I?m sure you recall the video from last Sept. 20. New York?s Bubba Crosby runs into Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, who is covering first base. Roberts? left elbow is dislocated, his ulnar collateral ligament is torn, along with a tendon, and his season is over.
It?s an unsettling image, akin to the Monday night in 1985 that Lawrence Taylor broke Joe Theismann?s leg. The big difference is that, while Theismann never played again, Roberts returned to the field this spring.
Roberts? return confounded most of the experts, inasmuch as his injury was considered just this side of career-ending. His battle back has been inspiring, but despite an impressive batting average heading into the summer, the home run stroke of 2005 is conspicuous by its absence.
In the words of one major league scout, “He?s not driving the ball like he did last year. It?s gotta be the elbow.” Again, see the video.
In 2005, through the end of May, Roberts had 11 home runs. After having hit just 12 four-baggers in his entire career prior to then, his new-found power stroke was a huge part of the Orioles? first-half surge last season. Roberts, in fact, was a complete slugger, with 45 doubles and seven triples to go along with the 18 homers he ended up with. This guy looked like a switch-hitting version of Joe Morgan, sans the chicken-wing stance.
With no home runs through mid-June, Brian?s slugging percentage is down a hundred points from last season, though it?s actually higher than 2004, when he hit 50 doubles and 4 home runs. The auspicious decline in his power output has some fans invoking the name of Brady Anderson, who went from 16 home runs to an astounding team-record 50, and then back to 18 after that, prompting speculation that there was more than creatine in his milkshake.
I don?t believe for a second that there was anything sinister about Roberts? performance last year. The number of power-hitting second basemen in baseball history is pretty small anyway, and after the elbow injury, he may not be the same hitter he was last season. That?s small consolation to those fans who had assumed he?d grow as a power hitter, perhaps reaching 30-30 status (homers/stolen bases) somewhere down the line.
The lack of a single home run after he?s played the equivalent of a quarter-season (he missed 3 weeks with a groin pull) has likely crossed his mind, and once he finally hits one, others will likely follow. The key to Roberts? game, though, has never been home runs. He didn?t hit them in the minors, and other than last year, didn?t hit them for the Orioles either. Roberts made the major leagues on his ability to play defense, get on base, steal an occasional base, and score runs.
Power-hitting was never really part of the promise he showed as a prospect. Every player is entitled to a flukey year, good or bad. Brian Roberts? was 2005.
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