Infielder Brian Roberts has announced his retirement from Major League baseball, according to MASN's Roch Kubatko. The 14-year MLB veteran will be remembered almost exclusively for the 13 seasons he spent as part of the Baltimore Orioles organization. Roberts played this past season with the New York Yankees, and posted a mediocre slash line of .237/.300/.360 in the process.
Roberts was known for his scrappy play and on-base skills, but his downfall was his inability to stay healthy, especially in the final few years of his career. Roberts failed to appear in more than 91 games in any single season since 2009, due to a lengthy list of ailments, ranging anywhere from a strained muscle to a concussion.
However, when healthy and in his prime, Roberts was one of the top second baseman in the game of baseball. He had a wide array of tools at his disposal, and took advantage of them all. His best season came back in 2005, when Roberts batted .314, and complied an OPS of .903, to go along with 18 home runs and 73 runs batted in. His best asset might have been his base-stealing ability. Roberts swiped 235 bags between 2003 and 2009, an average of almost 34 per season.
Simply put, Roberts was a very sound baseball player. He was a threat at the plate and on the bases, as well as a solid defender. If it hadn't been for his unfortunate injury issues, it's conceivable to think that Roberts could have been one of the better second baseman in the game over the past couple of decades.
Roberts, 37, has appeared in 1,418 games in his career, and owns an admirable career line of .276/.347/.409, while collecting a total WAR of 28.4. He'll always be remembered for the time he wasn't on the field, but his stellar contributions to this great game shouldn't be forgotten about.