Ryan Roberts

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Ryan Alan Roberts

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Biographical information[edit]

Ryan Roberts set two Pacific Coast League records in 2008. He was noted for his many tattoos, including ones on both arms and along his neck.

Roberts hit .362 for the University of Texas at Arlington in 2002. The next year, he dominated the Southland Conference, leading in average (.422), runs (69), hits (97) and home runs (16). His 69 RBI were two shy of the lead, as were his 5 triples. He was the All-Conference third baseman as a senior and also was named the Conference Player of the Year. He was 8th in NCAA Division I in average, 12th in slugging (.765) and 7th in OBP (.514).

Ryan was chosen by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 18th round of the 2003 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Andy Beene and assigned to the Auburn Doubledays, he scored runs in his first 7 pro games and finished with a .278/.374/.440 batting line. He scored 52 runs in 66 games.

Roberts began 2004 with the Charleston Alley Cats and hit .284/.441/.498 in 64 games, earning him a promotion to the Dunedin Blue Jays, for whom he batted .239/.350/.356 in 59 games. Overall, he hit 20 home runs but just 10 other extra-base hits. His 91 walks between the two stops led all Blue Jays minor leaguers.

The Fort Worth native split 2005 between Dunedin (.287/.380/.506 in 42 games) and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (.272/.379/.479). Overall, he hit 24 home runs and drew 79 walks. He led all Jays farmhands in walks and runs (87) and tied for third in the Eastern League in OBP. In the Arizona Fall League, he hit .260 with 5 HR and 15 RBI for the Peoria Saguaros as their primary second baseman.

Roberts spent most of 2006 in AAA with the Syracuse SkyChiefs, producing at a .273/.330/.439 clip with only 30 walks and 10 home runs in 98 games, both big disappointments. He made his MLB debut, playing 9 games and going 1 for 13 with a walk; the hit was a home run. In his first big league game, he came in as a back-up second baseman. He grounded out to pitcher Huston Street in his first at-bat in The Show. Roberts' homer was a solo shot off of Cory Lidle, Toronto's lone run in a 8-1 loss on August 3.

In 2007, the University of Texas alumnus continued to struggle in AAA, hitting .249/.355/.409 with 12 HR and 55 walks in 100 games. He was used in a utility role, playing catcher, all four infield spots and two of the three outfield spots (left and center). He made two appearances with Toronto, totaling 8 games, and was 1 for 13 with 2 walks, 2 runs and 7 strikeouts.

Roberts signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers for 2008. He was hitting .284/.392/.446 after 101 games for the Oklahoma RedHawks, finally solving AAA. On July 27th, he homered twice and drove in seven runs in the 2nd inning of a 15-12 win over the Colorado Springs SkySox; it came after a 10-game RBI-less stretch. Both homers came off Josh Towers in a 11-run frame. He was the 17th Pacific Coast League player to homer twice in an inning, tying the league record. Ryan tied another league mark by becoming the 4th PCL player to have 7 RBI in an inning.

Further reading[edit]

  • Steve Gilbert: "Tatman's wild ride continues post-baseball: D-backs' colorful cult hero enjoys life as man of many hats", mlb.com, January 1, 2020. [1]

Primary Sources[edit]

Related Sites[edit]

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