-year term.
The ending was not, perhaps, quite what Roberts envisioned when he made the difficult decision to join the Yankees on a one-year deal after spending his entire career in one (rival) organization. He logged 348 plate appearances in New York — somewhat remarkably, the highest annual tally he had managed since 2009 — but slashed just .237/.300/.360 with five home runs and seven stolen bases. He was ultimately released to make room for the acquisition of Stephen Drew.
While it is easy to be distracted by his inability to stay on the field after his age-31 season, Roberts was one of the better players in the game at his peak levels of performance. He logged nearly two-thirds of his career 30.3 rWAR and 28.4 fWAR during that 2005-09 run.
Sad to hear, cant blame the O’s for not re-singing him but wish his entire career was with the O’s . Shame he never got to experience the playoffs
He was hurt in 2012? That stinks.
He’s pretty much been hurt since 2010. The 91 games he played in this year were his most since 2009. Only 17 in 2012 (he had surgery during the season).
concussion.
I hope they give him a 1 day contract so he can retire an Oriole. I feel like the deserves that much.
That’s almost certain to happen. No reason not to.
I’ve always liked Roberts. A dependable doubles machine. It’s a shame he never stayed healthy. He was a really good player for a little while in there.
Dependable?
Me too. He was fun to watch on the bases. He was such a pest and really drove pitchers crazy.
I wouldn’t quite say cascade of injuries. It was really the concussion, which recurred, and just lingered right to the end of his Oriole career.
He had 60-day DL stints for:
ab strain (2010)
concussion (2011, 2012)
hip labrum surgery (2012)
hamstring surgery (2013)
What about the broken arm?
That was in ’05. I was talking about the period that corresponds to his big extension. (The “cascade” reference.)
Hm. I suppose you’re right actually. Good points.
I guess technically looking back, it’s true. And the stat lines make it look that way, But to Os fans, if we’re honest, Roberts hasn’t been a real counted on piece since 2010. So much of the 60 day IR lists are also roster moves so he wasn’t occupying a slot, esp since we’ve been using Showalter’s AAA shuttle those years.
I wish the Orioles would have at least signed him to a one-game contract so he could retire as an Oriole. I would have to assume that Roberts just didn’t want to play anymore because I think he could still get at least a minor-league contract if he wanted to and maybe even a bench role with some team. Good luck to Brian Roberts, and thanks for the great years he gave us in Baltimore!
I think when you get to the “you might can win a bench role” point in your career at 37 you sit down.
Although he announced his retirement, the Orioles could still give him that one-day contract and a nice ceremony early next season. As mentioned above, the Yankees did that with Matsui a few years back.
Why? He chose to be a Yankee. Let the Yankees give him a sayonara.
The Orioles didn’t want him.
He wasn’t made an offer by the O’s and took what he could get. He didn’t run off to New York like Mussina. Same with Reynolds. I have no ill will to either of them.
Seriously? Thirteen years as an Oriole, 350 PA as a Yankee and you go with “Let the Yankees give him a sayonara”….? Many, many players leave their teams and still sign one-day contracts to retire with their original teams. Oswalt and Berkman signed one-day contracts with Houston just this past season, to retire as Astros. Halladay did, too. That’s just last year alone. All of them left their original teams and those teams didn’t hold ill will. If Roberts wanted to come back on a 1-day deal, I imagine Baltimore would welcome it next April.
I don’t know how any player who admitted PED use gets a free pass on that when his career accomplishments are discussed. It’s relevant and should be a part of the discussion. He was a fun player to watch during his prime, but like many of these guys you wonder how much of that was his natural ability.
Before testing it may very well be that every player at least tried PED’s, even the sacred icons.
During his prime was after testing was implemented. The Mitchell Report came 5 years later after the testing policy.
It’s similar to when a person dies. A eulogy will focus on the good parts. It would have been worth at least a passing mention in the article, but I understand why.
There’s no such thing as a bad player who takes PEDs and becomes a star. It would’ve just aided him a bit. He had plenty of natural talent.
I gravitate towards guys like Roberts and Pettite who admitted it without media pressure to
Ironically, Roberts outperformed his replacement at 2B (Stephen Drew)
Neither provided value at the plate but at least Drew can still play D and do so at multiple positions.
I hope the Orioles give him some recognition during his time with the organization. He was good a overall player and one of the best 2nd baseman of his time. Roberts was one of my favorite players, I hope he gets a 1 day contract to retire as an Oriole
He will be in the O’s Hall of Fame.
I respect this guy and wish him the best in the future. Back when he was in his heyday I would dread it when he came up to face the Sox
I was going yo post the same thing. He’d just wear the Sox out for a whole series and it seemed like every time there was a critical at bat in the game, there he was. Best wishes in retirement.
He was a very good two-way player at his peak before injuries robbed him of his skills, and quite the doubles machine. Despite playing in a great hitter’s park, he was actually a much better hitter (approximately 50 OPS points) on the road, which is a bit surprising.
I thought he might try to catch on with another team out of Spring Training in 2015, but retiring is the right decision. Seeing him with the Yankees last season, he was making errors on simple plays, and that’s from a player who was an excellent defender at one point.
It would be nice if the Orioles sign him to a one-day contract as the Yankees did with Matsui, the Red Sox with Garciaparra and I’m sure as other teams have done, so he can retire as an Oriole. The owner Peter Angelos was a big fan of his, so there’s probably a decent chance he eventually ends up with a position with the team if that’s what he wants.
Brian Roberts could have retired as an Oriole. Instead he chose to go out as a Yankee. No one-game contract. Maybe some day he’ll make the Orioles’ Hall of Fame, but right now it’s too soon for an ex-Yankee.
What? He wanted to keep playing and Baltimore wasn’t calling. Should he just retire because his team wasn’t offering a contract?
I highly doubt Baltimore management shares your same opinion on the Yankees. This isn’t Yankees/Red Sox. The Yankees aren’t the “Dark Side” or anything. He will certainly make the Orioles Hall.
Lone bright spot on a lot of bad teams. When he was healthy he was one of the best leadoff guys in the game.
I was surprised when the Yankees released him this season. I didn’t think he was performing bad enough to be released. I always wondered if perhaps he was having concussion issues again. Good luck Brian Roberts, I enjoyed watching you play!
I think a lot of commenters are confusing him with Dave Roberts.