For obvious reasons (at least to me), the mere mention of Brian Roberts' name has always made me think of that Phish song "Brian and Robert." It's a soft and oversentimental song about isolation and loneliness and yet the two title names always reminded me of the doubles-making machine who manned second base for the Baltimore Orioles.
The strange and sad part is that the song's lyrics actually took on some application for Roberts' life once he suffered a concussion on May 16, 2011 that not only threatened his baseball career, but also the overall quality of his daily life. The 34-year-old told MLB.com that he experienced a lot of fear after suffering the concussion and that it seemed like his 13 months away from the diamond really lasted about five years.
The great news is that Roberts was able to wipe away that fear (and any melancholic and hacky musical connotations) by returning to the field on Tuesday night. Returning to his usual leadoff spot, Roberts went 3-for-4 with one RBI to help the O's to an 8-6 win over Baltimore.
Roberts received a big ovation from the Camden Yards crowd before his at-bat and said the night went so well he didn't even mind getting a postgame pie in the face.
"I said I'll take a hundred of them," Roberts quipped to the pie's culprit, center fielder Adam Jones. "After I wiped it off, all the fans were cheering around me, I got a little emotional again. Talk about being a part of a team. I hadn't felt like that in a long time."
Roberts' voice cracked several times as he struggled to put the night's events into words.
Given the severity of Roberts' concussion, I'm not sure how smart it was for Jones to force a pie into his face. (I didn't see the prank, so maybe he went in easy.) But Roberts is taking every precaution during play, wearing a double-flapped "Great Gazoo" helmet for extra protection.
While he may not ever return to the form that saw him lead the majors with 56 doubles in 2009, it's Roberts' aim to stay out there as long as possible after playing in a total of 98 games over 2010 and 2011. Here's hoping that he does.
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