Biography

Brian Michael Roberts was born in Durham, NC on October 9, 1977. Brian’s father, Mike, was the head baseball coach at the University of North Carolina from 1976-1998. As a young boy, Brian would hang out on the baseball field with his father at UNC and even accompany the Tar heels when they played at other schools. When he was 2 years old Brian was diagnosed with a hole in his heart. At the age of 5 he had open heart surgery to repair the ASD (Atrial Septil Defect).

By the time he reached high school, Brian began to wonder if baseball was something he would want to do in the future. Constantly being around the game and the pressure of being the son of a coach caused Brian to have second thoughts. “I was sort of burned out,” he explains. “It was all I did my whole life.” Fortunately, during the summer after his junior year of high school, his passion for the game came back. In 1996 he enrolled at UNC where he played with his father as coach for 2 years. His father was one of the few coaches that believed he could succeed in college in spite of his diminutive size. That fatherly belief payed off. As a freshman at UNC, Roberts batted .427 with eight home runs, 44 RBIs and broke the school’s record for hits (with 102) and steals (with 47). That performance earned him the nation’s college Freshman of the Year honors. The next year he stole 63 bases and was named ACC Player Of The Year.

Unfortunately for UNC, once Mike Roberts left so did Brian. In 1999 he transferred to the University of South Carolina where he led the nation in steals with 67, while batting .353 with 12 home runs. Brian was also rated by Baseball America as the top defensive college player in the country. More importantly, he caught the eye of Baltimore scouting director Tony DeMacio. In June of that year Brian was selected 50th overall in the amateur draft by the Orioles.

On June 14th, 2001 he made his major league debut and collected his first MLB hit against the New York Mets. In 2005, Brian had a breakout season when he batted .314 with 18 home runs and was named the starting second baseman in his first all star game. His second appearance came in 2007 in San Francisco.

Due to Brian’s experience as a child with open heart surgery and his passion for children he began visiting the University of Maryland Hospital for Children. In 2006 he held the first annual Brian’s Baseball Bash to benefit the UMHC. With the overwhelming generosity and support of the community BBB has raised over $750,000. In January of 2009, Brian married Diana Roberts. The two shared a common passion for helping children and together have formed the Brian and Diana Roberts “1 For All” Fund to further support the University of Maryland Hospital for Children.