Aug. 4, 2009

Story Published in The Beach Reporter on July 30, 2009
Written by: Jim Leinonen, Staff Writer

Former Mira Costa baseball player and Hermosa Beach resident Lee Roberts began his professional baseball career June 14 by signing with the Kansas City Royals as an undrafted free agent.

On July 6, Roberts earned his first career victory at the professional level when he pitched 1.2 innings in a road game for the minor league Surprise Royals and earned the win in a 10-7 victory over the Goodyear Indians in an Arizona League game. He faced eight batters, giving up one hit and two runs while striking out two batters and walking one.

“So far everything is going really well,” said Roberts, who spoke by phone from Surprise, Ariz., where he lives in a condominium with teammates Steve Shimek and Ryan Stovall.

“I’m trying to learn as much as I can. The pitching coaches are geniuses. We call our own pitches so you have to find holes in the batters’ swings so I’m learning how to do that.”

“He was just excited,” said Lee’s mother, Marsha Roberts, of her son signing a professional contract with the Royals. “It was his dream come true. It was like, ‘Wow.’”

Roberts, who was named to the All-Bay League team his senior season for the Mustangs, walked on at Loyola Marymount University and this year, in his fifth and final season playing for the Lions, was named to the All-West Coast Conference first team.

To read the complete release, please click here.