Roberts Honored with Dallas College Athletics Lifetime Legacy Award

GARLAND, Texas – Former Major League Baseball player Ryan Roberts was one of two Dallas College Eastfield recipients to receive the Dallas College Athletics Lifetime Legacy Award.

Dallas College Athletics' Lifetime Legacy Award honors former student-athletes and coaches who distinguished themselves through exceptional athletic and academic performances at their respective campuses, and who have continued to excel in their professional and personal lives long after their playing days. These individuals represent the highest standards of leadership, excellence and impact – both within Dallas College and in the communities they serve.

"You put in a lot of hard work as a student-athlete. You don't think about recognition in the long run because you're in a season," Roberts said. "You just kind of want to concentrate on the season. It feels good to know that that hard work paid off. Even though you make it to the Big Leagues, and you have a good career out of it, it's nice to look back and remember these times, come back, see some old faces, meet some new people. I feel super blessed.

"Anytime you can be involved in recognition where someone feels it necessary in their mind to nominate you and expose you into something like this is truly, truly such a blessing to me. People thought that way about me and how I played in my short time at Eastfield, it was awesome, and won the championship. It was only a year, but to be honored in that way and to come back, and especially do something for the first time here is really special and cool, and I'm thankful."

Roberts won a National Junior College Athletic Association Division III national championship, and was a First Team All-American at Eastfield in 2001. He batted .368 with 17 home runs and 64 runs batted in as middle infielder.

"You've got to fall in love with the work and the training," Roberts said. "You've got to love practice. I think a lot of times, along the way, games and championships get overshadowed from the true hard work and discipline in practice. So any new, up-and-coming athlete, set that goal and go get it. Don't get distracted by the outside world and the outside things throughout a season. Just stay focused, and fall in love with that work."

In 2002 at the University of Texas at Arlington, Roberts was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Player of the Year after hitting .422 with 16 home runs and 69 RBI, while leading the league in hits (97). He fell two RBI short of the conference triple crown. He was named to the SLC All-Tournament Team, finishing with a .500 career batting average, while going on to set seven single-season UTA records. Roberts ranked in the school's Top 10 in 19 season or career stat categories.

Roberts was drafted as a third baseman by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2003, and made his Big League debut in 2006. He spent nine years in Major League Baseball, playing for the Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. In 2009 with the Diamondbacks, he hit .279 with seven home runs, 17 doubles, two triples, 25 RBI, 41 runs scored and seven stolen bases in 110 games. He had a career average of .243 with 46 homers, 71 doubles, four triples, 169 RBI, 205 runs and 35 stolen bases in 1,500 at-bats.

His career didn't come without unconventional obstacles.

"I think the craziest story was me sleeping in the clubhouse in AAA," Roberts said. "I went down to AAA for two-and-a-half, three weeks, and I didn't want to get an apartment. I didn't want to do anything like that. I didn't want to stay at a hotel, so I just stayed at the clubhouse. Nobody knew. I was the first one there, and I was the last one there. The clubhouse guys that would clean up afterwards knew, and we would play PlayStation and talk all night and hang out. Then I'd go to sleep and wake up, and it would be the next day. When I got back to the Big Leagues, I told a reporter, and they wrote about it. Then it became front page of Google news that Ryan Roberts sleeps in the clubhouse."

After retiring from the Big Leagues, he began working as a private baseball instructor in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the chief strategy officer at Endurance Unsaturated LLC, and the lead designer at Nashville Futbol Club. He's also served as a baseball consultant and assistant producer on a motion picture film entitled, "You Gotta Believe," starring Luke Wilson and Greg Kinnear, available on Netflix.