Baseball's Roberts Honored by Houston Athletic Committee
12/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dec. 18, 2004
HOUSTON - After ranking as one of the team's leading hitters and pitchers, University of Houston junior Kevin Roberts was honored recently as the Greater Houston Area's Preseason College Player of the Year by the Houston Athletic Committee.
The event will be held at 6 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 27 at the Ballroom of the Americas in the Hilton Americas Convention Center Hotel.
A year ago, Roberts broke into the Cougar starting lineup and made himself immovable. The Pearland native led all Cougar hitters with a .374 batting average and ranked among the team's Top Three leaders in all Triple Crown categories with six home runs and 31 RBIs.
Projected as the team's closer at the start of the 2004 season, Roberts moved into the starting weekend rotation as injuries decimated the Cougar pitching staff. Again, he rose to the challenge and finished second among all UH hurlers with 67 strikeouts.
His performance in the postseason earned him a place on the Conference USA All-Tournament Team, making him one of only two Cougars to receive a postseason award in 2004.
Roberts and his Cougar teammates open their 2005 season on Feb. 11-13 when they compete at the Minute Maid Park College Classic.
In addition to Roberts, several other baseball notables will be recognized at the dinner. Astros outfielder Lance Berkman will receive the team's 2004 Most Valuable Player Award, and Roger Clemens will be recognized as the Astros' Pitcher of the Year. Pitcher Chad Qualls will be honored as the Astros' Rookie of the Year, and third baseman Morgan Ensberg will receive the Darryl Kile Award.
Houston manager Phil Garner will be presented with the Houston Athletic Committee's Allen Russell Distinguished Achievement Award and former Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker will receive the Fred Hartman Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Baseball.
Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, a graduate of Davis High School, will be honored as the Greater Houston Area's Major League Player of the Year.
The HAC also will present the Ray Knoblauch to the area's outstanding high school coach in 2004. The Greater Houston area's top 16 high school seniors and the 2004 Richmond U.S. Little League Team also will be recognized.
Houston Astros broadcaster Milo Hamilton will serve as emcee for the event, presented jointly by the HAC, The Union Central Life Insurance Company, the Houston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America and the Houston Astros.
Sponsor tables with 10 seats are available for $650, while individual tickets are $65. To order tables or tickets, please call Jo Russell with the Houston Athletic Committee at 713-789-0626.